Yes but there is a difference between being ICAO Stage III or IV compliant, which gives US (for example) access to foreign operators that operate that type, and being FAR-25 certified which would allow US companies to buy and operate the type. A US company will be able to rent a Russian operated IL-76 to do a domestic flight in the US, or an international flight between the US and a third country (other than Russia) only if the person requesting the charter can show that there is no US aircraft capable of doing the flight. Once there is, as when/if US based BC-17 operators ever start operations, they will be able to shut out foreign companies such as Volga Dnepr (and charge what they want). So what Ilyushin and Antonov really need to do is Certify their aircraft according to JAR-25, FAR-25 and CAR-525, something they have never attempted so far. Air Foyle put a lot a money around 1999 to look into the certification of the AN-124 for a RAF contract, but the UK had opted to lease C-17s instead, regarless of the savings that the AN-124 option provided them with. DASA in Germany had looked into certifying the AN-70 to Luftwaffe norms but Germany had opted for the Airbus A400M instead, even though it was the longest and most expensive of both options. These are government and military decisions which are not based on money. The day such projects are looked at by COMMERCIAL operators whose goal will be making money, I'm not certain that the Ilyushins and Antonovs will loose to Boeing and Airbus again
Last edited by Minorite invisible; 13th March 2007 at 14:35.
Reason: typos