Six custom GE-990-480 turbofan engines, each generating a massive 480,000 pounds of thrust .
In its firefighting role, the An-990 was conceptualized to tackle the most devastating wildfires in California, Canada, and Australia. With of water, it would hold over 30 times the capacity of a Boeing 747超级灭火飞机.
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The official Antonov company website does not list any product with the designation "An-990". Aviation databases and historical records contain no mention of a real-world project with this name. Therefore, any claims of a physical "An-990" aircraft are incorrect. antonov an 990
The Antonov An-990 remains a ghost—a silhouette in wind tunnel archives and artist renderings. However, its spirit lives on. Today, modern aerospace companies (like Boeing and Airbus) are revisiting the Blended Wing Body concept for future cargo and passenger jets. The An-990 was arguably ahead of its time, a Soviet attempt to solve a problem—the inefficiency of the tube-and-wing design—that the industry
The aircraft is presented in four versions collectively known as the series, designed for specific fictional roles: Air-Launcher (to carry and launch other planes like the Boeing 747), Buran-Launcher , Fire-Retardant Bomber , and Water Bomber .
Pilots who attempt to fly the An-990 in simulators note that its sheer size often strains PC hardware, significantly lowering frame rates (FPS). Maneuvering the plane requires extreme patience; rolling the aircraft takes miles of airspace, and landing requires absolute precision to avoid crushing the digital landing gear under the 6,000-ton simulated weight. It stands as a fun, creative monument to "what-if" aviation engineering. Six custom GE-990-480 turbofan engines, each generating a
A staggering 870 feet (265 meters)—that’s 3x the wingspan of the real-life An-225! Max Weight: 6,000 Tonnes (13.2 Million lbs). Scale: Roughly 120 times the weight of a Boeing 737-100.
To appreciate the absurd scale of the An-990, it must be compared directly against the largest real-world aircraft ever constructed, the Antonov An-225. Specification Fictional Antonov An-990 Real-World Antonov An-225 Mriya Fictional Flight Sim Mod Destroyed in 2022 (Rebuild planned) Maximum Weight 6,000 Tonnes (13.2 million lbs) 640 Tonnes (1.41 million lbs) Wingspan 870 feet (265.2 metres) 290 feet (88.4 metres) Primary Material Fictional "Graphene" composite Aviation-grade Aluminum & Steel Primary Role Mega Water Bomber / Air Tanker Strategic Outsize Cargo Airlift The "Graphene" Justification
The An-990 is not real. But the human wonder that keeps searching for it? That is entirely genuine. If you want recommendations for other to fly
For aviation enthusiasts, the An-990 serves as a tantalizing reminder of the technological arms race. It was a machine ahead of its time—a ghost ship built to haul tanks at the speed of sound, silenced before it ever truly took flight. Whether it was a genuine prototype or a masterful piece of disinformation intended to spook NATO analysts remains one of the enduring mysteries of the Antonov Design Bureau.
So, where does "990" come from? It appears to be a born from three sources:
In these simulations, it is depicted as a "Juggernaut" that far exceeds the capabilities of any existing aircraft, designed primarily for extreme missions like global wildfire suppression and air-launching space shuttles. Overview of the Fictional An-990
The cockpit sits several stories above the ground. Novice pilots often land short because they misjudge their height relative to the runway.
The is a fictional, fan-made aircraft designed specifically for the X-Plane 11 flight simulator . It is not a real-world plane produced by the actual Antonov Company .