KIEV, September 7. /TASS/. The Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov has started production of the first prototype of the Antonov An-132 military transport plane under a joint Saudi-Ukrainian program, Antonov President Mikhail Gvozdev said at a news conference on Monday.

"The first prototype will be made in Kiev. It is planned for delivery to Saudi Arabia in the third quarter of 2016," Gvozdev said. He added that the contract had been signed in April 2015.

According to the manufacturer’s president, "This is the first aircraft in Antonov’s product range to lack any Russian-made components."

Gvozdev said Antonov and Saudi Arabia had signed a memorandum of understanding for co-production of 80 An-132 planes for that country. "Some of the aircraft will be manufactured in Ukraine. Concurrently, the manufacturing facilities for the plane and its components will be established in Saudi Arabia," Gvozdev added.

According to Gvozdev, the parties divided the aircraft intellectual property on a 50-50 basis. The cost of the plane has not been released yet. The An-132 can be equipped with engines from Pratt & Whitney.