By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
Battered and bloody Hostomel airport stands as a monument to Ukraine's struggles
against Russia's invasion force. Like a true David against Goliath, it
broke the back of the Russian assault on Kyiv, in the process sadly
losing its own gentle giant the Antonov An-225 Mriya (meaning: dream). Yet like the dream of a Ukrainian nation
free from enemies and oppressors, the An-225 Mriya lives on
in its unfinished sister airframe. Its construction, like
the construction of this free Ukraine, is set be
accomplished in memory of those Ukrainian pilots who perished during the
war and to act as a flying symbol of Ukrainian national identity and a
free and democratic country filled with Mriyas (dreams). [1]
Nowadays the An-225 remains the world's heaviest, largest (but not the widest)
aircraft ever built, capable of carrying nearly 250 tons of cargo. The
sole An-225 was operated by Antonov Airlines before its destruction
at Hostomel airport in March 2022. The An-225 Mriya had been scheduled for
evacuation on the morning of February 24 after the United States had
warned Ukraine of the impeding invasion. Unfortunately Russian Airborne
Forces (the VDV) managed to take control of Hostomel airport hours before its
scheduled departure, preventing its escape to safety.
The idea of completing the second An-225 was first raised in 2011, when China voiced its interest to
develop the aircraft into a platform to launch commercial satellites
into orbit with. [2] [3] The first phase of the project would have seen
the completion of the
second airframe that is still stored at Antonov's facilities outside
Kyiv, Ukraine, while the second stage called for the recommencement of
the An-225's production in China. High costs doomed these ambitious
plans, and the project appears to have been quietly abandoned in the
following years. [4] [5]
In
October 2020,
Turkish President Erdoğan raised the idea of completing the
aircraft during a visit of President Zelensky to Ankara. [6]
Although little has been heard of the plan since, Turkish involvement could mean a breakthrough in providing the
stimulus to finally complete the second An-225 and bringing it
into service, replacing the An-225 destroyed in March 2022. [7] Though associated with huge costs, the symbolic value of the world's
largest plane arising like a phoenix from the ashes of the
Russo-Ukrainian War, marking the technological rise of Türkiye in the
process, could be worth a fair sum of money alone. Crowdfunding has
bridged the gap with many projects associated with the restitution of
Ukraine's economy and national pride, and could play a factor here again
as well.
The
first An-225 (UR-82060) made its maiden flight in December 1988 as a
transporter for the Buran orbiter, which was carried on the plane's
back. Two aircraft were ordered, but only one example was finished
before the collapse of the Soviet Union, after which the An-225 fell
under the
jurisdiction of the newly independent Ukrainian republic. However, the
aircraft soon lost its intended purpose of carrying the Buran
orbiter following the cancellation of the Buran space
programme in 1993. In 1994, the An-225 was placed in long-term storage
at the Antonov Aircraft Plant in Kyiv and work on the second An-225
airframe came to a grinding halt after having been 70% completed.
By
the late 1990s the need for a cargo aircraft as big as the An-225 began
to re-emerge, and the stored example was brought back to active service
in 2001. [8] Plans to complete the second An-225 began to surface
around the same time, and a decision for its reactivation was finally
made in 2006. [9] By late 2009, work on the aircraft still had not
started and the plan appeared to have been abandoned. Then in May 2011,
the CEO of Antonov stated that the second An-225 could
be completed in three years if an interested party was to come up with at
least $300 million. [9]
The An-225 with the Buran orbiter on its back. |
[1] Zelensky Pledges $800 Million An-225 Mriya Rebuild To Honor Ukrainian Pilots https://simpleflying.com/zelensky-an-225-mriya-rebuild/
[2] Antonov Sells Dormant An-225 Heavylifter Program to China https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2016-09-06/antonov-sells-dormant-225-heavylifter-program-china
[3] Chinese aero group eyes world’s largest plane https://asiatimes.com/2019/07/chinese-aero-group-eyes-worlds-largest-plane/
[4] Ukraine mulling to complete the second Antonov An-225 Mriya https://www.aerotime.aero/27146-second-an225-potential
[5] UkrOboronProm seeks investments to complete second Mriya aircraft https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ukroboronprom-seeks-investments-to-complete-second-mriya-aircraft.html[6] Turkey interested in completing An-225 Mriya – Dpty PM https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/698799.html
[7] Sky Giant: Turkey Mulls To Complete The Second Antonov An-225 Mriya https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/01/sky-giant-turkey-mulls-to-complete.html [8] UR-82060 https://avia-dejavu.net/UR-82060.htm
[9] Why Wasn’t The Second Antonov An-225 Finished? https://simpleflying.com/second-antonov-an-225-finished/
[10] Black Sea Hunters: Bayraktar TB2s Join The Ukrainian Navy https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/08/black-sea-hunters-bayraktar-tb2s-in.html
[11] Pandora Papers: How A U.S. Law Firm Attemped To Sell A Defence Giant To China https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/11/pandora-papers-how-us-law-firm-attemped.html
[12]
Президент ГП "Антонов" Александр Донец: Мы должны вернуться к тому, что
умеем делать очень хорошо – к грузовым, военным самолетам. Это у нас
всегда получалось https://www.unian.net/economics/transport/10531239-prezident-gp-antonov-aleksandr-donec-my-dolzhny-vernutsya-k-tomu-chto-umeem-delat-ochen-horosho-k-gruzovym-voennym-samoletam-eto-u-nas-vsegda-poluchalos.html
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