Description
🇺🇦 Antonov An-225 «Mriya» gold-tone pin on its Antonov Airlines display card
100% of revenue from this item is donated to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
What Was the An-225 «Mriya»?
The Antonov An-225 «Мрія» (Mriya, Ukrainian for “dream”) was designed and built by the Antonov bureau in Kyiv, when Ukraine was still part of the USSR. It was made for the Soviet space programme: its job was to carry the Buran space shuttle and parts of the Energia rocket on its back, from the factories to the Baikonur launch site.
It first flew on 21 December 1988. In May 1989 it flew for the first time with Buran on its back, and in June 1989 it brought the shuttle to the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, the moment in the photo below.
- Engines: six turbofans, two more than any other jet airliner or freighter.
- Size: 84 m long, with an 88.4 m wingspan.
- Maximum take-off weight: 640 tonnes, the heaviest aircraft ever flown.
- Built: only one was ever completed.
After the Buran programme was cancelled, the Mriya was returned to flight in 2001 and flew record-breaking outsize cargo around the world for Antonov Airlines, including medical supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. It became a symbol of Ukrainian aviation.
The Mriya carrying the Soviet Buran space shuttle at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, June 1989. Photo: MSgt Dave Casey, U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Destroyed in the First Days of the Invasion
On 24 February 2022, the first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Russian airborne troops attacked Antonov Airport in Hostomel, just outside Kyiv. The Mriya was in its hangar there, undergoing maintenance. During the fighting the hangar was shelled and the Mriya burned. On 27 February 2022 Ukraine announced that it had been destroyed.
When Ukrainian forces took back Hostomel in April 2022, only the burned shell of the world’s largest aircraft was left. Ukraine has pledged to build a new Mriya.
What was left of the Mriya at Hostomel, April 2022. Photo: Kyiv City State Administration, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
About This Pin
A gold-tone Antonov Airlines souvenir pin showing the Mriya from above. You can see all six engines under the swept wings and the twin-fin tail. It is mounted on its original dark blue flocked display card, printed «ANTONOV AIRLINES» in gold, and comes in a white plastic display box.
Every dollar this pin raises goes to the Ukrainian army, the same way as our Dog Patron fridge magnets.
Details
- Subject: Antonov An-225 «Mriya», seen from above.
- Finish: polished gold tone.
- Length: 31 mm.
- Fastening: pin post with a round brass clutch back.
- Card: original blue flocked Antonov Airlines display card.
- Box: white plastic display box, included.
Condition Report
Excellent, unused condition. The gold tone is bright and even, with no wear to the plating. The display card has a small blank grey label patch and light handling marks on the flocking.
Ships from 🇺🇦 Ukraine with tracking number
Modes of payment:
- PayPal
- Credit Cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
- bitcoin
We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.