The Ukrainian government has liquidated the aircraft manufacturer Antonov, all its assets following to be transferred to the Ukroboronrpom group. The motion was anticipated by experts in the field, rumors in relation to this beginning to emerge since September of last year when Ukraine had ceased the cooperation with Russia in the field of aircraft construction. Ukroboronrpom is a group consisting of several companies, being active in the defence industry.

“The Government has adopted a resolution on the liquidation of the State Aircraft Manufacturing Concern Antonov. The manufacturer’s three divisions were transferred to Ukroboronprom,” the Ministry statement said.

Although the name is almost synonymous with the industry of aviation from Ukraine, Antonov was founded in 1946 in Novosibirsk. At that time, it was a top-secret Soviet aviation design and research bureau. The company was later forced to relocate from Novosibirsk to Kiev, and over the years has been responsible for creating highly known aircraft like An-124 Ruslan or An-225 Mriya.

Antonov An-225 Mriya is the biggest aircraft at the moment, both in terms of weight and length. The only specimen was built in the late 80’s and is based on six turbofan engines. The construction of a second plane was in the plan, but for various reasons, this was not carried out to the end.