The Be-30 was developed by Beriev as a competitor for the An-28 and Let 410, first flying in March 1967 with piston engines. Glushenkov turboprops were used from the production prototype onwards, but only three Be-30s and five of the Be-32s were built in the late 1960s before the program was terminated

The Be-32 was an uprated version of the Be-30, seating four more pax in the same cabin, which is just 1.5 m (59 in) wide.