Russian Air Force suspends An-22 Antey flight operations • Pilot and aircraft

MEGALOVO – The Russian Air and Space Forces will retire the operational components of one of the largest turboprop aircraft currently flying, the Antonov An-22 Antey, during 2024. Three of these are currently still in use.

Designed by the design bureau of Oleg Antonov, the An-22 Antey was the first four-engined turboprop wide-body military transport aircraft. It is 57 meters long, 12.5 meters high, and has a wingspan of 64.4 metres.

The first flight of the An-22 took place on 27 February 1965, after which a total of two prototypes and 67 An-22 aircraft were produced between 1965 and 1975 at Aircraft Plant No. 84 in Tashkent.
The aircraft was later used by the air forces of the USSR, Russia and Ukraine, as well as by Bulgarian commercial airlines. Of them, about sixty were in Russian military transport aviation. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some aircraft remained in Ukraine belonging to Antonov Airlines.

With a maximum take-off weight of 225 tons, sixty tons of cargo can be carried. The aircraft can transport a payload of up to 40 tons at a cruising speed of 560 km/h over a distance of more than 5,000 km. At maximum load, the flight range reaches 31.00 km.

The An-22 can transport up to 290 people or 150 paratroopers with equipment. The cruising speed is 560 km/h, and the crew consists of 5-7 people, depending on the operational mission.

Photos below: The Antonov Airlines An-22 at Leipzig-Halle Airport in 2016. In the background is the An-225 Mry.a. Both aircraft were damaged beyond repair in the Russian attack on Ukraine.