AN-225 production to restart following Hong Kong deal

© Dbajurin

The end may be near for the nose-loading 747F, but there is finally movement on further Antonovs. While there has been much talk of getting the AN-124 back into production, it has been pipped to the post by the news that the larger AN-225 could be made again. Ukraine’s Antonov has signed a deal with Hong Kong’s Airspace Corporation of China to restart assembly. Under the first phase, the partially finished hull of the second aircraft will be completed, before its handover to Airspace Corp. Under the second phase, full-scale production of the type will be done in China, under license from Antonov. Antonov operates the only AN-225.