Group : Military Transport Aircrafts
Status : Active
Also Known As : An-12BK, Cub (NATO codename), Y-8 (Chinese version), Y-8D (Chinese export version)
Origin : Ukraine
Contractor : Antonov ASTC
Initial Operational Capability (IOC) : 1959
First Flight : 1957
Total Production : ?

The Antonov An-12, NATO codename is Cub, is a four-turboprop, tactical military transport aircraft developed in the late 1950s by the former Soviet Union based on the An-10 turboprop aircraft. The aircraft is equipped with a rear ramp for quick load and off-load of cargo and personnel. It is powered by four AI-20K turboprop engines each developing 4,000-shp of power and driving a four-bladed propeller. The An-12 production ceased in 1973 paving the way for its replacement, the Ilyushin Il-76 turbofan-powered freighter. The An-12 was deemed as the Soviet counterpart to the NATO C-130 Hercules during the Cold War.

In 1968, China introduced its own version of the An-12 aircraft named the Y-8. The Y-8 transport was exported to Burma, Sri Lanka and Sudan and still remains in service. The Y-8 aircraft forms the backbone of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) medium-lift transport capability as the An-12 played the same role for the Warsaw Pact from the 1960s through the 1980s. The Soviet Union produced roughly 900 An-12s and China has produced several hundreds more.