Antonov An 990 Jun 2026
: When parked next to a standard wide-body airliner like the Boeing 747-400, the 747 looks like a small toy, while a human avatar is reduced to the relative scale of a mouse cursor. Real-World Counterparts vs. Simulator Fiction
If the An-124 can carry 150 tons and the An-225 can carry 250 tons, the An-990 was rumored to target a payload capacity exceeding 300 metric tons . This would allow for the transport of entire military battalions or massive industrial turbines in a single lift.
Today, the Antonov An-990 exists in a strange limbo. It is not recognized in official aviation registries, yet it persists in the memories of a handful of engineers and in the shadows of Cold War speculation.
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The dream of heavy lift is not dead. In late 2022, Antonov confirmed plans to rebuild the An-225, with estimated costs topping $500 million. While its return is a long-term goal, Antonov currently focuses on its fleet of An-124 Ruslan antonov an 990
Capable of carrying and mid-air launching entire aircraft, such as a Boeing 747-400.
The (often referred to as the "Juggernaut") is not a real-world aircraft produced by the Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov . Instead, it is a fictional, fan-made creation popularized within the flight simulation community, specifically for Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane .
: Requires at least 10,000 feet of runway with 500 feet of side clearance due to its massive wingspan.
The pinnacle of this legacy is the (meaning "Dream" in Ukrainian). Originally developed to airlift the Soviet Buran space shuttle, the An-225 set over 110 world records for payload capacity, speed, and flight altitude. With a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 600 tons, a wingspan of 88.4 meters (290 feet), and six turbofan engines, the An-225 was an undisputed aviation giant. Tragically, this unique aircraft was destroyed during the Russian attack on the Antonov Airport in Hostomel, Ukraine, in February 2022. A project to rebuild "Mriya" has since been initiated by the Ukrainian government. : When parked next to a standard wide-body
The death knell for the An-990 was not engineering, but economics. By the late 1980s, the Soviet economy was stagnating. The dissolution of the USSR in 1991 shattered the unified supply chain required to build such a machine. The Ukrainian government, inheriting Antonov, had no budget for experimental super-heavy lifters.
Because the An-990 is an community-built modification, specific details vary slightly across packages. However, the most popular iteration—the —features numbers that completely dwarf any aircraft built by human hands. Fictional Specification Real-World Comparison ( An-225 Mriya ) Maximum Takeoff Weight 6,000 tonnes (13.2 million lbs) ~600 tonnes (1.32 million lbs) Powerplant Custom GE-990-480 Turbofans Progress D-18T Turbofans Thrust Per Engine 480,000 lbf (2,135 kN) ~51,600 lbf (229.5 kN) Payload Capacity ~2,250 tonnes 250 tonnes Flight Dynamics and Pilot Guidelines in X-Plane
According to aviation lore, the An-990 performed high-speed taxi tests in 1983. The propfan engines, however, proved problematic. The acoustic resonance generated by the experimental blades caused severe structural vibration, threatening to tear the airframe apart.
The digital aircraft was specifically introduced on community hubs like X-Plane.org as a massive upgrade over preceding fictional mods like the An-700, An-725 "Monster," and the An-900 "Ultra-Heavy Giant". Theoretical Specifications and Design This would allow for the transport of entire
The cargo hold is wide enough to carry entire commercial aircraft. Virtual operations involve packing a fully assembled Boeing 747 or a space shuttle directly inside its hull. Flight Performance and Handling Realism
Navigating the plane requires several unique considerations:
Despite its size, the digital model can land on standard airport runways measuring 10,000 feet or more, provided the taxiways are wide enough.
The real An-225 was called "Mriya," the Dream. In a poignant and perhaps unintentional way, the An-990 carries that torch into the digital age. With the real An-225 now gone, the only place you can still experience a "Mriya" is in a simulation. The An-990 takes that concept and runs with it, creating a dream so big that it could only ever exist on a screen. It’s a fun, over-the-top tribute to the spirit of "what if" that drove the original Antonov designers.
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