Mriya aircraft restoration suspended

The Antonov company postponed the restoration of the world’s largest aircraft, the Mriya, until the post-war period. Economic Pravda reported this on Friday, September 20, citing sources in the company.

It was noted that the company’s employees completed the identification of the defect of the destroyed An-225 Mriya aircraft, which was carried out to preserve the remaining parts. The company is now focusing its main efforts “on higher priority tasks for the state.”

The publication states that the work was financed from a special fund based on the restoration of Mriya. The balance of the fund was collected at $3 million. The company received most of this money as royalties from sales of an add-on to the Microsoft Flight Simulator game with the An-225 aircraft. Under an agreement with Microsoft, the American company gave Antonov 100% of the profit in the first year of sales of add-ons to the game, but on the condition that all the money collected should be spent on restoring the aircraft .

However, the exact cost of the new aircraft has not yet been calculated: it, in particular, depends on whether Antonov can use Russia’s Ruslan aircraft in Canada and Germany as part donors, which may be confiscated in favor of Ukraine.

We remind you that on February 27, 2022, as a result of an air attack by Russian troops on the territory of the Gostomel airport, the An-225 Mriya was set on fire.

According to preliminary estimates, the reconstruction of the aircraft will cost $3 billion and will take about five years.