Aircraft / Antonov An-124 Ruslan

May 23, 2024
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Antonov An-124 Ruslan in livery of AeroLift, shown in side view while in midflight.

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft designed in the 1980s by the Antonov Design Bureau in the former Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (USSR). It is the world's 2nd heaviest gross weight production cargo airplane and heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the the Boeing 747-8. The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in service, and also sees specialized civilian charter and ad hoc freighter service worldwide.

Antonov An-124 Ruslan in livery of North Sea Airlift, shown in side view while parked on a tarmac.

Production of the type ended in 2004, with 55 examples built. Ten variants were created over the years, all of them using cargo configurations. There are approximately 20 An-124s in commercial air service, including 12 of them with Volga-Dnepr Airlines in Russia and 7 of them with Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines. The An-124 has been used to haul massive payloads, including jet aircraft engines, diesel locomotives and railcars, entire aircraft as large as the EP-3E Aries II, hydroelectric dam turbines, rocket engines and space launch vehicles. It even carried the ancient Obelisk of Axum, one of the largest and heaviest pieces of air freight ever transported.

Antonov An-124 in livery of the Turkish cargo airline Muammalı Havacılık, shown in side view with its front and rear cargo doors open.

Most An-124s were built using 4 × Progress D-18T (formerly Lotarev D-18) high-bypass turbofan engines. However, certain variants were built in post-USSR era Ukraine that utilized alternative engine options, including versions using 4 x Rolls-Royce RB211-524H-T engines or 4 x General Electric CF6-80C2 engines. Attempts were made from 2008 until 2014 to resume production of the An-124, both in Russia and Ukraine, but ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine have since forced such plans to be shelved indefinitely, perhaps permanently.

Source: Wikipedia.

Stats

Stats displayed are for the Antonov An-124-100M quadjet aircraft.

  • Name: Antonov An-124-100M

  • Origin: Kyiv, Ukraine

  • Role: Four Engine Strategic Airlifter

  • First Introduction: January 1986

  • Status: Out of Production; In Service

  • Cockpit Crew: Eight

  • Seating: 88 Passengers in upper fuselage + up to 350 in main hold; or up to 150,000 kg (330,693 lb) cargo

  • Engines: 4 × Progress D-18T

  • Cruise Speed: 467 knots (865 km/h; 537 mph)

  • Range:

    • Full Payload: 2000 nmi (3700 km; 2300 mi)

    • 50% Payload: 4500 nmi (8400 km; 5200 mi)

    • 25% Payload: 6200 nmi (11,500 km; 7100 mi)