Oryx lists four Sudanese Air Force An-12 transport aircraft as destroyed at Khartoum International Airport during the 2023 Sudan crisis, tying the type to SAF transport-aircraft losses at the war's main capital airport.
Support Equipment
An-12
Also known as
- Antonov An-12
- AN-12
- Cub
- NATO reporting name Cub
The An-12 is an Antonov-designed four-engine turboprop transport built for moving troops, military equipment, and cargo loads of roughly 20 tonnes. Antonov describes it as a core Soviet military transport type with long-range utility, while current conflict evidence places the aircraft in Russian and Sudanese transport-aircraft losses rather than a dedicated strike role.
Role in Conflicts
- Side
- Russia
Oryx lists one Russian An-12 transport aircraft as destroyed on June 1, 2025, and TWZ reported that Operation Spiderweb drone footage showed an An-12 Cub targeted at Olenya, with satellite imagery indicating the nearest destroyed aircraft was likely the An-12. The evidence places the type in Russian transport-aircraft loss context rather than a strike role.
Role detailsProfile / Specs
Profile
- Origin
- Soviet Union / Ukraine
- Built by
- Antonov Design Bureau
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Type
- Four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft
- Service note
- Cold War design with post-Soviet military and cargo service
- Designer
- Antonov Design Bureau
- Designed
- 1955-1957
- Produced
- 1957-1972
- Number built
- 1,243 aircraft of various modifications, according to Antonov
Specifications
- Crew
- Multi-crew transport aircraft; Antonov's first-flight crew included captain, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, and flight gunner
- Payload
- Up to 20 tonnes of troops, military equipment, or cargo
- Length
- 33.11 m
- Wingspan
- 38.02 m
- Height
- 11.44 m
- Wing area
- 121.73 sq m
- Cruise speed
- 570 km/h
- Operational range
- 5,000 km
- Operational ceiling
- 10,000 m
- Engines
- Four Ivchenko AI-20-series turboprops, per SKYbrary's AN12 technical data
Transport Role
Antonov's history page frames the AN-12 as a paratroop and military-equipment transport rather than a dedicated strike aircraft. Its useful catalog context is therefore logistics, airlift, airborne-force support, and transport-aircraft vulnerability in conflicts where operators expose the fleet to airfield, missile, or drone attack.
Cargo role
Designed to transport troops, military equipment, and cargo loads up to about 20 tonnes.
Airlift profile
Antonov lists a 570 km/h cruise speed, 5,000 km operational range, and 10,000 m ceiling for the type.
Recent loss pattern
The conflict rows document transport aircraft destroyed at air bases or airports in Ukraine and Sudan, not An-12 combat sorties or weapon-delivery missions.
An-12 And Y-8 Lineage
The Y-8 belongs in the An-12 relationship context, but it is not treated here as evidence for An-12 conflict use. Antonov's chronology identifies the Y-8 as the Chinese version of the AN-12, records a first flight at Xian Aircraft Company on December 25, 1974, and places serial production at Shaanxi Aircraft Plant from October 1980.
An-12 record scope
This page covers the Soviet Antonov-designed transport and its documented Russian An-12 loss in Ukraine.
Y-8 relationship
The Y-8 is presented as a Chinese derivative line, not as a linked catalog record or a substitute source for An-12 battlefield use.
Variants
The An-12 family uses a long suffix sequence for Soviet production and mission changes, while Antonov separately records the Chinese Y-8 as a Chinese version of the AN-12 with its own production line.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| An-12BP | Improved transport variant | Common reference material identifies the An-12BP as a later, widely used tactical transport configuration within the family. Sources: Wikipedia An-12 |
| Shaanxi Y-8 | Chinese production derivative | Antonov's chronology records the Y-8 first flight in 1974 and serial production at Shaanxi from 1980 as the Chinese version of the AN-12. Sources: Antonov AN-12 history |
Timeline
An-12 Key Events
AN-12 prototype ordered
Antonov's chronology dates the Soviet directive starting development and prototype construction of Product T, the AN-12, to November 30, 1955.
Sources: Antonov AN-12 history
Prototype first flight
Antonov dates the prototype's maiden flight from Irkutsk-2 airfield to December 16, 1957.
Sources: Antonov AN-12 history
Tashkent production aircraft flies
Antonov records the first serial aircraft from the Tashkent plant flying on June 1, 1961, with that plant later building 830 aircraft during production.
Sources: Antonov AN-12 history
Y-8 derivative first flight
Antonov identifies the Y-8 as the Chinese version of the AN-12 and dates its first flight at Xian Aircraft Company to December 25, 1974.
Sources: Antonov AN-12 history
Related Weapon Systems
Sources
Antonov AN-12 historyPublisher: Antonov | Note: Supports the AN-12 identity, military transport role, 20-tonne cargo purpose, production totals, selected specifications, production chronology, and Y-8 derivative context including first flight and Shaanxi serial-production dates. | Accessed: 2026-07-03SKYbrary AN12 technical dataPublisher: SKYbrary Aviation Safety | Note: Supports supplemental technical context for the AN12, including its turboprop freighter type, powerplant family, and dimensions/performance cross-checks. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Wikipedia An-12Publisher: Wikipedia | Note: Used as a starting reference layer for aliases, NATO reporting name, design lineage, broad variant terminology, and source leads; higher-value claims are backed by Antonov, SKYbrary, Oryx, and Commons sources where possible. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Oryx Russian equipment losses in UkrainePublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict-use context by listing a Russian An-12 transport aircraft destroyed on June 1, 2025 in the visual aircraft-loss record for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Oryx Sudan aircraft lossesPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports 2023 Sudan War direct conflict-use context by listing four Sudanese Air Force An-12 transport aircraft destroyed at Khartoum International Airport during the 2023 Sudan crisis. | Accessed: 2026-07-03TWZ Operation Spiderweb aircraft-loss evidencePublisher: TWZ | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict-use context by reporting that Ukrainian Operation Spiderweb drone footage showed a Russian An-12 Cub cargo aircraft targeted at Olenya and that satellite imagery indicated the nearest destroyed aircraft was likely the An-12. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Wikimedia Commons Antonov AN-12 in-flight imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing for the primary An-12 gallery image; Commons lists Fedor Leukhin as author and CC BY-SA 2.0 licensing after Flickr review. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Wikimedia Commons U.S. Air Force Antonov AN-12 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing for the An-12 gallery image; Commons identifies the image as a U.S. Air Force work by Scott T. Sturkol and public domain in the United States. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Wikimedia Commons MINUSMA Camp Castor An-12 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing for the An-12 gallery image; Commons credits SM Gerben van Es and lists CC BY-SA 4.0 licensing with Dutch Ministry of Defence VRT permission. | Accessed: 2026-07-03Wikimedia Commons ATRAN Antonov An-12 imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance and licensing for the ATRAN An-12 gallery image; Commons lists Alex Pereslavtsev as author and GFDL 1.2 licensing with VRT permission. | Accessed: 2026-07-03