The aviation and logistics communities of the world are dismayed and shocked by the recent destruction of Mriya. The Marvel of aviation engineering, the king of aerial cargo, setter of world records and the world’s largest cargo aircraft, Antonov An-225 Mriya “the dream”, has been destroyed during a Russian attack in Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba tweeted on Sunday: “Russia may have destroyed our ‘Mriya’. But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state.” “We shall prevail!” he added.
The gigantic aircraft, named “Mriya,” or “dream” in Ukrainian, was parked at an airfield undergoing maintenance near Kyiv when it was attacked by invading Russian forces according to Ukrainian authorities, adding that they would rebuild the plane.
Ukrainian state defense company Ukroboronprom, which manages Antonov, on Sunday issued a statement saying the aircraft had been destroyed but would be rebuilt at Russia’s expense, a cost it put at $3 billion USD over five years.
The AN-225 was sometimes drafted in to help airlift aid during crises in other countries. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, it delivered relief supplies to the neighboring Dominican Republic. During the early days of the Covid19 pandemic it was used to transport medical supplies to affected areas. Its popularity in the aviation world meant it often drew large crowds wherever it went, particularly when it made star appearances at air shows.
Nicknamed “the dream”, the Antonov An-225 was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. It has been the world’s largest and heaviest cargo aircraft ever built. With a wing span of 64.4 m (211 ft. 3 in) and a maximum take-off weight of 250,000 kg (550,000 lbs.), the AN-225 is the largest propeller driven aircraft ever to enter production. Powered by six turbofan engines, it had a maximum payload weight of 250 tonnes which could be carried inside or on its back. The An-225 boasted the largest wingspan of any airplane in operational service. The Mirya took its first flight on 21 December in 1988 and has been in service ever since.
As an oversized aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya held multiple records which included; heaviest aircraft ever built, and largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. The AN-225 set and still holds a Guinness World Record.
