Time to rebuild the Dream!

Rebuilding Ukraine’s National Symbol – An-225 Mriya

On February 24th of this year, during the barbaric attack on Ukraine’s Gostomel airport, Russian invaders unceremoniously destroyed the An-225 Mriya (the Dream). The only such plane in existence, An-225 was the largest freight plane in the world and the symbol of Ukraine. Not only this unique technological marvel was Ukraine’s global calling card, but for decades, this plane has flown countless humanitarian and commercial missions helping many companies and governments worldwide to deliver much needed oversized shipments, which otherwise could not have been moved. By destroying this plane, Russian troops committed an international act of terrorism.

The time has come for the Phoenix to rise from the ashes!

Mriya AN 225

As someone involved in Commercial Diplomacy for over 25 years, some of the weapons and tools with which I am familiar with are international project development and financing, foreign direct investment, export financing, political risk and trade credit insurance. I fully realize that there is an active war going on in Ukraine now and that most of the world is currently focused on extinguishing the genocide and destruction, as well as preventing nuclear conflict.

However, I believe that Ukraine WILL prevail and the moment it does, its economy will need to be rebuilt and rebuilt quickly. Prosperous Ukraine means stronger and more independent Ukraine. Since any serious projects and financings take many months or sometimes years to be developed and implemented, it is imperative to get a head start and begin teeing up significant projects now.

When the original Mriya was built, the Antonov company has partially built a second plane, but that project was abandoned due to lack of funding and the fuselage has been mothballed. I think that rebuilding the second An-225 will be a marquee pivotal project, which will help catapult Ukraine out of the post-war destruction and into greatness. Rather than the Dream, I think we should call the second plane Faith (Bipa in Ukrainian). The Faith will once again become the calling card of the new – progressive, battle hardened and victorious Ukraine.

Developing, financing and building a project like this will require multiple Ukrainian and international stakeholders: engineers, regulators, component suppliers, manufacturers, pilots, financiers, lawyers , shippers, off-takers and many, many others. The project will, at a later point, require significant financing. But all that will come a bit later. The goal today is to take a tiny first step and start identifying those parties who will be interested in getting involved with the Faith project on the ground floor. Anyone interested in getting involved in helping bring the Faith to Ukraine, please contact me directly.

(Source: Wikipedia) The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ”dream’ or ‘inspiration”; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Originally, this unique aircraft was developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and reintroduced into commercial operation with Antonov Airlines, carrying oversized payloads. While a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built, construction was halted more than once due to a lack of funding and interest. This second aircraft was last brought up to 60–70% completion in 2009.

As an oversized aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya held multiple records which included; heaviest aircraft ever built, and largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. Other records held by the An-225 were cargo related in terms of weight and length as the Antonov An-225 had the capability to carry up to 640 tonnes (705 short tons). The An-225 attracted a high degree of public interest, attaining a global following due to its size and its uniqueness. People frequently visited airports to see its scheduled arrivals and departures.

The An-225 was at Hostomel Airport when Russian forces launched an attack on the airport on 24 February 2022, as part of the invasion of Ukraine. The aircraft was destroyed in the attack.