The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl, nicknamed Nastia in the USSR) is a twin-engined turboprop regional airliner and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986. It is the third member of the Antonov An-24 family, coming after the An-24 and An-30, while preceding the An-32 and cancelled An-132. The An-26 is still license-produced in China as the modern version of the Xi'an Y-7. Early versions of the Y-7 utilized the An-24 design.
While the An-24T tactical transport had proved successful in supporting Soviet troops in austere locations, its ventral loading hatch restricted the handling of cargo, and in particular vehicles, and made it less effective than hoped in parachuting men and supplies. As a result, interest in a version with a retractable cargo ramp increased, and the Antonov design bureau decided in 1966 to begin development on the new An-26 derivative, in advance of an official order. The cargo ramp was based on that design and allowed the cargo deck to be sealed and pressurised in flight. When loading cargo, it could either be lowered to allow vehicles to be driven in, or slid beneath the aircraft's fuselage, so that cargo could be loaded straight in off a truck bed. In March 1968, the OKB received official permission to begin development. Particular attention was given to the military mission, and the majority of early An-26 production was delivered to the VTA (voyenno-transportnaya aviatsiya).
Using the majority of the An-24 airframe, it has high-set cantilevered wings, wing-mounted twin Ivchenko AI-24 turboprops with a turbojet engine in the starboard nacelle for use as an auxiliary power unit and also for extra take-off thrust, plus long main undercarriage legs. The An-26 includes military equipment, such as tip-up paratroop canvas seats, an overhead traveling hoist, bulged observation windows and parachute static line attachment cables. It can be configured in 20–30 minutes from the troop transport or freight mission to the medical evacuation role with up to 24 stretchers fitted.
The An-26 made its public debut at the 27th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget where the second prototype, CCCP-26184 (c/n00202), was shown in the static aircraft park.
The An-26 is also manufactured without a license agreement in China by the Xian Aircraft factory as the Y-14, later changed to be included in the Xi'an Y-7 series.
The An-26 has a secondary bomber role with underwing bomb racks. The racks are attached to the fuselage in front of and behind the rear landing gear. In the bombing role it was extensively used by the Vietnam People's Air Force during the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (by modifying the cargo bay with a bomb release system, allowing captured South Vietnamese Mark 82 bombs to roll out of the cargo bay) and Sudanese Air Force during the Second Sudanese Civil War and the War in Darfur. Russian Forces have also trained with the An-26 as a bomber. In 1977, the Afghan Air Force received the An-26 aircraft and in 1986, they had 36 of them which were used for airborne assaults conducted by the Afghan Army's commando and parachute battalions and two military transport squadrons.
One An-26 was involved in the Purulia Incident in 1995 in which arms were dropped in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India. The reason behind the drop is not disclosed to the public due to national security.
"Curl-A" : Twin-engine tactical transport aircraft.
Convertible passenger/cargo aircraft modified from An-26 aircraft at the Kyiv plant from 1999.
An arctic surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft retrofitted with Nel'mo equipment.
("Weather") Another aircraft for weather control duties, similar to the An-26 Tsiklon, with a simplified equipment test lab.
("Flight") A single aircraft retrofitted for the purpose of research of unified air traffic control and monitoring system throughout the USSR, with a comprehensive navigation test lab including precision compasses and Doppler speed/shift sensors.
("Sphere") A single production aircraft built as a laboratory for atmospheric research.
("Shtab" = "Headquarters") some An-26s delivered to the Soviet and DDR air forces for use as staff transports/mobile command posts.
("Life") A single mobile operating room, surgery and intensive care unit ('25 Blue', c/n5406), for the Ukrainian Air Force.
A one-off assault transport prototype with higher performance due to removal of some military equipment.
(Avtomatizirovannaya sistema lyotnogo kontrolya – automated flight control and monitoring system) : A modern flight control and monitoring system equipped with automatic calibration and navigation systems. Recognizable by the distinctive pod low on the forward fuselage side.
A civil cargo version equipped with ramps which can be swung up against the cabin walls when not in use. It was also equipped with two ZMDB Progress (Ivchyenko) Al-24VT turboprop powerplants to deliver higher thrust.