Biggest Cargo Plane Specs Compared, An-225 to Beluga XL

What is the biggest cargo plane in the world?

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was the biggest cargo plane ever built. It had a maximum takeoff weight of 640 tonnes, a wingspan of 88.4 m, and in 2001 it carried a record 253.82 tonnes of cargo in a single flight [1]. Only one was ever completed, and it was destroyed at Hostomel airport near Kyiv on 27 February 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine [1].

That leaves a slightly awkward answer for today. Wikipedia describes its smaller sibling, the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, as the heaviest cargo aircraft still operating and the largest military transport in service [8]. By maximum takeoff weight the Boeing 747-8F freighter is actually heavier, at about 447,700 kg against 402,000 kg, but it is a converted airliner that can’t take the outsized loads the An-124 was built for [8][9]. The Stratolaunch has a longer wingspan than any of them, but it carries rockets and test vehicles under its wing, not freight [7].

The largest cargo aircraft compared

These are the main giants, with figures from each aircraft’s Wikipedia specification. Payload is the maximum cargo weight, apart from the An-225, where it is the record load [1][2][3][5][6][8][9][10].

The weights are the published maximums and the lengths and spans are converted from feet where Wikipedia gives them in imperial units. The 747-8F payload depends heavily on range, so it is left out [9].

Antonov An-225 Mriya, the heaviest aircraft ever built

The An-225 was developed in the 1980s as an enlarged An-124 to carry the Soviet Buran space shuttle on its back, and first flew on 21 December 1988 [1]. After the Buran programme ended it sat in storage until Antonov Airlines refurbished it for commercial work around 2000 to 2001, when the maximum takeoff weight was raised from 600 to 640 tonnes [1].

It then became the aircraft people called on for loads nothing else could carry. Its hold was 1,300 m³ and 43.35 m long. In 2009 it flew the heaviest single item ever sent by air, a 189,980 kg generator for a power plant in Armenia, and in 2010 the longest, two 42.1 m wind turbine blades [1]. During the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic it flew medical supplies from China around the world [1]. A second airframe was partly built in the late 1980s and never finished. In 2022 Ukraine’s president announced plans to complete it to replace the destroyed aircraft [1].

Airbus BelugaXL vs Antonov An-225

This is the comparison most people search for, and the two aircraft were built for very different jobs. The An-225 was designed to lift the heaviest loads possible. The BelugaXL, based on the Airbus A330-200 and in service since 2020, moves light but bulky Airbus aircraft sections between factories in Europe, and can carry two A350 wings at once [6].

So the An-225 was nearly three times heavier and could lift around five times the weight, while the BelugaXL has the bigger hold by volume [1][6]. Note the engines: the BelugaXL uses Rolls-Royce Trent 700s, not the General Electric CF6 engines quoted on the ETOPS Aviation infographic on this page [6]. The Dreamlifter’s hold, at about 1,840 m³, is also larger than the An-225’s [5].

The C-5 Galaxy and other military giants

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is the biggest aircraft in the US Air Force. All 52 aircraft in service have been upgraded to the C-5M Super Galaxy standard, with new engines, to keep them flying until 2040 and beyond [2]. It is also the largest aircraft to operate in Antarctica [2]. Wikipedia gives its maximum takeoff weight as 840,000 lb (381,018 kg). The 417,305 kg shown on the infographic works out at exactly 920,000 lb, a higher figure Wikipedia does not use. The engines on the infographic, GE CF6-80C2, are correct: F138 is the military name for the same engine [2].

The An-124 is the An-225’s smaller predecessor, with 57 built [8]. It has a front cargo door as well as a rear door, and its landing gear can kneel to make loading easier [8]. The Russian Air Force, Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr all operate it [8]. The US Air Force’s other big transport, the smaller C-17 Globemaster III, carries up to 77.5 tonnes [10].

Dreamlifter, Super Guppy and Airlander 10, big by volume

Some of the most recognisable cargo aircraft are big by volume rather than weight. The Boeing Dreamlifter is a 747-400 with a hugely swollen fuselage, built to fly Boeing 787 parts between Italy, Japan and the US, and has three times the volume of a standard 747-400 freighter [5]. The Super Guppy, first flown in 1965, was built from a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter with a huge bulbous top, and the type once carried a complete Saturn V third stage. One is still flown by NASA [3].

The Airlander 10 is a hybrid airship rather than a plane, and at 98 m it is one of the longest aircraft ever built [4]. It is designed to carry 10,000 kg or 100 passengers over 2,000 nautical miles. That 10,000 kg is its payload, not its maximum takeoff weight, which Wikipedia gives as 33,285 kg, and its top speed is 70 knots (about 130 km/h), not the 148 km/h quoted on the infographic [4]. Production has been pushed back several times, with deliveries now mooted for 2028 [4].

Questions about the biggest cargo plane

Is the Antonov An-124 still flying?

Yes. Wikipedia lists the An-124 as in service with the Russian Air Force, Volga-Dnepr, Antonov Airlines and Maximus Air, and describes it as the heaviest operating cargo aircraft [8].

How many Antonov An-225s are left?

None in flying condition. Only one was completed, and it was destroyed in February 2022. A second, partly built airframe exists, and Ukraine has said it plans to complete it [1].

Is the Airbus Beluga bigger than the Antonov?

Not by weight or wingspan. The BelugaXL’s 227,000 kg maximum takeoff weight is about a third of the An-225’s 640,000 kg, but its hold is larger by volume, 2,209 m³ against 1,300 m³ [1][6].

What is the biggest cargo plane in the US military?

The Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, with a maximum takeoff weight of 381,018 kg and a payload of about 127 tonnes [2].

What is the largest plane by wingspan?

The Stratolaunch, at 117 m (385 ft), the longest wingspan ever flown. It first flew in 2019 and is now used to launch hypersonic test vehicles [7].

Sources

1. Wikipedia, Antonov An-225 Mriya.
2. Wikipedia, Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.
3. Wikipedia, Aero Spacelines Super Guppy.
4. Wikipedia, Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10.
5. Wikipedia, Boeing Dreamlifter.
6. Wikipedia, Airbus BelugaXL.
7. Wikipedia, Scaled Composites Stratolaunch.
8. Wikipedia, Antonov An-124 Ruslan.
9. Wikipedia, Boeing 747-8.
10. Wikipedia, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III.

Last reviewed 6 November 2026