King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) today dedicated in Ukraine the first model of an Antonov AN-132 light multifunction plane in the attendance of President Petro Poroshenko of the Republic of Ukraine, Prince Dr. Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed, President of KACST, and a number of officials from the two countries of Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. The plane is able to fly at 28,000 ft elevation with a payload of 9.2 tons and covers a distance of 4500kgm at no less than 550 km per hour speed. It is equipped with Brat engines and an advanced electronic system. Prince Turki bin Saud said during the dedication ceremony that the purchase comes as the first implementation of a technical alliance contract concluded by KACST and Ukraine's Antonov company for planes manufacturing and as part of the national transformation program 2020 to achieve the Kingdom's vision 2030, noting that KACST possesses 50 % of the intellectual property rights of this plane. He said the move is designed to create the first infrastructure of planes building industry in the Kingdom.
