Ukraine's Antonov Company temporarily stops work on new An-225 Mriya aircraft
Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer Antonov Company has completed all urgent restoration work on the An-225 Mriya, the world's largest aircraft, and will resume it after the end of hostilities.
Source: Ekonomichna Pravda sources at the Antonov Company
Details: Antonov has completed the fault diagnosis on the An-225 Mriya, which was wrecked by Russian troops in February 2022. This had to be done as quickly as possible to protect the components that had remained intact. For now, the company "has focused its resources on higher priority tasks for the state".
The work was financed from a special Mriya restoration fund worth US$3 million. The company received most of the money as royalties from the sales of add-ons for the Microsoft Flight Simulator game that feature the An-225 aircraft.
Microsoft gave Antonov all proceeds from sales of the add-on in the first year, on condition that the money would be used to rebuild the plane.
The exact cost of the new An-225 has not yet been determined, as it will depend on the extent to which Antonov is able to cannibalise Russian Ruslan aircraft in Germany and Canada for donor parts that Ukraine may be able to use.
Background:
- Antonov has upgraded an An-32B aircraft to produce a firefighting version for Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
- Antonov Airlines is expected to generate more revenue this year than it did in 2021, despite losing one-third of its large cargo aircraft fleet.
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