The Antonov state aircraft manufacturing enterprise has begun using engines from the Antonov An-225 Mriya strategic airlift cargo aircraft destroyed by the Russian occupation forces in its Antonov An-124 Ruslan strategic airlift aircraft.
"In total, the An-225 had six engines. We dismantled and repaired three of them. Two of them are already working on the An-124 aircraft," said Antonov’s Deputy General Director Maksym Sanotskyi.
According to him, Antonov has five working An-124 Ruslan aircraft at its disposal. They are currently based in the German city of Leipzig.
The company could install the An-225 Mriya aircraft’s engine on the Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircraft because both aircraft use D-18T power plants of the same type.
Before the Russian invasion, one of the engines was removed from the An-225 Mriya aircraft to be installed on an An-124 Ruslan aircraft that was preparing to perform a commercial flight.
Antonov’s mode of operation involved the rotation of engines among its aircraft. It removed engines from unused airliners and installed them on aircraft that had cargo transport orders.
