Top 14 largest aircraft in the world for 2022

What is the largest aircraft in the world as of 2022? A large aircraft benefits from economies of scale. For example, having one large aircraft with the capacity of two smaller aircraft is more economical to operate. At the same time, the number of crew does not need to be doubled. Also, having more small aircraft instead of large ones requires more ground personnel to maintain.

There are other operational issues as well. These factors are especially important and decisive in the case of military aircraft. Larger aircraft also allow for the transfer of more forces and weapons in a much shorter time. The goal is to take advantage of the "first mover advantage". For this reason, as soon as the importance of air supremacy was realized, more research was done to develop large aircraft. Most of the largest, longest and heaviest aircraft are of military origin.

Most of the largest and largest aircraft were funded by military research. It is for this reason that most of them are used by the military. Few of these aircraft have been adapted for civil and commercial use. Here is a list of the 14 largest aircraft in the world as of 2022.

13. Ilyushin Il-76

Il-76 was the first Soviet heavy transport four-jet engine. In NATO, he received the code name Candid. This is a multi-purpose four-engine turbofan strategic transporter developed by Ilyushin Design Bureau. It was originally planned as a freighter to replace the Antonov An-12. Production began in 1974 with over 800 built. Together with the An-12, he formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force. It is still in service with many countries.

IL-76 has a carrying capacity of 50 tons. It was intended for the delivery of heavy vehicles and special equipment. It can operate from short, unprepared and unpaved runways. It can fly and land in the most adverse weather conditions. It has been used as an emergency response transport to evacuate civilians and to provide humanitarian and disaster relief around the world.

12. Tupolev Tu-160

The Tupolev Tu-160 "White Swan" or "White Swan" is a supersonic heavy bomber whose speed exceeds Mach 2, which means it can fly at twice the speed of sound. It has variable sweep wings. It was created by the Soviet Union to counter the American development of the B-1 Lancer supersonic swept-wing bomber. It was developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau. NATO forces gave it the code name Blackjack.

It is the largest and heaviest combat aircraft still in use. Its takeoff weight is 300 tons. It entered service in 1987 and was the last strategic bomber developed for the Soviet Union before it broke up into several countries. There are 16 aircraft in operation, the fleet is being updated and modernized.

11. Chinese transport aircraft Y-20

Y-20 is a new Chinese transport aircraft developed by Xian Aircraft Corporation in cooperation with Russia and Ukraine. Its development began in the 1990s, and the Y-20 first flew in 2013 and entered service with the Chinese Air Force in 2016. China has become the fourth country after the US, Russia and Ukraine to develop a 200-ton military transport aircraft.

Y-20 has a lifting capacity of about 60 tons. It can carry tanks and large combat vehicles. In terms of carrying capacity, it is between the larger Boeing C-17 Globemaster III (77 tons) and the Russian Il-76 (50 tons). The Y-20 has enough range to reach most of Europe, Africa, Australia and Alaska from China. It has four Russian D-30KP2 turbofan engines.

10. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is the biggest workhorse in the US Air Force. It was designed by McDonnell Douglas, who later merged with Boeing in the 1990s. It was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and also as an alternative to the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. The development of this heavy transport aircraft began in the 1980s. It first flew in 1991 and entered service in 1995.

Approximately 250 Globemaster aircraft were built and are used by the US Air Force and several other NATO countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, the UAE and India. It has a payload capacity of 76 tons and can accommodate an Abrams tank, three Stryker armored personnel carriers or three Apache helicopters. It can operate from unprepared runways or unpaved runways.

9. Lockheed S-5 Galaxy

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy has been upgraded to the next version of Lockheed Martin. This is one of the largest military transport aircraft. It is designed and built by Lockheed Corporation. It is used by the United States Air Force (USAF) for heavy intercontinental strategic airlift. Lockheed Martin's C-5M Super Galaxy is the workhorse of the US Air Force and the largest operational aircraft. The Galaxy shares many similarities with the later Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-5 Galaxy has been operated by the US Air Force since 1969. It has been used in several conflicts such as Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and the Gulf War. It has roll-on and roll-off capability, which means cargo can be accessed from both ends of the aircraft.

With a carrying capacity of 130 tons, it can carry two M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks or 7 armored personnel carriers. It has also been used in humanitarian aid and disaster relief. C-5M Super Galaxy is an upgraded version. It has new engines and avionics to extend its life beyond 2040.

8. Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is known by its original nickname Jumbo Jet. It has a distinctive "hump" on the upper deck along the nose of the aircraft. It was the first wide-body jet aircraft produced by Boeing in the United States. Its passenger capacity was 150% greater than that of the Boeing 707.

The four-engine Boeing 747 has a two-tier configuration for part of its length. Boeing designed the 747's hump-shaped upper deck to serve as saloon or first-class seating. The Boeing 747-400, the most common passenger version, can seat 660 passengers in a high-density economy class configuration.

7. Boeing 747 Dreamlifter

The Boeing 747 Dreamlifter is a wide-body cargo aircraft manufactured by Boeing. It was developed from the Boeing 747-400 and first flew in 2007. It was previously known as the Boeing 747 LCF, or Large Cargo Freighter. It was created solely to transport Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft components from around the world to Boeing factories.

6. Antonov An-22

The An-22 "Antey" aircraft in NATO received the code name "Rooster". This is a heavy military transport aircraft developed by the Antonov Design Bureau. It is powered by four turboprop engines, each driving a pair of counter-rotating propellers. It remains the world's largest turboprop aircraft. In 1965, when it was first released, it was the largest aircraft in the world. It has a load capacity of 80 tons. This aircraft is designed for operation from unprepared airfields and can take off and land on soft ground. Antonov An-22 is capable of surpassing the Boeing C-17 Globemaster. It was used in major military and humanitarian airlifts for the Soviet Union.

5. Antonov An-124 Ruslan

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan, nicknamed the Condor by NATO, is an airlift jet aircraft. It was developed in the 1980s by the Antonov Design Bureau and is still the largest military transport aircraft in the world. The first flight was made in 1982, it was put into service in 1986. It is used by the Russian Air Force. There are about 55 such aircraft in operation.

It looks like the slightly smaller Lockheed C-5 Galaxy. This is the world's largest serial military aircraft, except for the Antonov An-225. An-124 has a maximum carrying capacity of 150 tons. The cargo compartment can carry any cargo, including Russian tanks, military vehicles, helicopters and any other military equipment.

4. Airbus A340-600

It is a long-haul, wide-body commercial passenger aircraft designed and manufactured by the European aerospace company Airbus Industries. Accommodates up to 440 passengers. It has four turbofan engines. It comes in several versions, the heavier A340-500 and A340-600 are longer and have larger wings. It has now been replaced by the larger Airbus A350 variant.

It has a range of 6,700 to 9,000 nautical miles or 12,400 to 16,700 km. Its distinguishing features are four large bypass turbofan engines and tricycle main landing gear. Previously, Airbus aircraft had only two engines. The A340 is used on long-haul transoceanic routes due to its immunity to ETOPS restrictions applicable to twin-engine airliners.

3. Boeing 747-8

The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body jet airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing. This is the third generation of the 747 with a stretched fuselage and extended wings. The 747-8 is the largest version of the 747 and the largest commercial aircraft built in the US. It comes in two main variants; 747-8 Intercontinental and 747-8 Freighter. Changes to this Boeing model include sloping wingtips and a "sawtooth" section of the engine to reduce noise. On November 14, 2005, Boeing launched the 747 Advanced under the name "Boeing 747-8".

2. Airbus A380-800

The Airbus A380 is still the largest passenger aircraft in service, even after almost a decade of regular service. The A380 is so large that many airports have had to change their installations to accommodate its height and length. It is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet aircraft. It is produced by the European manufacturer Airbus Industries. The A380 has several engine options. The configuration used by British Airways and other premium airlines is four Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan engines that produce more than 3,000,000 pounds of thrust. It can accommodate a person in economy class, even if there is first class.

Over 160 A380s have been built to date. The A380 made its maiden flight on 27 April 2005. Commercial flights began on 25 October 2007 with Singapore Airlines.

1. An-225 (Mriya)

An-225 is the longest and largest aircraft ever built on earth. Designed by the legendary Antonov Design Bureau, the An-225 was designed and built during the 1980s of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. The length of the cargo hold itself is longer than the distance covered by the Wright brothers on their first flight. The plane was nicknamed "Mriya" or "Dream" in Ukrainian. It was originally built as a transport for the Soviet spacecraft Buran.

The aircraft is a continuation of its younger brother An-124 Ruslan, the largest military transport aircraft in the world. It is equipped with six turbofan engines. Its maximum takeoff weight is 640 tons, which means it can carry more than 20 times more cargo than other aircraft. It also has the largest wingspan of any aircraft.

The first and only An-225 was built in 1988. It is in commercial operation by Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads. The airlift holds several world records for delivering the largest and heaviest materials ever transported by air. It is in excellent condition and is ready to fly for at least another 20 years.

UPDATE

Image Credit: Stratolaunch

May 31, 2017; "The world's largest aircraft" Stratolaunch rolled out of the hangar for the first time. It is the flagship of the Stratolaunch project promoted by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Stratolaunch has six Boeing 747 engines, 28 wheels and a wingspan of 385 feet, which is bigger than a football field. Its length is 238 feet. It can carry 250 tons of weight. Its range is about 2,000 nautical miles. Staratolaunch was conceived as an aircraft to launch rockets into orbit.

Previously, the largest wingspan of any aircraft in history belonged to the all-wood H-4 Hercules, also known as the "Spruce Goose"; which had a shorter length of 219 feet. However, this plane only flew for a minute, at 70 feet in 1947, and never took off again.

The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger airliner with over 300 commercial flights per day. Its height is 239 feet, which is more than the Stratolaunch. He also has a taller and broader body; but it has a smaller wingspan of 262 feet.

The An-225 Mriya is 275 feet long, 40 feet longer than the Stratolaunch. It also stands 59 feet tall, which is taller than the Stratolaunch's 50 feet. The Mriya has a wingspan of 290 feet which is smaller than the Stratolaunch which is 385 feet. Its own weight is 285 tons, which is more than the weight of a 250-ton Stratolaunch. The maximum takeoff weight of the Mriya is 648 tons, which is comparable to the 650 tons of Stratolaunch.

The Stratolaunch has just been introduced. It is still under construction at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. He will have to go through several tests, and later test flights will take place. It is planned to be fully operational by the end of this decade. Stratolaunch is expected to host its first launch demonstration by 2022.

To date (and hopefully until 2022); An-225 Mriya is still the largest operating aircraft in the world!!!

Some of the largest aircraft in the world that were not mentioned here are no longer in production or use. Some of the ones listed above also have specific versions that may not have been listed above. Airbus and Being aircraft had different versions of different lengths based on the same design concept. If you think that some planes were lowered unintentionally, you can add these facts to your comments.