Antonov An-225

6 Jet

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was the world's largest and heaviest aircraft ever built, and the only aircraft ever to feature six turbofan engines. Designed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s specifically to transport the Buran space shuttle orbiter piggyback-style, the An-225 stretched the already-massive An-124 design with a lengthened fuselage, reinforced wing, twin vertical stabilizers, and two additional Progress D-18T engines. It first flew in December 1988 and held multiple world records including highest payload ever airlifted (253,820 kg in 2001) and longest single cargo item transported by air. With a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes and a cargo hold large enough to accommodate 50 cars, the Mriya became the go-to solution for outsized freight that no other aircraft could handle—wind turbine blades, locomotives, emergency generators, and humanitarian relief supplies. Only one An-225 was ever completed. After the Soviet space program ended, it sat unused for years before Antonov Airlines restored it to service in 2001 as a commercial charter freighter. The aircraft became famous for appearing at airshows worldwide and undertaking high-profile missions, including delivering COVID-19 medical supplies in 2020. It could cruise at 850 km/h with a range of 15,400 km unladen, though payload drastically reduced range—carrying maximum cargo, it managed only 4,000 km. The An-225's service ceiling of 36,000 feet was modest for its size, constrained by the sheer mass and wing loading. A second airframe was partially built in the late 1980s but never completed. The sole operational An-225, registration UR-82060, was destroyed on the ground at Hostomel Airport near Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Antonov has announced intentions to rebuild the aircraft using the incomplete second airframe, though the project's timeline and funding remain uncertain. The loss of the Mriya eliminated a unique global capability—no other aircraft can match its combination of cargo volume and payload capacity, leaving the An-124 and Boeing 747-8F as the largest operational freighters, both significantly smaller.