The largest aircraft in the world Antonov An-225
The marvel of flight never ceases to amaze, and the spectacle is that much more unbelievable when the aircraft is longer than Olympic swimming pools, heavier than the world's biggest tanks, and taller than 5-story buildings. Here are the biggest planes in the world flying today.
By most metrics, the Antonov An-225 is the biggest plane in the world. The Antonov Design Bureau in Ukrainian SSR built just one of these monster cargo aircraft. Antonov designed it to carry the Buran spaceplane (the Soviet version of the space shuttle) as well as Energia rocket boosters, but the plane quickly found other airlifting work after being refurbished following the collapse of the Soviet space program.
The An-225 is the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 710 tons. It holds the record for total airlifted payload at 559,580 pounds, as well as airlifted single-item payload at 418,830 pounds. It has the longest wingspan of any plane currently flying at 290 feet and six freakin' engines.
In 2020, the hulking aircraft joined the global fight against COVID-19, when it took to the skies to deliver supplies to countries around the world whose resources were stretched by the pandemic.
