New versions of the massive AN-124 aircraft, which is used to transport oversized cargo, will be produced at a plant in Ulyanovsk, Russia, with the first aircraft scheduled to debut in 2008. Serial production will begin in 2010. Only three aircraft will likely be made each year.
The demand for oversized and heavyweight cargo has grown 28 percent a year for each of the last four years and growth is estimated to continue at a rate of at least 15 and 20 percent between now and 2010, say the aircraft's manufacturer.
The AN-124 was first designed for the USSR Air Force and boasts the largest payload and largest accessible dimensions of any production aircraft in the world.
