The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-124 "Руслан") (NATO reporting name: Condor), designed by the Antonov ASTC, based in Kiev, Ukraine, is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. It is manufactured by Aviant State Aviation Plant, Kiev, and Aviastar, Ulyanovsk, Russia. Until the Boeing 747-8F, the An-124 was, for thirty years, the world's highest aircraft gross weight production cargo airplane and second heaviest operating cargo aircraft, behind the one-off Antonov An-225 (a greatly enlarged design based on the An-124). The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world.
The Ruslan is designed for long-range delivery and air dropping of heavy and large size cargo, including machines, equipment and troops. During development it was known as Izdeliye 400 (Product #400) in house, and An-40 in the West. First flown in 1982, and entered service in January 1986.
The aircraft was first showcased at the Paris Air Show in 1985. Civil certification was issued on 30 December 1992. In July 2013, 26 An-124s were in commercial service with 10 on order. In August 2014, it was reported that Antonov An-124 production was stopped due to the ongoing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Around 60 aircraft have were built. The Russian Army operates 25 An-124 aircraft.
Development
During the 1970s, the VTA (Military Transport Aviation) arm of the Soviet Air Forces had a shortfall in strategic heavy airlift capacity. Its largest planes consisted of about 50 Antonov An-22 turboprops, which were used heavily for tactical roles. A classified 1975 CIA analysis concluded that the USSR did "...not match the US in ability to provide long-range heavy lift support."
The An-124 was manufactured in parallel by two plants: the Russian company Aviastar-SP (ex. Ulyanovsk Aviation Industrial Complex) and by the Kyiv Aviation Plant AVIANT, in Ukraine. Design work started in 1971 and construction of facilities began in 1973. Manufacturing on the first airframe began in 1979. Ultimately this project brought together over 100 factories contracted to produce systems and parts.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to resume the production in the third quarter of 2008. In May 2008, a new variant—the An-124-150—was announced; it featured several improvements, including a maximum lift capacity of 150 tonnes. However, in May 2009, Antonov's partner, the Russian United Aircraft Corporation announced it did not plan production of An-124s in the period 2009–2012. In late 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered production of the aircraft resumed. It is expected that Russia will purchase 20 new aircraft. In August 2014, Jane's reported that, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Yuri Slusar announced that Antonov An-124 production was stopped due to ongoing political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
_is_carefully_loaded_onto_a_Russian-built_An-124_Condor_(Antonov).jpg/440px-US_Navy_040429-N-7949W-001_The_Deep_Submergence_Rescue_Vehicle_Mystic_(DSRV_1)_is_carefully_loaded_onto_a_Russian-built_An-124_Condor_(Antonov).jpg) |
| The Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle "Mystic" being loaded at Naval Air Station North Island, California |
The An-124 was designed as a strategic military transport and as such is able to quickly load/offload cargo. This ability is facilitated by the upward hinging visor-type nose in addition to the rear fuselage loading ramp/door, allowing rapid roll-on roll-off cargo handling. The Ruslan has also been designed to operate from unprepared fields and its robust landing gear can handle rough ground, hard packed snow and even ice-covered swampland. The steerable nosewheels allow turns on runways just 148 feet (45 m) wide. With remote area operations in mind, the An-124 has hatches in the upper deck that provide access to the wing and tail unit to facilitate maintenance when proper equipment is unavailable.
In order to carry heavy loads, the Antonov design bureau made some use of advanced materials to make the An-124 as light and strong as possible in critical areas. The cargo hold floor is constructed of titanium, and composites make up more than 16 145 square feet (1 500 sq m) of surface area. These composites weight 12 125 pounds (5 500 kg) and save more than 4 409 pounds (2 000 kg). Otherwise the An-124's structure is conventional light alloy metal.
As previously mentioned, the An-124 has been designed to operate from unprepared airstrips and as a result has heavy duty landing gear with no less than 24 wheels. The two main units each have five inward retracting legs with two wheels each. In line with the aim of remote operations, the front two wheels on each main unit are steerable. The nose gear consists of two independent forward-retracting units with two steerable wheels each to improve manoeuvrability, giving a turning radius of just 64 feet 4 inches (19.6 m). The two nose units are mounted side by side. The main landing gear legs can retract individually for easy repair or wheel change.
The An-124 has a very useful feature for easy cargo loading and unloading: by retracting the nosewheels the aircraft can kneel on two extendable 'feet' and therefore give the cargo hold floor a 3.5 degree slope. The process takes 3 minutes to lower the aircraft and 6.5 minutes to raise it back up again. In addition, the rear fuselage can also be lowered by compressing the main landing gear oleos.
Because it is relatively easy to load, the An-124 can accommodate almost any payload up to 330 700 pounds (150 000 kg): main battle tanks, complete missile systems, oil well equipment, earth movers - even Airbus wings - have been transported in the Ruslan's cavernous 40 965 cubic feet (1 160 cu m) interior, which measures a humbling 119 feet 8.25 inches (36.48 m) by 21 feet (6.4 m) and is 14 feet 5.25 inches (4.4 m) high. The An-124 can also accommodate 12 standard ISO containers and military aircraft are able to airdrop up to 16 pallets each weighing up to 9 920 pounds (4 500 kg).
The An-124 is well-equipped with cargo handling apparatus, and this consists of rollgangs and retractable attachments for cargo tiedowns; two winches able to pull 6 614 pounds (3 000 kg) and two electric travelling cranes. The latter are mounted in the roof of the hold, each with two lifting points, and can in total lift 44 092 pounds (20 000 kg). To keep an eye on cargo in flight there is a narrow catwalk along each cargo bay sidewall.
The cargo hold is accessed from the front by the hydraulically operated upward hinged nose, which simultaneously extends a folding nose ramp. The nose takes seven minutes to open fully and is steadied against any wind by reinforcing arms. No links (such as hydraulic or electrical) are broken when the nose is open.
The An-124's simpler hydraulically operated rear loading doors open much faster than the nose, taking just 3 minutes, including the extension of a three-part folding ramp. Behind the ramp the centre fuselage undersurface hinges upwards whilst clamshell doors on each side open downwards/outwards.
In front of the passenger deck is a comprehensive rest/living area for the crew, which is useful on long flights or when operating in remote areas, as the An-124 was designed to do. The crew are provided with toilets, washing facilities, a galley and equipment compartment. There are also two cabins for up to six relief crew, with a table and facing bench seats convertible into bunks.
Forward of the crew rest area is the large flight deck, accommodating six crew in pairs, with place for a loadmaster in a lobby area. The crew consists of pilot and co-pilot, two flight engineers, a navigator and communications specialist. On commercial flights even more crew are carried: 10 to 12 cargo handlers and servicing staff.
Instrumentation for the flight crew is mostly conventional/analogue and does not include any electronic displays. On the pilot's centre console there is a moving map display as well as a weather radar screen. The displays are fed by two radars in the An-124's large nose: a forward-looking weather radar and a downward-looking ground mapping and navigation radar. Other navigation equipment includes quadruple Inertial Navigation Systems, Loran and Omega. In addition, there is a satellite navigation receiver above the fuselage.
Avionics
All systems are quadruple redundant. The onboard equipment provides the capability to execute airlift and para-drop missions by day and at night, in visual flight rules and instrument flight rules (VFR and IFR) weather conditions. There are 34 computers functioning aboard the aircraft, combined into four main systems: navigation, automatic piloting, remote control and monitoring.
The integrated flight control and aiming-navigation system comprises an autonomous navigation system, altitude and air-speed indicating system, combat formation flight control equipment, short-range radio navigation and landing system, global positioning system, automatic radio compass, ground surveillance radar, forward-looking weather radar, optical and TV sight, and IFF equipment.
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| D-18T engine installed on an Antonov An-124 "Ruslan" prototype |
Lifting the An-124's considerable bulk (around 882 000 pounds [400 000 kg] fully loaded) are four immensely powerful ZMKB Progress/Ivchenko D-18T turbofans each delivering 51 590 pounds (23 400 kg) of thrust. In line with the Ruslan's requirements to operate from basic airfields, the engines have thrust reversers which make the landing run surprisingly short for such a heavy aircraft: just 2 955 feet (900 m) at maximum landing weight.
The engines are provided with 76 714 Imp gallons (348 740 litres) of fuel in ten integral wing tanks. This provides a range of 2 795 miles (4 500 km) when fully loaded. However, range varies considerably according to the load carried. For example, when carrying an 88 184 pound (40 000 kg) payload the range is a much greater 7 456 miles (12 000 km).
For engine starting there is an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in the rear of each landing gear fairing. The APUs can also be used (both in the air and on the ground) to open the rear loading doors for airdropping freight, or for normal ground loading/unloading. They also supply the Ruslan's electrical, hydraulic and air conditioning systems.
Variants
An-124 Ruslan
Strategic heavy airlift transport aircraft
An-124-100
Commercial transport aircraft
An-124-100M-150
Commercial transport version fitted with Western avionics.The An-124-100M aircraft has the capacity to travel 4,500km at a height of up to 10,000m carrying a maximum load of 120t. The aircraft is 36m long and 4.4m high. It can operate under 60°C below zero and 45°C above zero. An-124-100M equipped with a Rolls-Royce RB211-52H-T engine.
An-124-102
Commercial transport version with an EFIS flight deck
An-124-115M
Planned new variant with EFIS based on Rockwell Collins avionic parts
An-124-130
Proposed version
An-124-135
Variant with one seat in the rear and the rest of the cargo area (approx. 1,800 square feet) dedicated to freight
An-124-150
New variant with increased payload (150 tones)
An-124-200
Proposed version with General Electric CF6-80C2 engines, each rated at 59,200 lbf (263 kN)
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| CF6 high-bypass turbofan |
Joint proposal with Air Foyle to meet UK's Short Term Strategic Airlifter (STSA) requirement, with Rolls-Royce RB211-524H-T engines, each rated 60,600 lbf (264 kN) and Honeywell avionics—STSA competition abandoned in August 1999, reinstated, and won by the Boeing C-17A.
The An-124-210 is a 120ft (36.5m)-long cargo freighter. The floor width and height of aircraft is 21ft (6.4m) and 14.4ft (4.3m) respectively, with 10.5ft (3.2m) below the crane.
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| Rolls-Royce RB211-524H-T |
variant ordered by the Russian Air Force with new avionics, a new improved braking system and a payload of 150 tons.
Notable accidents
As of 2011, four An-124 hull-loss accidents have been recorded, with a total of 97 fatalities:
On 13 October 1992, SSSR-82002, operated by Antonov Airlines crashed near Kiev, Ukraine during flight testing, suffering nose cargo door failure during high-speed descent (part of test program) resulting in total loss of control. Airframe comes down in forest near Kiev, killing eight of nine crew.
On 15 November 1993, RA-82071, operated by Aviastar Airlines crashed into a mountain at 11,000 feet (3,400 m) while in a holding pattern at Kerman, Iran. 17 fatalities.
On 8 October 1996, RA-82069, owned by Aeroflot but operated by Ajax, crashed at San Francesco al Campo, Italy, while initiating a go-around after a low visibility approach on Turin Caselle airport's runway 36. 4 fatalities.
On 6 December 1997, RA-82005, operated by the Russian Air Force, crashed in a residential area after take-off in Irkutsk, Russia. All 23 people on board and 44 people on the ground were killed.
Specifications (An-124-100M-150)
Data from Antonov.com
General characteristics
Crew: 4–6 (pilot, copilot, navigator, senior flight engineer (+flight engineer, radio man) + 2 loadmasters)
Capacity: 88 passengers or the hold can take an additional 350 on a palletised seating system
Payload: 150,000 kg (330,000 lb)
Length: 68.96 m (226 ft 3 in)
Wingspan: 73.3 m (240 ft 5 in)
Height: 20.78 m (68 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 628 m² (6,760 sq ft)
Empty weight: 175,000 kg (385,000 lb)
Loaded weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
Useful load: 230,000 kg (508,000 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 405,000 kg (893,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 865 km/h (467 kn (537 mph))
Cruise speed: 800–850 km/h (430 kn (490 mph))
Range: 5,200 km (2,808 nm, 3231 mi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Wing loading: 365 kg/m² (74.7 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.23
Take-off run distance (maximum take-off weight): 2,520 m (8,270 ft)
Landing roll distance at maximum landing weight: 900 m (3,000 ft)
Flight range
An-124-100
0 tons of cargo= 15,000 km (8,100 nmi)
10 tons of cargo= 14,100 km (7,613 nmi)
20 tons of cargo= 13,250 km (7,154 nmi)
30 tons of cargo= 12,300 km (6,641 nmi)
40 tons of cargo= 11,500 km (6,210 nmi)
72 tons of cargo= 8,700 km (4,698 nmi)
90 tons of cargo= 7,100 km (3,834 nmi)
97 tons of cargo= 6,500 km (3,510 nmi)
104 tons of cargo= 5,900 km (3,186 nmi)
108 tons of cargo= 5,550 km (2,997 nmi)
120 tons of cargo= 4,500 km (2,430 nmi)
Аn-124-100М-150
40 tons of cargo= 11,900 km (6,425 nmi)
92 tons of cargo= 7,500 km (4,050 nmi)
113 tons of cargo= 5,900 km (3,186 nmi)
120 tons of cargo= 5,400 km (2,916 nmi)
122 tons of cargo= 5,200 km (2,808 nmi)
150 tons of cargo= 3,200 km (1,728 nmi)