Giant Military Plane - The wonder of flight never ceases to amaze, and the spectacle is all the more incredible as the planes are longer than Olympic swimming pools, heavier than the largest tanks in the world and taller than five-story buildings. From NASA's Super Guppy to the massive 747 Dreamlifter, we've compiled a list (in no particular order) of the biggest planes in the world flying today.
A guppy can be prey, but the Super Guppy is a predator. The inflated plane was removed by every institution in the world except one: NASA. The U.S. Space Agency finds the Guppy's large dimensions perfect for carrying spacecraft and rocket components.
Giant Military Plane
The first Super Guppy was built from an inflated fuselage taken from a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter, which first flew in 1965. The turboprop cargo plane was largely replaced by the Airbus Beluga for bulky and awkwardly shaped cargo delivery, but as long as NASA continued . has a use for the Super Guppy, it has continued to confuse the skies, and NASA loves the Super Guppy.
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With a payload capacity of nearly 135 tons, the C-5 Galaxy is the largest aircraft regularly operated by the US military. The Air Force announced it was reactivating the monster plane in May 2017, and as of 2019 it plans to turn the plane into a massive ambulance - essentially a hospital in the sky.
The C-5 has enough cargo space to carry two M1 Abrams tanks, 16 Humvees, three Black Hawks or a variety of other vehicles. Without cargo, the C-5 can fly up to 7,000 miles without refueling, making it the longest military aircraft in the world. When the Air Force needs a lot of tonnage moved quickly, it turns to the C-5.
In the 2000s, Boeing discovered it needed a cargo plane with a huge amount of storage to transport components for the 787 Dreamliner, parts of which are manufactured around the world. The solution was to take their biggest plane, the 747, and build a custom cargo bay around it.
At 65,000 cubic feet, the Dreamlifter has the largest cargo hold in the world, capable of carrying three times the volume of 747-400F cargo. The four Dreamlifters made by Boeing also use the longest cargo loader in the world and can carry payloads of up to 125 tons.
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Here is another monster designed and built by the Antonov Design Bureau. The An-124 Ruslan, operated by the Russian Air Force, is the largest military aircraft in the world. For nearly 30 years after its introduction in 1984, the An-124 (NATO reporting name: Condor) was the largest and heaviest cargo aircraft in the world, except for the single An-225. The 747-8F overtook the An-124 in 2011.
With a reported payload capacity of 165 tons, the An-124 can carry even more than the C-5 Galaxy, although its range is not as long. A surviving technical triumph of the Soviets, the An-124 continues to perform airlift missions for Russia.
The B-52 entered service in 1955, and the first B-52H, the current model, debuted in 1961. The B-52 bomber is the ancestor of the Air Force: aging, but still capable of throwing a serious punch.
The BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F***er) can carry 70,000 pounds of weaponry, from conventional precision-guided bombs to nuclear warheads. While the B-2 stealth bomber and B-1 supersonic bomber could be retired when the B-21 is introduced, the Air Force wants to equip the reliable B-52 with new engines to improve efficiency and range .
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As the giant bomber enters its sixth decade of service, the technology within its reach is constantly evolving, as the Air Force also plans to equip the B-52 with the Stand-Off long-range missile, a stealth nuclear cruise missile.
This Soviet-era long-range transport plane is a certified workhorse. It has a wingspan of 164 feet, can carry up to 140 soldiers and has a maximum payload of 50 tons.
Designed to operate in extreme conditions, the Ilyushin Il-76 prototype debuted in 1971 and entered production three years later. (It can take off and land on short, unpaved runways and can easily traverse harsh weather conditions.) More than 800 of them have been built, according to Military-today.com, and it is still widely used by several countries. today.
Developed in 2014, the BelugaXL made its first operational flight in 2020 after more than 200 test flights. It has officially joined the already huge Airbus fleet to move certified Big Things around the world.
Military Transport Aircraft
Cross section of any cargo plane in the world. A pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 700 turbofans help keep the huge plane airborne.
It has a leg - er, a wing - on the previous A300-600 Super Transporter. The BelugaXL can carry not one, but two of the A350 XWB's massive wings. (The first generation Beluga can only carry one.)
The Dreamlifter is already on the list, but it's only a small part of the Sky Queen's accomplishments. Boeing has built more than 1,500 Boeing 747s, and the planes have served as the world's largest passenger and cargo aircraft, a military command center in the sky, Air Force One, and a space shuttle lift and flyer infrared telescope for NASA. Plus, Iron Maiden even has one called Ed Force One.
The aircraft is being phased out of airlines in favor of single-aisle models which can now fly with sufficient range to cross oceans. But as the only mass-produced four-engine jumbo jet in the United States, the Boeing 747 still has a few years ahead of it.
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The C-5 Galaxy may be the biggest US military aircraft, but the C-17 Globemaster is the main workhorse. The aircraft first flew in 1991 and 279 Globemasters have been built since.
The C-17 transport aircraft can carry approximately 85.5 tons in the sky, perform missions around the world to transport troops and cargo, perform airlifts and medical evacuations, and conduct drop flights.
The Airbus A380 is the European 747 and the A380-800 is the largest passenger aircraft ever built, with a capacity of 850 passengers. It flies some of the longest routes around the planet, but like the 747, it could start to be replaced by smaller planes with similar range.
The Airbus A380 is truly the flying bus of the world, carrying more passengers at a time than any other aircraft in history.
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The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is the tanker with the largest fuel capacity in the world. With a wingspan of 164 feet, the aircraft can carry a huge amount of fuel - we're talking 52,250 gallons.
The Air Force is getting a new tanker, the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus, which will be more efficient and have more advanced avionics than the KC-10, but the trijet Extender will still have the Pegasus fuel capability of about 70 tons.
The KC-10 stores jet fuel in three main wing tanks, as well as large fuel tanks under the cargo floor. It can be flown alternatively with a crew of 75 and 73 tons of cargo, or 85 tons of cargo in all-load configuration.
The Tupolev Tu-160 is the largest and heaviest supersonic and combat aircraft ever built. The aircraft also holds the title of largest variable geometry "swept wing" aircraft. The Tu-160 (NATO code: Blackjack) has a wingspan of 183 feet and a maximum takeoff weight of 606,271 pounds.
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Only 36 aircraft were built. The Soviet-designed Tu-160 took flight in 1981 and went on to set 44 world records. It was the last bomber ever designed for the Soviet Union.
But the Tu-160 - nicknamed the "White Swan" - is coming back. In 2015, Russia revived the monster plane and ordered it back into production. The newly refurbished Tu-160R performed its maiden flight in January 2018.
The Boeing 777-9 is the largest and longest twin-engine commercial aircraft in the world. Once operational, the 251-foot-long aircraft will carry up to 425 passengers on long-haul flights – covering up to 7,285 nautical miles – around the world. According to a report by
. The jet's twin General Electric GE9X engines, which generate about 105,000 pounds of thrust and are as wide as the fuselage of the company's 737 jet, are the most powerful engines ever attached to a commercial aircraft.
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After several weather-related delays, the plane's first test flight took place on January 27, 2020. But Boeing's giant jet, which officially entered service in 2013, is now facing a few hurdles.
Recent documents seen by the Seattle Times revealed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) suspended the certification process for Boeing's giant jet due to a number of issues, including an "uncontrollable event" that occurred during the one of the aircraft's test flights. FAA certification for the giant jetliner could be at least two years away, meaning it may not enter service until 2024, according to the
Jennifer Leman Jennifer Leman is a science journalist and editor at Popular Mechanics, where she writes and edits articles on science and space. This article needs additional citations to be verified. Help us improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material
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