Ukraine plans to replace the AN-26 fleet it plans to retire with new AN-178 military transport planes. Ukraine's Defence Ministry has decided to buy three AN-178s from Antonov and drafted the contract, it said. Officials confirmed plans to replace the fleet of soviet-era transport aircraft that became old after the AN-26Sh crashed in the Kharkiv region. On September 25, 2020, an AN-26Sh from the Ukrainian Air Force crashed in the Kharkiv region during a training flight; Of the 20 students and seven officers inside the platform, only one survived.

Developed via the AN-148 regional passenger plane, the An-178 has an internal volume of 125 cubic metres and needs a 2450-metre long runway to take off with maximum load.

At the beginning of September (2020), Oleksandr Los, the executive director of Antonov, invited the Turkish aviation industry to take part in the production process of the AN-178 aircraft.