The Antonov State Enterprise (Kiev) has started the construction of a second An-225 Mriya aircraft to replace the one destroyed by the Russians in February during the hostilities in Gostomel (Kiev region), said Yevhen Gavrilov, director general of the enterprise
“The works are being carried out in a secret location. The second An-225 will be built using both new parts and parts of the damaged aircraft,” Gavrilov told Bild.
According to him, the second Mriya is already 30% ready. The construction cost is estimated at EUR500 million.
Gavrilov said that at an exhibition at the Leipzig/Halle International Airport, where Antonov Airlines is temporarily based, there are plans to organize a sale of merchandise to raise funds for the construction of the aircraft.
Meanwhile later the company clarified that there are some inaccuracies in the previously publicized information: only design work has begun and there are only 30% of components for the new aircraft.
“Design work in this direction has now begun. According to the available expert estimates, there are currently about 30% of the components that can be used for the second prototype aircraft. The cost of building the aircraft is estimated at least at EUR500 million. However, it is still too early to talk about the specific amount,” clarified the SE “Antonov”.
Besides, the company added that “more detailed information will be disseminated after Ukraine wins the war”.
The Turkish side at the recent negotiations between the presidents of the two countries in Ankara announced its interest in the possibility of completing the second unit of the world’s largest transport aircraft An-225 Mriya, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Urusky has said.
“The situation was quite strange for me when, during the visit, President of Turkey and me raised the issue of completing the second Mriya and even despite the sum I said it would cost, the Turkish side said that we would continue discussion,” Urusky said at a press conference in Kyiv.
According to him, experts’ negotiations on this issue are expected.
“We cannot either complete the manufacture of Ruslan (An-125) or build new ones. However, we can complete the manufacture of Mriya both theoretically and practically,” the deputy prime minister said.
He added that the matter concerns the possibility of purchasing the An-178 medium transport aircraft, since Turkey has an interest in strategic transport aircraft.
The An-225 Mriya is the largest and most powerful transport aircraft in the world, created by Kyiv Antonov Design Bureau. The An-225 with a maximum curb weight of 640 tonnes is the heaviest aircraft in the world. In November 2004, the World Air Sports Federation included the An-225 into the Guinness World Records for its 240 records.
