Antonov An - 124 The Antonov An - 124 " Ruslan " ( ) ( NATO reporting name : Condor ) is a strategic airlift jet aircraft . It was designed by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR , then part of the Soviet Union . The An - 124 is the world ' s second highest gross weight production cargo airplane behind the Boeing 747 - 8F and world ' s third heaviest operating cargo aircraft , behind the one - off Antonov An - 225 ( a greatly enlarged design based on the An - 124 ) and the Boeing 747 - 8F . During development it was known as " Izdeliye 400 " in house , and " An - 40 " in the West . First flown in 1982 , civil certification was issued on 30 December 1992 . Over 40 are in service ( 26 civilian models with airlines and 10 firm orders as of August 2006 ) and 20 were in commercial use in 1998 in Ukraine , Russia , the United Arab Emirates and Libya . Development . During the 1970s , the VTA ( Military Transport Aviation ) arm of the Soviet Air Force had a shortfall in strategic heavy airlift capacity . Its largest planes consisted of about 50 Antonov An - 22 turboprops , which were used heavily for tactical roles . A classified 1975 CIA analysis concluded that the USSR did " . . . not match the US in ability to provide long - range heavy lift support . " The An - 124 was manufactured in parallel by two plants : the Russian company Aviastar - SP ( ex . Ulyanovsk Aviation Industrial Complex ) and by the Kyiv Aviation Plant AVIANT , in Ukraine . Design work started in 1971 and construction of facilities began in 1973 . Manufacturing on the first airframe began in 1979 . Ultimately this project brought together over 100 factories contracted to produce systems and parts . The first flight took place in December 1982 and the first exposure to the West followed in 1985 at the Paris Air Show . Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume the production in the third quarter of 2008 . In May 2008 , a new variant — the An - 124 - 150 — was announced ; it featured several improvements , including a maximum lift capacity of 150 tonnes . However , in May 2009 , Antonov ' s partner , United Aircraft Corporation announced it did not plan production of An - 124s in the period 2009 – 2012 . In late 2009 , Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered production of the aircraft resumed . It is expected that Russia will purchase 20 new aircraft . Design . Externally , the An - 124 is similar to the American Lockheed C - 5 Galaxy , but has a 25 % larger payload , and instead of the Galaxy ' s T - tail , the An - 124 uses a conventional empennage , similar in design to that of the Boeing 747 . The An - 124 has been used to carry locomotives , yachts , aircraft fuselages , and a variety of other oversized cargoes . The aircraft is able to kneel to allow easier front loading ; and has an onboard overhead crane capable of lifting up to 30 tonnes of cargo , and items up to 120 tonnes can be winched on board . Up to of cargo can be carried in a military An - 124 ; it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the wing centre section . The cargo compartment of An - 124 is , ca . 20 % larger than the main cargo compartment of C - 5 Galaxy , which is . Due to limited pressurization in the main cargo compartment ( 24 . 6 kPa , 3 . 57 psi ) , it seldom carries paratrooper s . Pilots have stated that the An - 124 is light on the controls and easy to handle for an aircraft of its size . Some airports require pavement protection from the heat and blast effects of the An - 124 ' s auxiliary power unit . Operational history . Germany led the recent effort to lease An - 124s for NATO strategic airlift requirements . Two aircraft are leased from SALIS GmbH as a stopgap until the Airbus A400M is available . Under NATO SALIS programme NAMSA is chartering six An - 124 - 100 transport aircraft . According to the contract An - 124 - 100s of Antonov Airlines and Volga - Dnepr are used within the limits of NATO SALIS programme to transport cargo by requests of 18 countries : Belgium , Hungary , Greece , Denmark , Canada , Luxembourg , Netherlands , Norway , United Kingdom , Poland , Portugal , Slovakia , Slovenia , Finland , France , Germany , Czech Republic and Sweden . Two An - 124 - 100s are constantly based on full - time charter in the Leipzig / Halle airport , but the contract specifies that if necessary , two more aircraft will be provided on six days notice and another two on nine days notice . The aircraft proved extremely useful for NATO especially with ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan . United Launch Alliance ( ULA ) contracts the An - 124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle from its facilities in Decatur , Alabama to Cape Canaveral . ULA also uses the An - 124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle and Centaur upper stage from their manufacturing facility in Denver , Colorado to Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base . Two flights are required to transfer each launch vehicle ( one for the Atlas V main booster stage and another for the Centaur upper stage ) . It is also contracted by Space Systems Loral to transport satellites from Palo Alto , CA to the Arianespace spaceport in Kourou , French Guiana . Airbus Transport International , a subsidiary of Airbus , has selected another Russian cargo company , Polet Airlines as " designated carrier " to the company . Polet expects its three An - 124 - 100s will transport astronautic equipment manufactured by EADS , which is Airbus ' parent company , and components of the Airbus A380 superjumbo . The Rolls - Royce Trent 900 is the only A380 engine that can be transported whole in a Boeing 747F . As of 2013 the An - 124 has visited 768 airports in over 100 countries . Operators . Civil . In September 2009 , a total of 28 An - 124 aircraft were in airline service , with a further 10 firm orders . Notable accidents . As of 2011 , four An - 124 hull - loss accidents have been recorded , with a total of 97 fatalities :