Antonov An-225

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія (dream or inspiration), NATO reporting name: "Cossack") is a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It is powered by six turbofan engines and is the longest and heaviest airplane ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes (710 short tons). It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The single example built has the Ukrainian civil registration UR-82060. A second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. Its construction was halted in 1994 because of lack of funding and interest, but revived briefly in 2009, bringing it to 60%-70% completion. On August 30th, 2016, Antonov agreed to complete the second airframe for Aerospace Industry Corporation of China (not to be confused with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China) as a prelude to AICC commencing series production.
The Antonov An-225, initially developed for the task of transporting the Buran spaceplane, was an enlargement of the successful Antonov An-124. The first and only An-225 was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and re-introduced, and is in commercial operation with Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads. The airlifter holds the absolute world records for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kilograms (418,830 pounds), and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It has also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.
==Variants==
*An-224: Original proposal with a rear cargo door. Not built.
*An-225: Variant without the rear cargo door. Two built.
*An-225-100: Designation applied to the An-225 after its 2000 modernization. Upgrades included a traffic collision avoidance system, improved communications and navigation equipment, and noise reduction features.
*An-325: Proposed enlarged, eight-engined aircraft, specifically designed to launch spacecraft of various purposes into orbit. Initially designed for the MAKS program, the An-325 eventually evolved to a joint cooperation between British Aerospace and the Soviet Ministry of Aviation Industry as a part of the Interim HOTOL program. It remains unbuilt.
*AKS: Intended to carry the Tupolev OOS air-launch-to-orbit spaceplane; a twin-fuselage design consisting of two An-225 fuselages, with the OOS to be carried under the raised center wing. Multiple engine configurations were proposed, ranging from 18 Progress D-18T turbofans to as many as 40 engines, with placements both above and below the wings. An alternative design for the AKS was to use entirely new fuselages, each with a single tail. The AKS was deemed unfeasible, and no prototypes were ever built.
==Users==
*People's Republic of China
**Aerospace Industry Corporation of China
*Soviet Union
**Antonov Airliners, for the Soviet Buran program. The company (and aircraft) passed to Ukraine after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
*Ukraine
**Antonov Airlines for commercial operations
==See Also==
===Related Development===
*Antonov An-125 Ruslan
===Comparable Aircraft===
*Bombardier CC-204 Titan
*Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
An-225, Antonov
An-225, Antonov
An-225, Antonov
An-225, Antonov
An-225, Antonov