Ukraine has once again confirmed plans to rebuild the Antonov An-225 Mriya giant cargo aircraft, according to Ukraine’s news agency Ukrinform, which quoted David Lomdzharia, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of state-owned defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom.
Lomdzharia reportedly made the statement on the sidelines of the NATO Summit, which is taking place in Washington DC between July 9-11, 2024. The Ukrainian official refused to provide any additional details about the project or its expected timeframe.
The only flyable An-225 was entirely destroyed during the combats for Hostomel Airport, near Kyiv, during the early stages of the Russian invasion.
Another half-built airframe has been in storage since late Soviet times. However, its state of preservation remains unclear, and it is not known whether it would be feasible to bring it up to date with modern technology.
It is not the first time that the idea of rebuilding or producing the Mriya again has been floated by Ukrainian officials.
As early as November 2022, CNN reported on the alleged plans to rebuild what used to be the world’s largest aircraft. However, technical challenges aside, it has been estimated that the project would require an investment in the order of hundreds of millions to billions of US dollars.