Russia could partner with a U.S. firm in designing aircraft, President Dmitry Medvedev told workers at the Ulyanovsk Aviation Industrial Complex on Tuesday.

“It is necessary to design prospective models,” he said, adding that AN-124 “Ruslan” cargo plane, has no analogs worldwide except for the C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft, which could serve as a good example.

“The [air transportation] market is tremendous, the transportation volume is [large] too, meanwhile such planes are not produced elsewhere worldwide,” he said, Interfax reported. “Somebody will occupy this niche, but we could do it together with the Americans.”

Representatives for both Lockheed Martin, which makes the C-5 aircraft, and the Kremlin press office declined to comment on the president’s statement.