Robert Beckhusen
Security,
The An-225 could assist Beijing’s space program, or something else.
The Ukrainian aircraft builder Antonov, one of the most legendary Soviet-era companies, nearly went extinct following the Russian invasion of Crimea. The Kremlin, the firm’s main customer, suddenly became non grata.
They had such a history together. Because of the Soviet Union, in the 1980s Antonov designed the largest airplane in the world — the An-225 Mriya or “dream,” of which only one currently exists in flying order.
Today, the sole operating An-225 serves as a commercial cargo carrier hauling everything from super-heavy generators to turbine blades and oil machinery. Even …read more
Source: The National Interest
