Ukrainian technology company Awery Aviation Software has pledged to support an initiative to protect and develop Ukraine’s aviation industry. This includes a project to rebuild the Antonov An-225 cargo plane, the world’s largest aircraft until it was destroyed in an attack by Russian forces on Hostomel Airport shortly after the invasion of the country.
The company will support a project that will originate from the work of another Ukrainian company, Metal Time. The firm developed a mechanical design kit model of the aircraft. Profits from its sale will be donated to the aircraft manufacturer and aeronautical service provider, which was founded in Soviet times but has always been based in Kiev.
Promoters of the initiative hope that the money can be used to rebuild the iconic aircraft, also known as “Mriya”. They will also seek to relocate Antonov employees who lost their homes, and educate and train new Ukrainian pilots and engineers.
“Awery Aviation Software cannot stand by when Ukrainian cargo aviation is destroyed economically and physically, and so it was an easy decision for us to help promote the initiative by communicating this great project as much as we can”, said Vitaly Smillianets, the company’s general director.
During its lifetime, the An-225 (the only aircraft of its type ever built) broke 124 world records. Among them was that of the heaviest air cargo ever transported, with a total of 253 tonnes. The aircraft, a Soviet symbol, carried the space shuttle Buran thirteen times before the space programme was cancelled.
In addition to space vehicles, it carried tanks, electric turbines, artwork, medical equipment and all kinds of bulky equipment. It was also instrumental in disaster relief and support operations. An emblem of engineering and human talent, it became a symbol of its destructive side this year. Despite this, Ukraine will seek to bring it back to life.
