Top 10 Largest Military Transport Aircraft In The World

Military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or transport aircraft are air transport units and military equipment used by military transport aircraft to support military operations. Transport aircraft are essential for maintaining supply lines to forward bases, which are difficult to reach via ground or water channels and can be used for strategic and tactical missions. But, do you know what the largest transport plane in the world is?

1. An-225 Transport Aircraft, 640 tons
There is no dispute that the An-225 transport aircraft is currently the world’s largest transport aircraft and the world’s largest aircraft. In the 1980s, the former Soviet Union created this behemoth in order to defeat the United States in the "Star Wars" competition. It is used to transport the space shuttle Blizzard, with a maximum take-off weight of up to 640 tons, a load capacity of 250 tons in the cabin, and a load capacity of 200 tons on the top of the fuselage. After the Hughes Lux transport aircraft of the United States, it is the aircraft with the second widest wingspan. It can only be said that in the context of that Cold War era, the waywardness of the Soviets!

The fuselage of the An-225 is 84 meters long, which is 7.4 meters longer than the 747-8, the longest commercial airliner currently in fact. And her main wing has a wingspan of 88.74 meters, and the An-225 transport aircraft ranks first in the world's largest transport aircraft.

2. An-124 Heavy Transport Aircraft, 400 tons

The An-124 transport aircraft is the largest active military transport aircraft in the world today. Some netizens will say that the world's largest transport aircraft is not Ukraine's An-225? I want to explain here. The only remaining An-225 transport aircraft is now mainly used by Antonov Airlines as a freighter, and has been converted to civilian use, so it is not currently in the list of military transport aircraft in active service. Therefore, the An-124 transport aircraft has become the world's largest military transport aircraft.

The An-124 transport aircraft is a long-range strategic transport aircraft designed in the Soviet era. The An-124 "Ruslan" heavy transport aircraft is a representative work. It was developed in the 1980s and has a maximum take-off weight of 400 tons and a payload of 229 tons. It flew for the first time in 1982 and began to equip troops in 1986. When it was launched, it was the largest aircraft in the world at that time. With a range of 5,200 kilometers and a maximum speed of 865 kilometers per hour, it ranks second in the world's largest transport aircraft.

3. C5 Transport Aircraft, 379 tons

The full name of the C5 transport aircraft is the C-5 "Galaxy" transport aircraft. It is the largest transport aircraft in the United States. It was developed in 1964 and served in 1970. It is still in service with the US Air Force for 45 years and has a length of 75.57 meters. With a height of 19.85 meters, a wingspan of 67.88 meters, a cruising speed of 908 km/h, a maximum load range of 5526 kilometers, and a maximum take-off weight of 379 tons, it lost to the former Soviet Union in the ranking of the world’s largest transport aircraft, which was also one of the few in the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. Much strong.

4. American Space Shuttle Tansport Aircraft SCA, 322 tons

In the 1970s, Boeing developed two dedicated space shuttle transport aircraft, which can carry the space shuttle for transfer, with a maximum take-off weight of 322 tons.

5. C17 Global Airmaster III, 265 tons

The C-17 transport aircraft, known as the "Global Master III", was developed by McDonnell Douglas Company. In recent years, the unit price is about 320 million U.S. dollars, the take-off weight is 265 tons, and the maximum range can reach 11,000 kilometers.

6. China Yun-20 Transport Aircraft, 220 tons

The Yun-20 transport aircraft is a new generation of jet heavy military transport aircraft independently developed by China. The development of the Yun-20 aircraft refers to the aerodynamic shape and structure of the Russian Il-76, and incorporates some of the characteristics of the American C-17.

The Y-20 aircraft is a strategic, iconic, and leading equipment of the Air Force. It is a new generation of heavy-duty military transport aircraft independently developed by China. It is a 200-ton large, multi-purpose transport aircraft. According to previous reports, the aircraft is 47 meters long, has a wingspan of 45 meters, a height of 15 meters, a maximum speed of 920 kilometers per hour, a maximum range of more than 7,800 kilometers, a practical ceiling of 13,000 meters, a maximum payload of 66 tons, and a maximum take-off weight of 220. Ton.

7. Il-76 Transport Aircraft, 170 tons

The Il-76 transport aircraft developed by the Ilyushin Design Bureau of the Soviet era was developed in the 1970s and has a maximum take-off weight of 170 tons. It is a classic four-engine large transport aircraft.

8. C-141 "Transport Star" Transport Aircraft, 155 tons

Lockheed Martin developed this strategic transport aircraft in the 1960s. As one of the main long-range transport aircraft of the US military, the model has a maximum take-off weight of 155 tons.

9. "Beluga" Super Transport Aircraft, 155 tons

This transport aircraft developed by Airbus has a weird shape, and its main purpose is to transport large components, such as the International Space Station components and unfinished large passenger aircraft sections, with a maximum take-off weight of 155 tons.

10. Airbus A400M Transport Aircraft, 141 tons

The A400M transport aircraft developed by Airbus is equipped with four turboprops and has a maximum take-off weight of 141 tons.