The world’s largest cargo aircraft, the Antonov AN-225 or ‘Mriya’, was destroyed by Russian troops during an attack on an airport near Kyiv in Ukraine.
More on the news
- The plane was extensively damaged after Russian troops entered a Ukrainian air base in Hostomel, where the aircraft was parked.
- With a wingspan of over 290-feet, the unique Antonov AN-225 was designed during the 1980s. The plane, nicknamed ‘Mriya’ or ‘dream’ in Ukrainian, is very popular in aviation circle.
- The aircraft was initially designed as part of the Soviet aeronautical program to carry the Buran, which was the Soviet version of the US’ Space Shuttle.
- After the disintegration of the USSR in 1991, when the Buran program was cancelled, the aircraft was instead used to transport massive cargo loads.
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