Antonov has signed an agreement with Aerospace Industry Corporation of China (AICC) covering long-term cooperation on the An−225 programme. The first phase of the agreement, which was signed on 30th August, consists in construction of the second modernized An−225 Mriya in Antonov facilities and delivery of this aircraft to AICC. The second stage concerns licence production of the An−225 in China.

The six-engine An-225 features a 1,300m3 cargo hold and a maximum takeoff weight of 640t. Initially built to ferry Soviet rocket boosters and the Buran spaceplane, it made its first flight in December 1988. It was subsequently refurbished to carry oversize payloads on the commercial market. The aircraft holds numerous airlift records. Construction of the second airframe, featuring a number of design modifications, began in the 1980s before being abandoned then restarted and finally halted in 2009.