AN-225 Mriya

Mission Profile

Antonov AN-225 Mriya (Dream) was the world's largest aircraft by maximum takeoff weight, a six-engine strategic transport developed by the Soviet Union in 1985 primarily as a carrier aircraft for the Buran space shuttle orbiter and other oversized payloads. The unique double-tail design was necessitated by the need to carry the Buran on its fuselage in a configuration that would have blocked a single vertical stabilizer. The AN-225 was also used commercially to transport oversized industrial cargo after the Soviet collapse, setting numerous records for payload weight. Only one example was completed and flew, with a second partially assembled. The sole AN-225 was destroyed at Hostomel Airport outside Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.