Antonov An-124 Ruslan

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR, then part of the Soviet Union (USSR). Until the Boeing 747-8F, the An-124 was, for thirty years, the world's heaviest gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 Mriya (a greatly enlarged design based on the An-124). The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in service. The lead designer of the An-124 (and the An-225) was Viktor Tolmachev.
During development it was known as "Izdeliye 400" ("Product #400") in house, and "An-40" in the West. First flown in 1982, civil certification was issued on 30 December 1992. In July 2013, 26 An-124s were in commercial service with 10 on order.
In August 2014, it was reported that plans to resume joint production of the Antonov An-124 had been shelved due to the ongoing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The sole remaining production facility is Russia's Aviastar-SP in Ulyanovsk. The various operators of the An-124 are in discussions with respect to the continuing airworthiness certification of the individual An-124 planes. The original designer of the An-124 is responsible for managing the certification process for its own products, but the Russia-Ukraine conflicts are making this process difficult to manage. In 2019, there were 26 An-124s in commercial service.
Development.
During the 1970s, the Military Transport Aviation Command ("Komandovaniye voyenno-transportnoy aviatsii" or VTA) arm of the Soviet Air Forces had a shortfall in strategic heavy airlift capacity. Its largest planes consisted of about 50 Antonov An-22 turboprops, which were used heavily for tactical roles. A declassified 1975 CIA analysis concluded that the USSR did "...not match the US in ability to provide long-range heavy lift support."
The An-124 was manufactured in parallel by two plants: the company Aviastar-SP (ex. Ulyanovsk Aviation Industrial Complex) in Ulyanovsk, Russia 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 began in 1979. 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.
In the early 2000s, Volga-Dnepr upgraded its freighters with engine improvements to meet Chapter 4 noise regulations, structural improvements to increase service life, and avionics and systems changes for four persons operations down from six or seven.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume the production in the third quarter of 2008. In May 2008, a new variant—the An-124-150—was announced; it featured several improvements, including a maximum lift capacity of 150 tonnes. However, in May 2009, Antonov's partner, the Russian United Aircraft Corporation announced it did not plan production of An-124s in the period 2009–2012. In late 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered production of the aircraft resumed. It is expected that Russia will purchase 20 new aircraft. In August 2014, Jane's reported that, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Yuri Slusar announced that Antonov An-124 production was stopped due to ongoing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
As of late 2017, An-124s are being upgraded by the Aviastar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk, Russia, with three upgraded planes due to be ready by 2018. After Russia–Ukraine relations soured, Antonov had to source new suppliers and pushes to westernize the An-124. In 2018, GE Aviation was studying reengining it with CF6s for CargoLogicAir, a Volga-Dnepr subsidiary. This would likely provide a range increase, and Volga-Dnepr Group operates 12 aircraft, implying a 50-60 engines with spares program.
In January 2019, Antonov revealed its plans to restart the An-124 production without support from Russia.
Aviadvigatel indicates a further development of its PD-14 for an upgraded version of the Russian-manufactured An-124, titled PD-35, with 50% more power than the present Ukrainian Progress D-18T engines.
Russian replacement design.
At MAKS Air Show in 2017, the TsAGI announced its An-124-102 Slon (elephant) design to replace the similar An-124-100. The design was detailed in January 2019 before Wind tunnel testing scheduled for August–September. It is intended to be produced at the Aviastar-SP factory in Ulyanovsk. It should transport over (up from ), or over at . The Russian MoD wants a range of with five Sprut-SDM-1 light tanks, their 100 crew and 300 armed soldiers.
The planned An-124-102 is larger at 82.3 m (270 ft) long from , with a span versus and high compared with . A new higher aspect ratio, composite wing and a airframe would allow a gross weight. It should be powered by Russian PD-35s developed for the CR929 widebody, producing up from . Two fuselages are planned, one for Volga-Dnepr with a width of from the An-124's , and one for the Russian MoD of wide to carry vehicles in two lines.
By November 2019, the TsAGI had shown a long and wide model, ahead of windtunnel testing.
Design.
Externally, the An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, having a double fuselage to allow for a rear cargo door (on the lower fuselage) that can open in flight without affecting structural integrity. It is slightly shorter, with a slightly greater wingspan, and a 17% larger payload. 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's main engine is the Lotarev D-18 (238–250 kN).
The aircraft uses oleo strut suspension for its 24 wheels. The suspension has been calibrated to allow landing on rough terrain and is able to kneel to allow easier front loading. The plane has an onboard overhead crane capable of lifting up to 30 tonnes of cargo, and items up to 120 tonnes can be winched on board.
Up to 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 , ca. 20% larger than the main cargo compartment of the C-5 Galaxy, which is . Due to limited pressurisation in the main cargo compartment (24.6 kPa, 3.57 psi), it seldom carries paratroopers.
Pilots have stated that the An-124 is light on the controls and easy to handle for an aircraft of its size.
Some airports require pavement protection from the heat and blast effects of the An-124's 2 TA18-200-124 auxiliary power units.
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. 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 Leipzig/Halle airport, but the contract specifies that if necessary, two more aircraft will be provided at six days' notice and another two at nine days' notice. The aircraft proved extremely useful for NATO especially with ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
United Launch Alliance (ULA) contracts the An-124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle from its facilities in Decatur, Alabama to Cape Canaveral. ULA also uses the An-124 to transport the Atlas V launch vehicle and Centaur upper stage from their manufacturing facility in Denver, Colorado to Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base. Two flights are required to transfer each launch vehicle (one for the Atlas V main booster stage and another for the Centaur upper stage). It is also contracted by Space Systems Loral to transport satellites from Palo Alto, CA to the Arianespace spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana and by SpaceX to transport payload fairings between their factory in Hawthorne, California and Cape Canaveral.
 the An-124 has visited 768 airports in over 100 countries.
By late 2020, three civil operators of the An-124 remained. Antonov Airlines with seven aircraft, Volga-Dnepr Airlines with 12, and Maximus Air Cargo with one. In November 2020, Volga-Dnepr reported that it was indefinitely grounding its fleet of An-124 aircraft to inspect the 60 engines (including spares) following the 13 November 2020 unconfined engine failure at Novosibirsk. As of 29 December 2020, the first Volga-Dnepr An-124-100 was back in service.
Operators.
Civil.
In July 2013, 26 An-124s were in commercial service.
Notable accidents.
, five An-124 hull-losses have been recorded involving a total of 97 fatalities, including -
One other significant accident has involved an An-124: