Last week, Ukraine government announced that, it has decided to liquidate the legendary aircraft manufacturer and transfer the remaining assets to the national company Ukroboronprom. I read this article reported in RT news website and was bit saddened. Anatanov, as you might be aware, is the manufacturer of ultra large aircraft and (of course) the largest ever built airplane, the An-225 Mriya.
I first saw this plane in a Discovery channel (if I remember right) program which showcased some of the largest airplanes. Leading the list was the gigantic An-225. Designed to carry the Soviet Buran shuttle orbiter, it can carry roughly three times the payload as an Airbus A380 can carry. Size wise too,it is roughly 50ft longer than Airbus A380 and also 30 feet wider. This gigantic machine was true symbol of Soviet engineering Only one such model was built, the second model halted half way during production, due to lack of funding and interest from developers.
Though this is big news, it is not as surprising as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has escalated. The direct reason is obvious. However the conflict has also cost the Ukrainian government economically, which has forced the government to rethink about it's asset.
I first saw this plane in a Discovery channel (if I remember right) program which showcased some of the largest airplanes. Leading the list was the gigantic An-225. Designed to carry the Soviet Buran shuttle orbiter, it can carry roughly three times the payload as an Airbus A380 can carry. Size wise too,it is roughly 50ft longer than Airbus A380 and also 30 feet wider. This gigantic machine was true symbol of Soviet engineering Only one such model was built, the second model halted half way during production, due to lack of funding and interest from developers.
Though this is big news, it is not as surprising as the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has escalated. The direct reason is obvious. However the conflict has also cost the Ukrainian government economically, which has forced the government to rethink about it's asset.
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