Government sources in Ukraine said the sole example of the world’s largest cargo aircraft—the six-engine, 1.42 million-pound mtow Antonov An-225, UR-82060—was significantly damaged on Saturday during a conflict with Russian forces at Kyiv-Hostomel Airport. This was seemingly confirmed by aerial footage released by the Russian defense ministry that showed the aircraft ablaze
inside its purpose-built hangar.
The An-225 survived an initial assault on Hostomel by Russian special forces on Thursday, which was driven back by Ukrainian defenders. A second assault was undertaken, with the airport being viewed as a key bridgehead for the advancement of the Russian campaign. Reports issued on Monday suggested that the An-225, together with other Antonov cargo aircraft and prototypes, was
destroyed in a Ukrainian rocket attack to prevent them falling into Russian hands although this, as with many other reports emerging from the war, remains unconfirmed.
Originally developed in the 1980s to externally carry Russia’s Buran space shuttle and internally transport its booster rockets, the mammoth cargoliner was undergoing maintenance at the Ukrainian airport, having last flown on February 5.
Ukraine’s Ukroboronprom State Concern said repairing the aircraft could cost more than $3 billion and take more than five years. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the aircraft was placed into long-term storage in 1994 and was refurbished and placed into service by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines in 2001.
The An-225 measured 275 feet long, had a wingspan of 290 feet, and achieved a number of world payload records. With a cargo volume of 46,000 cu ft, it was the go-to aircraft for transport of heavy and oversized cargo, including powerplant generators and wind turbine blades. The airplane, which was powered by six 51,600-pound-thrust Progress D-18T turbofans, routinely transported total payloads in excess of 500,000 pounds.
UR-82060 was one of two An-225s originally commissioned by the former Soviet Union. In 2009, construction was halted on the second aircraft at 70 percent completion. That aircraft is believed to be in storage at the nearby Antonov factory in the western outskirts of Kyiv. Last construction on that airframe occurred in 2009, although plans to complete the aircraft have been aired several times in recent years. When originally built, the An-225 cost more than $460 million.