{"id":18144,"date":"2022-02-25T17:38:24","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T12:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=18144"},"modified":"2022-02-25T17:38:26","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T12:08:26","slug":"ukrainian-forces-recapture-the-antonov-an-225-mriyathe-largest-aircraft-in-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/25\/ukrainian-forces-recapture-the-antonov-an-225-mriyathe-largest-aircraft-in-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian Forces recapture the Antonov An-225 Mriya,the largest aircraft in the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The fate of the world\u2019s biggest completely operating aircraft is uncertain in light of\u00a0Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><em> The one-off\u00a0Antonov An-225 Mriya, from the Ukrainian &#8220;\u041c\u0440\u0456\u044f,&#8221; or \u201cDream,\u201d has been at Hostomel (or Gostomel) airport northwest of Kyiv since it landed there on February 5. While there has been heavy fighting at the airport, there are unconfirmed reports that the Mriya is still intact, at least for now, although it is now in Russian hands.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18249\" width=\"1035\" height=\"582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-750x422.jpg 750w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia-1140x641.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AN225-Ukraine-War-Russia.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1035px) 100vw, 1035px\" \/><figcaption><strong> Antonov An-225 Mriya |Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-an-225-is-based-at-hostomel-airport\">The An-225 is based at Hostomel Airport <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The An-225 is based at<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hostomel_Airport\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"> Hostomel Airport<\/a>, sometimes referred to as Antonov Airport, which is used mostly as a commercial cargo hub. The airport is owned by the maker of the An-225, the Antonov plane manufacturing company, and is now run by its subsidiary, Antonov Airlines. According to\u00a0FlightAware.com, the An-225 is\u00a0confirmed to be at the airport\u00a0after flying there from Billund, Denmark nearly three weeks ago.\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dmytro Antonov, a Captain for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antonov_Airlines\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Antonov Airlines<\/a>, reportedly posted a message to social media today declaring that despite the airport falling to Russian forces, Mriya remains \u201ctotal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-u-s-air-force-s-largest-cargo-plane\">U.S. Air Force\u2019s largest cargo plane <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It&#8217;s not clear if this means entirely undamaged or if it means the aircraft remains more or less intact.The Mriya took its first flight in 1988, boasting a maximum take-off weight of 1.4 million pounds. For comparison, the U.S. Air Force\u2019s largest cargo aircraft, the\u00a0Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy, has a maximum take-off weight of approximately 840,000 pounds. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Mriya is powered by six Progress D-18 turbofans and has a wingspan of 290 feet, the biggest in the world aside from\u00a0Stratolaunch&#8217;s experimental Roc\u00a0launcher aircraft. The plane holds as much fuel as fourteen 737-800s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the direct roles the An-225 was designed for was to airlift the\u00a0Energia\u00a0rocket boosters and\u00a0<em>Buran<\/em>\u00a0orbiters\u00a0for the Soviet space program, alike to NASA&#8217;s highly-modified Boeing 747\u00a0Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the cancellation of the\u00a0Buran\u00a0program, the Mriya sat dormant between 1993 and 2000. In 2001, the plane was refurbished\u00a0for charter operations.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More recently, the very massive aircraft was utilized to\u00a0transport medical supplies\u00a0around the world in answer to the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/MerylLeah912\/status\/1496946176611913730?s=20&#038;t=bwz00EgegMdaIeFm5DIHqw\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Footage published to social media today reportedly carried near to Hostomel Airport where Mriya is established shows clouds of black smoke rising as Russian\u00a0Mi-8 helicopters\u00a0fly overhead.\u00a0<em>BuzzFeed\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0Christopher Miller reported earlier today that Ukrainian authorities confirmed that Russia has taken power of the airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CNN\u2019s Matthew Chance, on location at the airport, expressed that the commander of the Russian airborne unit confirmed to him that they have taken control of the airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that Ukraine has lost control of the airport that Mriya calls home.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reuters reported earlier that Ukrainian officials said they had\u00a0downed three Russian helicopters\u00a0as they attacked the airport. There are also claims that the runway at the airport has been damaged, but these remain unconfirmed as of now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The An-225 at Hostomel airport is the only one in existence, although a partially-completed fuselage of another has sat for decades at an Antonov plant outside Kyiv.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that Hostomel Airport has fallen to Russian forces, it&#8217;s unclear what will become of Ukraine&#8217;s &#8220;Dream,&#8221; the An-225 Mriya. Ukrainian forces may take it back, but any more fighting just invites a greater risk of damaging or even destroying the famous flying giant. We will be continuing our\u00a0rolling coverage\u00a0of the conflict in Ukraine as it develops and will update this story as more information about Mriya&#8217;s fate surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ministry-of-defence-of-ukraine\">Ministry of Defence of Ukraine <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mil.gov.ua\/en\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine<\/a> now says that fighting continues at Hostomel airport and that Ukrainian forces have prevented additional Russian troops from landing. It isn&#8217;t clear what the recent situation is, but it appears the airport is once again contested.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>Satellite imagery from Planet Labs confirms that as of 10:02 AM local time yesterday, the An-225 was at Hostomel airport.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18250\" width=\"1035\" height=\"689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1-1140x760.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/antonov_an-225_mriya_take_off_ukraine_kyiv-1.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1035px) 100vw, 1035px\" \/><figcaption><strong>Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The airfield is now back in control of Ukrainian forces. By every available indication, the battle that happened there was a ferocious one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Details are very little, but apparently, a contingent of Russian special forces flew to the airfield as reinforcements aboard several helicopters. Some claim as many as six of these helicopters were shot down with the loss of all those on board. This happened in broad daylight, which put the helicopters at great risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also, read   <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/24\/air-india-flight-returns-to-delhi-after-ukraine-shuts-airspace\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">Air India flight returns to Delhi after Ukraine shuts airspace<\/a>   <\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/is-mexico-citys-new-airport-going-to-succeed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">Is Mexico city\u2019s new airport going to succeed?<\/a>  <\/strong><\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2022\/02\/20\/international-flights-start-from-agartala-to-dhaka-and-chittagong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow\">International flights from Agartala to Dhaka and Chittagong start soon<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> Once again, these details could change drastically at any time, but it seems Ukrainian forces achieved a major success today and Russia took a major loss. This airport was seen as of excessively high value to Russian war planners.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>As for the An-225, we have no opinion if it survived all this.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u26a1\ufe0fNow for sure: Ukraine reclaims the Hostomel Airport near Kyiv from Russia&#39;s forces. <br><br>Sources: Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko; Ukrainian parliament&#39;s Telegram channel.<\/p>&mdash; The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KyivIndependent\/status\/1496950008339484672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption> <strong>Aviationa2z.com<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antonov Design Bureau&#39;s chief pilot, Dmitry Antonov, has confirmed that the Antonov An-225, the world&#39;s largest cargo aircraft, has not been destroyed: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jk6ueEZNRa\">https:\/\/t.co\/jk6ueEZNRa<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/An225?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#An225<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Antonov?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Antonov<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Russia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Russia<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Ukraine<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Airliner World (@_AirlinerWorld) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/_AirlinerWorld\/status\/1496900400863232006?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption> <strong>Aviationa2z.com<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Unconfirmed reports the world\u2019s only AN-225 has been destroyed following hostilities at Hostomel airport. The aircraft was situated at the airport at the time of the attack. There are other Antonov aircraft also located there.<br><br>Read more: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8gi5r5ZK42\">https:\/\/t.co\/8gi5r5ZK42<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2dsf8xmQcY\">pic.twitter.com\/2dsf8xmQcY<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Dan | Dj\u2019s Aviation (@DjsAviation) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DjsAviation\/status\/1496856238805889026?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption> <strong>Aviationa2z.com<\/strong> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/ADSBexchange\/status\/1496866930510032896?s=20&#038;t=nwsSjawIM-7YUY2n130Oow\n<\/div><figcaption><strong>Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thank you<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stay updated with Aviationa2z.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fate of the world\u2019s biggest completely operating aircraft is uncertain in light of\u00a0Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6761,416],"tags":[313,104,79,665,2063,5293,5408,5296,5386,5409],"class_list":{"0":"post-18144","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-quick-updates","9":"tag-aircraft","10":"tag-airport","11":"tag-aviation","12":"tag-largest-aircraft","13":"tag-russia","14":"tag-ukraine","15":"tag-ukrainian","16":"tag-ukrainian-airline","17":"tag-ukrainian-flight","18":"tag-ukrainian-forces"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18144"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18251,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18144\/revisions\/18251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}