Antonov An-225 Mriya

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was a Soviet-designed, Ukrainian-built strategic cargo aircraft and the world’s largest fixed-wing aircraft by several measures.

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was a Soviet-designed, Ukrainian-built strategic cargo aircraft and the world’s largest fixed-wing aircraft by several measures. It was developed by Antonov in the 1980s to transport the Buran space shuttle and outsized cargo. The only completed aircraft was destroyed in 2022 at Hostomel Airport during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Design and development

Antonov developed the An-225 in the 1980s as an enlargement of the An-124 Ruslan aircraft. Its original purpose was to transport the Buran orbital shuttle and other components of the Soviet space programme. The name Mriya means “Dream” in Ukrainian.

Capabilities and records

The An-225 had six turbofan engines and a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes. It held records associated with being the heaviest aircraft ever built and the largest operational aircraft by wingspan.

Operational use

Beyond its original space-program role, the aircraft was used for commercial oversized cargo transport. It carried exceptionally heavy and bulky items that were impractical to move by other aircraft, including generators, wind turbine blades, and locomotives.

Destruction and legacy

The only completed An-225 was destroyed during fighting at Hostomel Airport in 2022. It remains a notable symbol of Ukrainian aerospace engineering and heavy-lift aviation.