Antonov future

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alberchico

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Considering the massive attacks that are currently underway, it's safe to presume this program is dead. There are reports that the Antonov factory as well as the An-225 were heavily damaged. What was left of Ukraine's aerospace industry is very likely going to be totally destroyed. But that comes second compared with the massive loss of life that will accompany it. :mad: There's still no word word yet about the fate of their AN-124 freighters. Any transport aircraft that enter service with Ukraine in the future will likely be Western models donated by allies.
 
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I heard about that too... it is somewhere on the way to Asia... but surely enough the Russians would like to get the Antonov OKB, Antonov airlines and their An-124s to bolster their own fleet.
Plus that unfinished second An-225 in storage...

A similar situation exists for rockets, although Angara has chased Zenit away. The Russian surely would not spit on taking back the rocket industry there.

Ukraine main rocket OKB happened because of one of Korolev early rivals: Yangel. When he lost that battle, Yangel went to Brezhnev, who was Ukrainian (AFAIK) and he got his rocket shop moved to Ukraine. Where it still is to this day.

That Yangel OKB built (among many other things) the LK Soviet lunar lander engine.

Also huuuuge ICBMs: R-16 (the one that went kaboom in 1960, incinerating Marshall Nedelin and 200 poor souls) and then the R-36, and the Tsyklon derived civilian boosters.

Later the Energiya boosters were offloaded there, also as a fly-alone rocket: Zenit.

That's why the Russians never replaced Proton with Zenit as originally planned by the Soviets: that thing was from Ukraine, and so they created Angara instead (took them 20 years: 1995-2015, to make it fly). Zenit went to a private company on a former oil rig: SeaLaunch, which has gone bankrupt and then seized by... Russian interests.
 
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The An-225 seems to be away and safe from the chaos. But Russia surely would like to add the private company, Ukranian An-124s to its own fleet - separated 30 years ago, obviously.
Also the second, half built An-225 in storage there for a very long time. Provided it doesn't burn, of course.
 
Think at the disastrous impact on European (Civil) and military logistics.
Planning/forcasting are no more Latin languages words. They have been spit out of their language by talkative narrative.
 
Some have bitterly noticed that France would have needed those An-124s to fold down their Mali operations faster... that one is going down the drain very quickly, too.
But well, A-400M are no Transalls. If only there were more of them.
 
Archibald said:
The An-225 seems to be away and safe from the chaos.
Click to expand...
From "The Drive" link:

UPDATE 5:05 PM EST -

Satellite imagery from Planet Labs confirms that as of 10:02 AM local time yesterday, the An-225 was at Hostomel airport.

message-editor%2F1645740134439-an-225satellite.png
 
publiusr said:
I hope the love of aviation and history you have brought rubs off. To any in charge of this bird. I ask that...be you Orange Ukrainian, or proud Russian soldier...follow no order to harm this modern wonder of the world.
Click to expand...
Feh. Had there been any such widespread refusal to follow illegal or unethical orders, Ukraine would today remain uninvaded. If the order comes down to trash the Mriya during the Russian pullout, expect to see that bird reduced to an aluminum ash in the shape of an airplane.
 
publiusr said:
I hope the love of aviation and history you have brought rubs off. To any in charge of this bird. I ask that...be you Orange Ukrainian, or proud Russian soldier...follow no order to harm this modern wonder of the world.
Click to expand...
New information: the Mria pilot Dmitry Antonov said that the plane is fine for now.
 
Back when the crew brought an An 124 to Farnborough as the Cold War was ending I was able to buy a number of Antonov models including a desk model of Mieya carrying Hotol.
If she gets destroyed by those SOBs...
 

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Antonov and other Ukrainian firms have been losing skilled workers to Russia for almost a decade already.
This, coupled with the fact that Russia was its main customer, meant that Antonov has been a hollowed out entity for a while now. A shell of its former self.
This has been widely reported on.

Good to see the An-225 is still around.
 
kaiserbill said:
Antonov and other Ukrainian firms have been losing skilled workers to Russia for almost a decade already.
This, coupled with the fact that Russia was its main customer, meant that Antonov has been a hollowed out entity for a while now. A shell of its former self.
This has been widely reported on.

Good to see the An-225 is still around.
Click to expand...

VASO and Aviastar in Russia are the biggest producers and maintainers of Antonov aircraft, and have been for a long time (Antonov in Ukraine has to my knowledge not completed a single airframe for 6 years).

Neither Voronezh nor Ulyanovsk are anywhere near Antonov aircrafts birthplace in Novosibirsk, but they've maintained the legacy better than Kiev, sorry to say.
 
Dr.Snufflebug said:
kaiserbill said:
Antonov and other Ukrainian firms have been losing skilled workers to Russia for almost a decade already.
This, coupled with the fact that Russia was its main customer, meant that Antonov has been a hollowed out entity for a while now. A shell of its former self.
This has been widely reported on.

Good to see the An-225 is still around.
Click to expand...

VASO and Aviastar in Russia are the biggest producers and maintainers of Antonov aircraft, and have been for a long time (Antonov in Ukraine has to my knowledge not completed a single airframe for 6 years).

Neither Voronezh nor Ulyanovsk are anywhere near Antonov aircrafts birthplace in Novosibirsk, but they've maintained the legacy better than Kiev, sorry to say.
Click to expand...
To be fair they have more money, resources and a much larger customer base than Antonov. Antonov has also had the bad luck of pouring money and resources in aircraft projects that have done poorly, like the An-140 and the An-148, An-158 regional jets. Not to mention the ill fated An-70 project as well as the An-132
 
Dr.Snufflebug said:
kaiserbill said:
Antonov and other Ukrainian firms have been losing skilled workers to Russia for almost a decade already.
This, coupled with the fact that Russia was its main customer, meant that Antonov has been a hollowed out entity for a while now. A shell of its former self.
This has been widely reported on.

Good to see the An-225 is still around.
Click to expand...

VASO and Aviastar in Russia are the biggest producers and maintainers of Antonov aircraft, and have been for a long time (Antonov in Ukraine has to my knowledge not completed a single airframe for 6 years).

Neither Voronezh nor Ulyanovsk are anywhere near Antonov aircrafts birthplace in Novosibirsk, but they've maintained the legacy better than Kiev, sorry to say.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm aware of that.
Many people don't seem to get that the USSR was like the USA, in respect of supply chains and manufacturers, components, and indeed workforce.... spread across more than one region or state.
 
There is some speculation that it is the unfinished An-225 that was destroyed, not the actual flying one.
So until we see pictures?
 
It's been pointed out that there are some large items of portable industrial plant (super heavy cranes, concrete pumpers, boring machines, and such) could only be flown in Mirya. Now that she is gone, there's going to be a real problem moving this stuff that gets used for things like bridge construction, tunneling, and so forth.
 
Putin just replaced Proxmire as the biggest enemy aerospace ever had.

AN-225 was a shining example of what Russians and Ukrainians could do when working together.

I wish China had bought everything lock stock and barrel now.

DAMN

IT
 
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