The Antonov company has announced the development of a new AN-225 aircraft. It is estimated that the company has about 30% of components that can be used to build the aircraft. The project is valued at 500 million euros, but this amount could change, said an Antonov Company representative:
"It is too early to talk about the specific amount. More detailed information will be distributed after Ukraine's victory in the war."
The An-225 Mriya was originally built to help carry orbiters for the Soviet space program. When the Soviet Union collapsed, construction of the second plane halted and the Mriya went into storage. The Mriya, which first began carrying large international shipments in the early 2000s, holds some of the largest cargos in history. This includes satellites and turbines for power plants. In 2022, it was at Gostomel airfield near Kyiv.
That airfield was one of the main targets of the Russian invasion and was the site of fierce fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies. As a result of the fighting, the An-225 Mriya was destroyed. In May, after the Russian army pulled out of Northern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that, once the war was won, An-225 Mriya must be restored.
Dmytro Antonov, the pilot of the An-225 Mriya, believes that any new version of this world-renowned aircraft should stick to its original design. In addition, it needs to be equipped with state-of-the art electronic systems from well-known Western manufacturers. Nevertheless, even if a second Mriya is manufactured, lots of testing will need to be done before its first commercial flight.
Source: Antonov Company
