Kazakhstan's military aviation has officially ceased operation of An-26 military transport aircraft. The last aircraft of this type, which served for 44 years, was retired by the aviation of the National Guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic.
The An-26 was developed at the Antonov Design Bureau based on the An-24 passenger aircraft. Its maximum take-off weight is 24 tons, and its payload capacity is 5.5 tons.
Apparently, Kazakhstan's military aviation will now make the turboprop Airbus C-295 the main fleet. There are already 11 of these aircraft in the Air Force and Border Service.
An-26s are still flying in dozens of countries around the world, including the DPRK, CAR, DR Congo, Angola, Madagascar, China, Cuba, and others.
Earlier it also became known that Kazakhstan, after refusing to purchase Russian Yak-130s, may become a new operator of Chinese K-8W combat trainers.