Antonov An-124

An-124 Ruslan
A Polet Airlines An-124 approaching Sheremetyevo International Airport (July 2011)
Role	Transport aircraft
National origin	Soviet Union Russia/Ukraine
Manufacturer	Antonov
First flight	26 December 1982[1]
Introduction	1986
Status	In production
Primary users	Russian Air Force Antonov Airlines Volga-Dnepr Airlines
Number built	58
Unit cost	US$70–100 million[2]
Developed into	Antonov An-225

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Ukrainian and Russian: Антонов Ан-124 «Руслан») (NATO reporting name: Condor) is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It was designed by the Ukrainian SSR's Antonov design bureau, then part of the Soviet Union. It is the world's largest ever serially-manufactured cargo airplane and world's second largest operating cargo aircraft.^[3] During development it was known as Izdeliye 400 in house, and An-40 in the West. First flown in 1982, civil certification was issued on 30 December 1992.^[4] Over forty are in service (26 civilian models with airlines and 10 firm orders as of August 2006) and 20 were in commercial use in 1998^[5] in Ukraine, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Libya.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 2.1 Significant activities 3 Variants 4 Operators 4.1 Military 4.1.1 Former military operators 4.2 Civil 4.2.1 Former civil operators 5 Notable accidents 6 Specifications 6.1 Flight range 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Design and development

During the 1970s, the VTA (Military Transport Aviation) arm of the Soviet Air Force had a shortfall in strategic heavy airlift capacity. Its largest planes consisted of about 50 Antonov An-22 turboprops which were heavily tasked for tactical roles. A classified 1975 CIA analysis concluded that the USSR did "not match the US in ability to provide long-range heavy lift support" then.^[6]

The An-124 was manufactured in parallel by two plants: the Russian company Aviastar-SP (ex. Ulyanovsk Aviation Industrial Complex) and by the Kyiv Aviation Plant AVIANT, in Ukraine. Design work started in 1971 and construction of facilities began in 1973. Manufacturing on the first airframe begin in 1979.^[7] Ultimately this project brought together over 100 factories contracted to produce systems and parts.

The first flight took place in December 1982 and the first exposure to the West followed in 1985 at the Paris Air Show. ^[8] Series production ceased with the breakup of the Soviet Union. The last five unfinished airframes left from the Soviet times were completed in 2001 (1), 2002 (1), and 2004 (3).

Externally, the An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, but has a 25% larger payload, and instead of the Galaxy's T-tail, the An-124 uses a conventional empennage, similar in design to that of the Boeing 747. The An-124 has been used to carry locomotives, yachts, aircraft fuselages, and a variety of other oversized cargoes. The airlift is able to kneel to allow easier front loading. Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124; it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the wing centre section. The cargo compartment of An-124 is 36 m x 6.4 m x 4.4 m, ca. 20% larger than the main cargo compartment of C-5 Galaxy, which is 36.91 m x 5.79 m x 4.09 m. However, due to limited pressurization in the main cargo compartment (24.6 kPa, 3.57 psi),^[9] it seldom carries paratroopers.^[10]

It has an on-board overhead crane capable of lifting up to 30 tons of cargo, and items up to 120 tons can be winched on board.^[11] Some planes have a limit of 20 tons for the crane.^[12]

Since the type was initially designed for only occasional military use, original An-124s were built with a projected service life of 7,500 flight hours with possibility for extension. However many airframes have flown more than 15,000 flight hours. In response to complaints by commercial users, the An-124-100 version has been built since 2000 with an improved service life of 24,000 hours. Older airframes are being upgraded to this standard. Additional retrofiting is being performed to extend its service life to 40,000 flight hours. The Kyiv Aviation Plant AVIANT offers upgrades to the Аn-124-100М-150 version.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume the production in the third quarter of 2008.^[13] In May 2008 it was reported that a new variant, to be known as the An-124-150, would have several improvements including a maximum lift capacity of 150 tonnes.^[14] However, in May 2009, Antonov's partner, United Aircraft Corporation announced it did not plan production of An-124s in the period 2009–2012.^[15] In late 2009, it was reported that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered production of the aircraft resumed. It is expected that Russia will purchase 20 new aircraft.^[16]

Operational history

Germany led the recent effort to lease An-124s for NATO strategic airlift requirements. Two aircraft are leased from SALIS GmbH as a stopgap until the Airbus A400M is available.^[17] Under NATO SALIS programme NAMSA is chartering six An-124-100 transport aircraft. According to the contract An-124-100s of Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr are used within the limits of NATO SALIS programme to transport cargo by requests of 18 countries: Belgium, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Canada, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, United Kingdom, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France, Germany, Czech Republic and Sweden. Two An-124-100s are constantly based on full-time charter in the airport of Leipzig/Halle, but in case of necessity two more aircraft are to be provided on six days notice and another two on nine days notice.^[18] The current contract is valid until 31 December 2010. The aircraft proved extremely useful for NATO especially with ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.^[19]

Russian cargo company Volga-Dnepr has contracts with Boeing to ship outsize aircraft components to their Everett plant. The An-124 is used for airlifting (in fully assembled form) the massive General Electric GE90 turbofan engines used on the Boeing 777 airliner. Rolls-Royce also contracts the Antonov An-124 to transport the Trent family engines to and from their test facilities worldwide.

United Launch Alliance contracts the An-124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle from its facilities in Decatur, Alabama to Cape Canaveral. Two flights are required to transfer each launch vehicle (one for the Atlas V main booster stage and another for the Centaur upper stage).^[20] It is also contracted by Space Systems Loral to transport satellites from Palo Alto, CA to the Arianespace spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.^[21]

Airbus Transport International, a subsidiary of Airbus, has selected another Russian cargo company, Polet Airlines as "designated carrier" to the company. Polet expects its three An-124-100s will transport astronautic equipment manufactured by EADS, which is Airbus' parent company, and full-size components of a model of the Airbus A380 superjumbo.^[22] As the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 is the only A380 engine that can be transported whole in a Boeing 747F,^[23] the competing Engine Alliance GP7200 needs a larger aircraft, like the An-124, if it is to be shipped in one piece.

Significant activities

• On May 1987, an An-124 set a world record, covering the distance of 20,151 km (10,881 nmi) without refuelling.^[24] The flight took 25 hours and 30 minutes; the takeoff weight was 455,000 kg. The previous record was held by a Boeing B-52H Stratofortress (18,245 km).
• In July 1985, an An-124 carried 171,219 kg (377,473 lb) of cargo to an altitude of 2,000 m and 170,000 kg to an altitude of 10,750 m (35,270 ft).^[25]
• An An-124 was used to transport the Obelisk of Axum back to its native homeland of Ethiopia from Rome in April 2005.^[26] The shipment was made in three trips, each carrying a third of the monument's 160 tons and 24-metre (78 ft) length. The airstrip at Axum was modified to accommodate such a large aircraft.
• An An-124 was used to transport an EP-3E Aries II electronic intelligence aircraft from Hainan Island, China on 4 July 2001 during the Hainan Island incident.
• An An-124 transported the first of IÉ's new 201 Class (JT42HCW) locomotives from Canada to Ireland in June 1994.^[27]
• A Volga-Dnepr An-124 delivered a whale from Nice (France) to Japan; another flight was to deliver an elephant from Moscow to Taiwan.^[28]
• An-124s provided by Ruslan International,^[29] a specialist transport company based at Stansted UK, have been used on several occasions by BAE Systems to transport airframes as part of their Nimrod refurbishment programme.
• An An-124 was used in the James Bond film Die Another Day, though the interior shots appear to be that of an Ilyushin Il-76.^[30]
• An An-124 will be used in April 2011 to airlift a large concrete pump from Germany to Japan to help cool reactors damaged in the Fukushima nuclear accident.^[31] The An-225 will be used to transport an even larger pump to Japan from the United States.^[32]

Variants

An-124 Ruslan

Strategic heavy airlift transport aircraft

An-124-100

Commercial transport aircraft

An-124-100M-150

Commercial transport version fitted with Western avionics

An-124-102

Commercial transport version with an EFIS flight deck

An-124-130

Proposed version

An-124-135

Variant with one seat in the rear and the rest of the cargo area (approx. 1,800 square feet) dedicated to freight

An-124-150

New variant with several new features

An-124-200

Proposed version with General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, each rated at 59,200 lbf (263 kN)

An-124-210

Joint proposal with Air Foyle to meet UK's Short Term Strategic Airlifter (STSA) requirement, with Rolls-Royce RB211-524H-T engines, each rated 60,600 lbf (264 kN) and Honeywell avionics—STSA competition abandoned in August 1999, reinstated, and won by the Boeing C-17A.

Performance	An-124-100	An-124-150
Maximum Payload	120 tonnes	150 tonnes
Range	4,600 km	5,200 km
Service Life	24,000 hours	50,000 hours
Crew	6	4

Operators

Military

 Russia

• Russian Air Force (25) - 61st Air Army?

Former military operators

 Soviet Union

• Soviet Air Force

Civil

In September 2009 a total of 28 Antonov An-124 aircraft remain in airline service, with a further 10 firm orders.

 Libya

• Libyan Arab Air Cargo (2)

 Russia

• Volga-Dnepr (10)+ 5 on order.
• Polet Airlines (8)+ 5 on order.

 Ukraine

• Antonov Airlines (7)

 United Arab Emirates

• Maximus Air Cargo (1)

Former civil operators

 Russia

• Aeroflot Russian International Airlines
• Ayaks
• Russian State Transport Company
• Transaero Airlines

 Soviet Union

• Aeroflot Soviet Airlines

 United Kingdom

• Air Foyle (in partnership with Antonov Design Bureau)
• HeavyLift Cargo Airlines (in partnership with Volga-Dnepr Airlines)
• Antonov AirTrack
• Titan Cargo
• TransCharter Titan Cargo

Notable accidents

As of 2011, four An-124 hull-loss accidents have been recorded, with a total of 97 fatalities:^[33]

• On 13 October 1992, SSSR-82002, operated by Antonov Airlines crashed near Kiev, Ukraine during flight testing. 8 fatalities.^[34]
• On 15 November 1993, RA-82071, operated by Aviastar Airlines crashed into a mountain at 11,000 feet (3,400 m) while in a holding pattern at Kerman, Iran. 17 fatalities.^[35]
• On 8 October 1996, RA-82069, owned by Aeroflot but operated by Ajax, crashed at San Francesco al Campo, Italy, during a go-around. 4 fatalities.^[36]
• On 6 December 1997, RA-82005, operated by the Russian Air Force, crashed in a residential area after take-off in Irkutsk, Russia. All 23 people on-board and 44 people on the ground were killed.^[37]

Specifications

Data from antonov.com^[38]

General characteristics

• Crew: 6
• Capacity: 88 passengers or the hold can take an additional 350 on a palletised seating system
• Payload: 150,000 kg (330,000 lb)
• Length: 68.96 m (226 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 73.3 m (240 ft 5 in)
• Height: 20.78 m (68 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 628 m² (6,760 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,000 lb)
• Loaded weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
• Useful load: 230,000 kg (508,000 lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
• Powerplant: 4 × Ivchenko Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 865 km/h (467 kn (537 mph))
• Cruise speed: 800–850 km/h (430 kn (490 mph))
• Range: 5,400 km (2,900 nm, 3,360 mi (5,410 km))
• Service ceiling: 12,000 m (35,000 ft)
• Wing loading: 365 kg/m² (74.7 lb/sq ft)
• Thrust/weight: 0.23

Flight range

An-124-100

• 0 tons of cargo = 15,000 km (8,100 nmi)^[39]
• 10 tons of cargo = 14,100 km (7,613 nmi)
• 20 tons of cargo = 13,250 km (7,154 nmi)
• 30 tons of cargo = 12,300 km (6,641 nmi)
• 40 tons of cargo = 11,500 km (6,210 nmi)
• 72 tons of cargo = 8,700 km (4,698 nmi)
• 90 tons of cargo = 7,100 km (3,834 nmi)
• 97 tons of cargo = 6,500 km (3,510 nmi)
• 104 tons of cargo = 5,900 km (3,186 nmi)
• 108 tons of cargo = 5,550 km (2,997 nmi)
• 120 tons of cargo = 4,500 km (2,430 nmi)
• 122 tons of cargo = 4,300 km (2,322 nmi)

Аn-124-100М-150

• 40 tons of cargo = 11,900 km (6,425 nmi)
• 92 tons of cargo = 7,500 km (4,050 nmi)
• 113 tons of cargo = 5,900 km (3,186 nmi)
• 120 tons of cargo = 5,400 km (2,916 nmi)
• 122 tons of cargo = 5,200 km (2,808 nmi)
• 150 tons of cargo = 3,200 km (1,728 nmi)

See also

Related development

• Antonov An-225
  

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Airbus A380-800F
• Boeing 747-400F
• Boeing 747-8F
• Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
• Sukhoi KR-860
  

References

External links

• Antonov An-124 page on the Antonov website
• Aviastar-SP – manufacturer of the An-124 in Russia
• Aviant – manufacturer of the An-124 in Ukraine
• An-124-210 Condor Long-Range Heavy Transport Aircraft – Specifications
• Antonov An-124 on aero-enthusiast.com
• Walkaround An-124-100 RA-82041, #9773054055089 at MAKS-2009 Second walkaround
• AN-124 specifications compared next to other air cargo aircraft

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