All about the world’s largest plane 'Mriya', destroyed by Russia in Ukraine invasion
The news of the destruction of ‘Mriya’ by Russian forces was confirmed by Ukraine's state-owned Ukroboronprom group.
February 28, 2022 / 10:54 AM IST
Ukraine-Russia: At 276 feet, "Mriya" could transport up to 250 tonnes of cargo at a speed of up to 850 km per hour..
Mriya, the world’s largest plane, was destroyed by Russian forces on Sunday outside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. The Antonov-225 cargo plane was the flagship of Ukrainian aviation.
The news of the destruction of ‘Mriya’ was confirmed by Ukraine's state-owned Ukroboronprom group.
"Russian invaders destroyed the flagship of the Ukrainian aviation, the AN-225" at the Antonov airport in Gostomel near Kyiv, the group said in a statement.
Here’s all you need to know about the now-destroyed world largest plane ‘Mriya’:
- AN-225 ‘Mriya’ was 276 feet long and could transport up to 250 tonnes of cargo at a speed of up to 850kmph.
- The plane was named ‘Mriya’, which means "dream" in Ukrainian. It made its first flight in 1988 and operated till 1991.
- ‘Mriya’ held several records including the title of the heaviest aircraft ever built, and largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service.
- ‘Mriya’ was built as a part of the Soviet aeronautical program. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the lone operational An-225 was placed in storage in 1994.
- Ukraine's Antonov Airlines operated the plane for cargo flights and was in high demand in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
- After the fall of the Soviet Union, ‘Mriya’ didn’t fly for several years. The only existing copy made a test flight in 2001 in Gostomel, about 20 km from Kyiv.
- Weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom said that restoring the ‘Mriya’ would cost an estimated $3 billion and could take over five years.
- The plane garnered a lot of attention and public interest and people would frequent airports to see ‘Mriya’ take off or land.
(With inputs from AFP)