{|{{Infobox aircraft begin

|national originnational_origin = [[Soviet Union]]

|design groupdesign_group = [[Antonov]]

|first flightfirst_flight = 21 December 1988

|introducedintroduction =

|primary userprimary_user = [[Antonov Airlines]]

|more usersmore_users =

|number builtnumber_built = 1<!-- Number of completed and flown aircraft - Per WP:AIR consensus. The second partially completed An-225 is already covered in article text. -->

|developed fromdeveloped_from = [[Antonov An-124 Ruslan]]

|variants with their own articles =

|developed intodeveloped_into = [[Antonov An-325]]

The '''Antonov An-225 Mriya''' ({{lang-langx|uk|Антонов Ан-225 Мрія|lit=dream' or 'inspiration}}; [[NATO reporting name]]: '''Cossack''') was a [[strategic airlift]] [[cargo aircraft]] designed and produced by the [[Antonov|Antonov Design Bureau]] in the [[Soviet Union]].

It was originally developed during the 1980s as an enlarged derivative of the [[Antonov An-124 Ruslan|Antonov An-124]] airlifter for the express purpose of transporting [[Buran programme(spacecraft)|''Buran'']] [[Buran (spacecraft)|spacecraft]]. On 21 December 1988, the An-225 performed its [[maiden flight]]; only one aircraft was ever completed, although a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built. After a brief period of use in the Soviet space programme, the aircraft was [[Aircraft boneyard|mothballed]] during the early 1990s. Towards the turn of the century, it was decided to refurbish the An-225 and reintroduce it for commercial operations, carrying oversized payloads for the operator [[Antonov Airlines]]. Multiple announcements were made regarding the potential completion of the second airframe, though its construction largely remained on hold due to a lack of funding. By 2009, it had reportedly been brought up to 60–70% completion.

In May 2017, Airspace Industry Corporation of China (AICC)'s president, Zhang You-Sheng, informed a [[BBC]] reporter that AICC had first contemplated cooperation with Antonov in 2009 and made contact with them two years later. AICC intends to modernize the second unfinished An-225 and develop it into an [[air launch to orbit]] platform for commercial [[satellite]]s at altitudes up to {{convert|12000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref name="AICC-BBC">{{cite news |last1= Borys |first1= Christian |others= Pictures by Anton Skyba |title= The world's biggest plane may have a new mission |url= http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170503-the-worlds-biggest-plane-may-have-a-new-mission |work= [[BBC]] |language= en-gb |date= 4 May 2017 |access-date= 28 February 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211025214812/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170503-the-worlds-biggest-plane-may-have-a-new-mission |archive-date= 25 October 2021 |url-status= live |quote= Although the plane, nicknamed 'Mriya' ('Dream') in Ukrainian, is in fine condition, there are very few jobs that call for something so large. And the jobs need to be urgent, if you want to use the An-225 it will cost around $30,000 (£23,220) an hour|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The aviation media cast doubt on the production restart, speculating that the ongoing Russia–Ukraine[[Russo-Ukrainian conflictwar]] would prevent various necessary components that would have been sourced from Russia from being delivered; it may be possible that China could manufacture them instead.<ref name="AVwebWorldsLargestAirplaneBackInPlay">{{cite news |last1= Grady |first1= Mary |title= World's Largest Airplane Back in Play |url= http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Worlds-Largest-Airplane-Back-In-Play-226950-1.html |access-date= 16 September 2016 |publisher= AVweb |date= 14 September 2016 |archive-date= 28 July 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200728073808/https://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Worlds-Largest-Airplane-Back-In-Play-226950-1.html |url-status= live }}</ref> That project did not move forward but UkrOboronProm, the parent company of Antonov, had continued to seek partners to finish the second airframe.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Beresnevicius |first1= Rytis |title= Ukraine mulling to complete the second Antonov An-225 Mriya |url= https://www.aerotime.aero/27146-second-an225-potential |access-date= 17 October 2021 |work= Aerotime |date= 3 February 2021 |archive-date= 10 December 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211210005023/https://www.aerotime.aero/27146-second-an225-potential |url-status= live }}</ref>

During 2016, Antonov Airlines ceased cooperation with Air Foyle and partnered with [[Volga-Dnepr Airlines|Volga-Dnepr]] instead. This in turn led to the An-225's blue and yellow paint scheme, was added in 2009.<ref name="2009paint">{{cite web |url= http://spotters.net.ua/files/images/0000019427_large.jpeg |title= Photo of the An-225 in new paint scheme |access-date= 30 December 2009 |website= Spotters.net |year= 2009 |archive-date= 26 July 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200726064707/http://spotters.net.ua/files/images/0000019427_large.jpeg |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="vdganswer">{{cite web |last= Ingram |first= Frederick C. |url= http://www.answers.com/topic/volga-dnepr-group |title= Volga-Dnepr Group |website= answers.com |access-date= 24 July 2010 |archive-date= 21 March 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190321161123/http://www.answers.com/topic/volga-dnepr-group |url-status= live }}</ref> These matched the colors of the Ukrainian flag and led to the An-225 becoming "Ukraine's winged ambassador to the world," in the words of ''The New York Times''.<ref name="NYT April 2022"/>