International Transporter - Antonov 124

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (NATO reporting name: Condor) is the largest aircraft ever mass produced, and was, until the advent of the Antonov An-225, the largest aircraft in production. It flew for the first time in 1982. Over forty are currently in service in Russia and Ukraine.

Physically, the An-124 is similar to the American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, but is larger in many dimensions. An-124s have been used to carry locomotives, yachts, aircraft fuselages, and a variety of other oversized cargoes. Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124: it can also carry 88 passengers in an upper deck behind the cockpit.

Germany intends to lease An-124s for NATO strategic airlift requirements as a stopgap until the Airbus A400M is available. Boeing also has used the Russian cargo company Volga-Dnepr to ship oversize aircraft components to their Everett plant with their An-124 fleet. Specifically, the An-124 is the only means of airlifting the General Electric GE90 turbofan engines used in the Boeing 777 airliner. As of 2004, there have been four major crashes of An-124s with a total of 50 fatalities.