Named after the epic warrior Ruslan Antonov’s An-124 has been showing the magical qualities in the freight operations worldwide since the end of 1980s. This champion of world’s heavy weight cargo lift with NATO designation “Condor” has been designed to serve the Soviet armed forces as the heavy-lift ramp transport and landing aircraft. After the demise of the Soviet Union Ruslan has gone global even taking part in the NATO’s Gulf and Afghanistan campaigns, transporting bulky weaponry and ammo including the Patriots.

Commercial History 

Russian Volga-Dnepr airline has pioneered Ruslan’s commercial utilization introducing a new “size” to the international airborne freight. The enthusiasts who have established the airlines business have urged the creation of Ruslan’s civil version – An-124-100.

Throughout the past two decades the aircraft has been engaged in transporting the different kind of oversized cargo including the yachts, excavators, helicopters, airplanes, missile carriers, industrial equipment, generating units, museum collections and even the giant animals (elephants and whales). Every third satellite in the world has been delivered to its start position in Ruslan’s belly.

Eventually An-124-100 has become the favorite jumbo aircraft in aerospace, oil industry, heavy engineering and emergency operations. Its clientele include Boeing, Embraer, Exxon Mobile, Lockheed Martin, British Petroleum, General Electric, Volkswagen, General Motors, BMW, Rosoboronexport and LUKoil. Ruslan that has delivered the tons of U2 and Pink Floyd props and sound equipment to Russia being engaged by the other music stars as well.

An-124-100 has bet 27 world transport aviation records in heavy-lift and flight range. It is the only serial aircraft able to carry 120 tons (or even 150 tons in -150M configuration) cargo with 6.2×4.3×30 meters dimensions.

The crane and winches equipment allow loading 35 tons pieces of cargo and transporting “hanging” inside a single piece cargo weighing up to 100 tons. As another example: Ruslan can carry around 55 cars or 44 SUVs at one time. 

Upgrade

Volga-Dnepr CEO Valery Gabriel has made a comment to Aviation EXplorer this February revealing the prospects of the current fleet upgrade. Within the coming five years his airline plans to invest around USD 400 million to upgrade its ten An-124-100.

The Ruslan upgrade program is split into two directions: the avionics and the D-18T 3 engine modernization. The program is aimed at making An-124-100 compliant with ICAO Chapter 4 for the worldwide operations (there are some limits now).

The research works under the upgrade program are to be financed by the three major operators of this type: Volga-Dnepr, Polet and Antonov Airlines.

The cost of D-18T 3 upgrade is around USD 62 million. It is intended to make the new modification with D-18T 3M designation. A half of the engine upgrade program cost is to be covered by the named “big three” airlines, while the other half is to be covered by the Ukrainian industry and shared among the engine’s design bureau and manufacturer: Ivchenko-Progress and Motor Sich respectively.

The engine development program stipulates the upgrade of the currently operated D-18T 3 engines to “M” version. The estimated cost for upgrading one D-18T 3 ranges between USD 2-2.5 million.

Manufacture

The aircraft has been blueprinted in 1970s by Antonov which mastered the Soviet transport aircraft design. Antonov aimed to create a breakthrough ramp freighter to upbeat the Western prototypes like Lockheed C-5 and Boeing 747. As a result the product has obtained a great deal of innovative features for that time including the multiple-strut landing gear, 30 meter wing panels, wide application of composites and titanium, systems introinspection, autonomous navigation system.

Even today An-124 has some unique and unbeaten functions like the self-contained system of the multiple winches and overhead cranes that allow loading and unloading cargo from the nose and the aft ramp.

The maiden flight had been performed on December 24 1982 and the initial serial manufacture wad been launched at Aviant in Kiev, Ukraine. Few years after An-124 manufacture had been launched at the brand new Aviastar aviation plant in Ulyanovsk (Lenin’s hometown situated on Volga river in Central Russia).

Around 500 producers from all around USSR have been participating in An-124 manufacture cooperation. However this fact plays down the chances of the program’s prompt revival nowadays. While Ukrainian Aviant has no firm commitment (and the capabilities) to manufacture An-124 again, Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. (UAC) is set to resume the aircraft’s assembly. The question is: what plant is potentially able to handle that nowadays? The first thing that comes to mind is the former manufacture site - Aviastar-SP.

Future

At present Aviastar-SP is engaged in the manufacture of Tu-204 jets (since 1990s) and the MRO services for Ruslans in close cooperation with Antonov design bureau in Kiev. This February the Russian plant and the Ukrainian designer have managed to solve all the legal discrepancies over An-124-100 overhaul in Ulyanovsk. In addition to that agreement Antonov has extended An-124-100 assigned lifetime and maximum flight hours to 45 years and 50 thousand flight hours accordingly.

Those reports add certain optimism for the operators of the active fleet which are decently supported by the MRO facilities in Kiev and Ulyanovsk. However this fleet has at least two decades until the final demise which means that it is the high time for the interested parties to start the work on Ruslan’s modernization and manufacture in order to fill the future gap.

Last November the ex-President of UAC Alexey Fedorov has declared that An-124 family serial manufacture resumption will require at least five years, adding however that Aviastar-SP should dramatically upgrade its technological and design base to fit into that project which stipulates the type’s modernization. At the same time Fedorov has named Antonov as the major partner of Aviastar-SP, while the later is being regarded by UAC as the primary manufacture and assembly site for the middle and heavy-lift transport aircraft.

According to rosbalt.ru the resumption of An-124 serial manufacture in Ulyanovsk will require at least USD 500 million investment and firm orders for at least 40 aircraft. This is the minimal precondition for the project’s break-even.

Meanwhile the indicative stock of orders is shared between the following airlines: Volga-Dnepr – 40, Polet – 15, Antonov Airlines – 9 while the Russian Air Forces should be the launch customer with 20 aircraft order supported by the federal budget. 

List of the current An-124/Ruslan operators