The Ukrainian aviation enterprise “Antonov” has completed the modernization of the An-124-100 “Ruslan” transport aircraft and relocated it to Germany.
This was reported by the “Antonov” Joint Stock Company.
Work on a deep modernization of the aircraft began in 2021. The goal was to replace Russian components with Ukrainian and Western-made components.
Due to the full-scale invasion of Russia in 2022, work was partially suspended: at that time the aircraft was in a disassembled state. The modernization was completed in June 2025. On July 11, 2025, the “Ruslan” was safely transferred to Germany. It was on that day that it was spotted in the sky over Kyiv. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the airspace over Ukraine has been closed to civilian aircraft.
- The An-124-100 "Ruslan" with serial number 0706 was built in 1994. During this time, the aircraft has made over 5 500 flights and accumulated over 21 000 flight hours.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.