It has been built in large numbers, serving as the powerplant for both the Antonov An-12 transport and the Ilyushin Il-18 airliner.

The AI-20 was the first gas turbine engine developed by the design bureau led by Oleksandr Heorhiiovych Ivchenko based at Zaporizhzhia, USSR, which had previously concentrated on small piston engines such as the Ivchenko AI-14 and AI-26 radials.

It was designed as a prospective powerplant for the new, large Ilyushin Il-18 airliner and the Antonov An-10, to be powered by four turboprops, in competition with the Kuznetsov NK-4 engines.

[3] The AI-20 is a single-shaft turboprop with a ten-stage axial compressor and a three-stage power turbine, and is designed to run at a constant speed.

The AI-20K engine variant was finally introduced, with a TBO of 2,000 hours – unimpressive by modern standards, but a big improvement.