[1][2] It is designed to carry passengers and cargo, operating from paved or unpaved airfields, including snow covered surfaces up to 35 cm (14 in) deep (using a ski landing gear).

[2] The take-off weight and payload was also increased and the upgrade allowed the landing performance to use ground strips 500 metres (1,600 ft) long.

[1] The upgrading was arranged at both the "Polyot" Production Association in Omsk, Russian Federation, and at Antonov ASTC, Kyiv, Ukraine.

[2] The project was revitalised in the late 1990s when it was taken over by Polyot State Aerospace Enterprise, and a marketing campaign began in earnest in 2000, although sales have been limited.

From 2007, the "Polyot" Production Association started to upgrade the first ten An-2s of the Russian Airborne Troops to An-3T-10 standard.