Editing Antonov An-2 (section)

==Operational history==
===Military service===
[[File:AN2 R.jpeg|thumb|[[Ukrainian hryvnia]] depicting the An-2 airplane]]
[[File:Antonov An-2 Vientiane.jpg|thumb|An AN-2 of the Laos air force]]
The An-2 was operated in large numbers by the [[Soviet Air Force]] and [[Eastern Bloc]] forces. Its first military use was during the [[Korean War]] of the early 1950s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2018}}

The [[Vietnam People's Air Force]] (VPAF) operated the An-2 during the [[Vietnam War]] and occasionally used the type as an attack aircraft. During the 1960s, a single An-2 that was engaging [[South Vietnamese]] naval units was shot down by a [[United States Air Force]] [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]] fighter.<ref name = "An-2"/>

On 12 January 1968, a clandestine [[TACAN]] site ([[call sign]]: ''[[Lima Site 85]]''/Phou Pha Ti) installed by the United States Air Force in Northern [[Laos]] for directing [[USAF]] warplanes flying from [[Thailand]] to [[Vietnam]] was [[Battle of Lima Site 85|attacked]] by three [[North Vietnamese]] An-2s. A pair of An-2s fired on the outpost using a mixture of machine guns and rockets while a third An-2 orbited overhead.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html |title=An Air Combat First |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623051940/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol52no2/iac/an-air-combat-first.html |archive-date=23 June 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

An [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] [[Bell UH-1]]B resupplying the site gave chase to the attacking aircraft. Using an [[AK-47]], the American crew (Ted Moore Captain, Glen Wood Kicker) succeeded in shooting down one of the An-2s while the second aircraft was forced down by combined ground and air fire, eventually crashing into a mountain. The surviving Antonov returned to its home base, Gia Lam, near Hanoi.<ref name="auto2"/>

During the [[Croatian War of Independence]] in 1991, a number of elderly An-2s previously used for crop-spraying were converted by the [[Croatian Air Force and Defense|Croatian Air Force]] to drop makeshift [[barrel bombs]]. They were also used to conduct supply missions to besieged parts of Croatia.<ref name="WAPJ 24 p145">Mader 1996, p.145.</ref>

The chief advantage of the An-2 was its ability to operate from small improvised airstrips. They frequently dropped supplies by parachute to isolated garrisons. At least one An-2 was shot down on 2 December 1991 over [[Vinkovci]], eastern [[Slavonia]], by a Serbian [[surface to air missile]] (SAM) with a salvo of [[2K12 Kub|SA-6s]].<ref>{{cite book |author1-last=Magaš |author1-first=Branka |author2-last=Žanić |author2-first=Ivo |date=2001 |title=The war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1991–1995 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |page=58 |isbn=0-7146-8201-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911202-1 |title=ASN Aircraft accident Antonov 2 9A-BOP Vukovar |publisher=Aviation-safety.net |date=2 December 1991 |access-date=8 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308032622/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19911202-1 |archive-date=8 March 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[North Korea]] has also operated An-2s. The [[Korean People's Army Special Operation Force]] has used the An-2 to infiltrate paratroopers.<ref name="NKSF">{{cite book |author-last=Bermudez |author-first=Joseph S., Jr. |title=North Korean Special Forces |publisher=[[Jane's Publishing Company]] |publication-place=Surrey, United Kingdom |date=1988}}</ref> 

During the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war]], Azerbaijan operated unmanned An-2s for surveillance and bombing of Armenian defenses,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|title=Azerbaijani Military Retools Old Crop Duster Planes as Attack Drones|date=31 December 2020|publisher=Hetq Online|access-date=15 October 2020|archive-date=24 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224143026/https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://defence24.pl/sily-zbrojne/rakiety-przeciwlotnicze-kontra-antonowy-pulapki|title=Górski Karabach: Rakiety przeciwlotnicze kontra Antonowy-pułapki [WIDEO]|website=defence24.pl|date=2 October 2020 |access-date=2022-05-18|archive-date=2022-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525190029/https://defence24.pl/sily-zbrojne/rakiety-przeciwlotnicze-kontra-antonowy-pulapki|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-10|title=The next frontier in drone warfare? A Soviet-era crop duster|url=https://thebulletin.org/2021/02/the-next-frontier-in-drone-warfare-a-soviet-era-crop-duster/|access-date=2021-02-15|website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214092524/https://thebulletin.org/2021/02/the-next-frontier-in-drone-warfare-a-soviet-era-crop-duster/|url-status=live}}</ref> however the type of the drone was unknown as of October 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|title=Azerbaijani Military Retools Old Crop Duster Planes as Attack Drones|date=14 October 2020|work=[[Hetq Online]]|access-date=15 October 2020|archive-date=24 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224143026/https://hetq.am/en/article/123071|url-status=live}}</ref> Armenian forces revealed footage of the alleged shootdown of an Azerbaijani An-2, according to video evidence at least 11 An-2 have been destroyed, with 10 confirmed as shot down and one crashing after takeoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/the-fight-for-nagorno-karabakh.html?m=1|title=The fight for Nagorno Karabakh|date=1 October 2020|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=24 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624123029/https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/the-fight-for-nagorno-karabakh.html?m=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/nagorno-karabakh-republic-claims-downed-azerb-1042185.html|title=Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Claims Downed Azerbaijani Aircraft|website=UrduPoint|access-date=2020-09-30|archive-date=2021-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721102147/https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/nagorno-karabakh-republic-claims-downed-azerb-1042185.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 2, 2022, Russian An-2s were observed at [[Seshcha (air base)|Seshcha Air Base]], [[Bryansk Oblast]]. As the base is close to the [[Ukraine]] border, it was speculated that the aircraft were to be used in the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newdick |first=Thomas |title=Russia Appears To Be Preparing Its Ancient An-2 Biplanes For War In Ukraine |url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44532/russia-appears-to-be-preparing-its-ancient-an-2-biplanes-for-war-in-ukraine |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=[[The Drive (website)|The Drive]] |date=2 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305184944/https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44532/russia-appears-to-be-preparing-its-ancient-an-2-biplanes-for-war-in-ukraine |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Civil aviation ===
[[File:An-2 plane spraying wheat crops.jpg|thumb|An-2 sprays pesticide on wheat crops during [[List of coalition military operations of the Iraq War#2006|Operation Barnstormer]] (May 2006).]]
Over the years, dozens of nations and companies have employed the An-2 in civil roles. The type was heavily used throughout the [[Soviet Union]] and the [[Eastern Bloc]] nations. In particular, the Russian airline [[Aeroflot]] operated a large number of them. The An-2 was used as a short-range airliner, and in [[Estonia]], made regular flights between the towns of [[Kuressaare]] and [[Kärdla]], which are on separate islands, [[Saaremaa]] and [[Hiiumaa]].{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, most airlines in these regions have been retiring their An-2s, as some were over 40 years old, as well as a result of the decline in the production of [[avgas]] to fuel the type.<ref name=harp/> Private operators are still using An-2s, as they remain popular for some functions, such as for [[skydiving]].<ref name = "An-2"/><ref name=harp/>

High noise levels, maintenance costs and fuel consumption<ref name=harp/> has rendered them obsolete for the majority of commercial routes in Europe, but the large number available mean that unit prices are low in comparison to alternatives (as little as US$30,000 for a serviceable example). Price has made them attractive in the [[developing world]], where their abilities makes them an asset to airlines on a budget. Many ex-Aeroflot An-2s have found work with regional operators across [[Africa]], [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Cuba]] and southeast [[Asia]].<ref name = "An-2"/>

As of 2015, there were thousands of An-2s in operation around the world, including over 1,500 in Russia, 294 in [[Kazakhstan]] and 54 in [[Ukraine]].<ref name="усовершенствованные кукурузники" />

In September 2024, [[Vladimir Putin]] ordered the [[UZGA LMS-901 Baikal]] aircraft into production as a replacement.<ref name=Baikal>{{cite web|url= https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-orders-baikal-planes-into-production-to-replace-an-2/ar-AA1qBTqg?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=56291787bd3a4d9fc268c8b549555032&ei=78 |title= Putin orders Baikal planes into production to replace An-2 |publisher=RBC Ukraine, September 15, 2024|accessdate=September 15, 2024}}</ref>  However, certification of that aircraft's [[Klimov VK-800|Klimov VK-800SM]] engine is not expected until 2025, with engine deliveries not starting until 2026.<ref name=Baikal/>