The Antonov An-225 was initially developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters. The only An-225 airplane was completed in 1988. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. The Antonov An-225 was designed 225c to f airlift the Energia rocket’s boosters and the Buran-class orbiters for the Soviet space program.
The An-225 first flew on 21 December 1988. It was on static display at the Paris Air Show in 1989, and it flew during the public days at the Farnborough Air Show in 1990. A second An-225 was partially built during the late 1980s for the Soviet space program. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the cancellation of the Buran program, the lone operational An-225 was placed in storage in 1994. By 2000, the need for additional An-225 capacity had become apparent, so the decision was made in September 2006 to complete the second An-225.
That second airframe was scheduled for completion around 2008 but was subject to delays. By August 2009, the aircraft had not been completed and work had been abandoned. Zhang You-Sheng, told a BBC reporter that AICC first contemplated cooperation with Antonov in 2009 and contacted them in 2011. In April 2013, the Russian government announced plans to revive Soviet-era air launch projects that would use a purpose-built modification to the An-225 as a midair launchpad. On 25 March 2020, the freighter commenced a series of test flights from Hostomel Airport near Kyiv, after more than a year out of service, for the installation of a domestically designed power management and control system.
Based on Antonov’s earlier An-124, the An-225 has fuselage barrel extensions added fore and aft of the wings. The wings also received root extensions to increase span. Both the earlier and later takeoff weights establish the An-225 as the world’s heaviest aircraft, being heavier than the double-deck Airbus A380. It is surpassed in other size-related categories, but Airbus claims to have improved upon the An-225’s maximum landing weight by landing an A380 at 591. During the last years of the Soviet space program, the An-225 was employed as the prime method of transporting Buran-class orbiters.
In the late 1980s, the Soviet government was looking for a way to generate revenue from its military assets. The company began operations with a fleet of four An-124-100s and three Antonov An-12s, but a need for aircraft larger than the An-124 became apparent in the late 1990s. In response, the original An-225 was re-engined, modified for heavy cargo transport, and placed back in service under the management of Antonov Airlines. On 11 September 2001, carrying four main battle tanks at a record load of 253.
The An-225 attracts a high degree of public interest, so much that it has managed to attain a global following due to its size and its uniqueness. People frequently visit airports to see its scheduled arrivals and departures, such as in Perth, Australia in May 2016, when a crowd of more than 15,000 people gathered at Perth Airport. The type’s first flight in commercial service departed from Stuttgart, Germany, on 3 January 2002, and flew to Thumrait, Oman, with 216,000 prepared meals for American military personnel based in the region. This vast number of ready meals was transported on 375 pallets and weighed 187.
The An-225 has since become the workhorse of the Antonov Airlines fleet, transporting objects once thought impossible to move by air, such as 150-tonne generators. It has become an asset to international relief organizations for its ability to quickly transport huge quantities of emergency supplies during disaster-relief operations. The An-225 has been contracted by the Canadian and U. Middle East in support of coalition forces. On 11 August 2009, the heaviest single cargo item ever sent by air freight was loaded onto the An-225.