Month: February 2022

World’s Largest Jet Cargo Aircraft Destroyed in Russian Attack on Ukraine

Aside Markosun Aviation

The Antonov An-225 Mriya (Ukrainian: Антонов Ан-225 Мрія, lit. ”dream’ or ‘inspiration”; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a strategic airlift cargo aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Ukrainian SSR within the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Originally, this unique aircraft was developed as an enlargement of the Antonov An-124 to transport Buran-class orbiters. After successfully fulfilling its Soviet military missions, it was mothballed for eight years. It was then refurbished and reintroduced into commercial operation with Antonov Airlines, carrying oversized payloads. While a second airframe with a slightly different configuration was partially built, construction was halted more than once due to a lack of funding and interest. This second aircraft was last brought up to 60–70% completion in 2009.

As an oversized aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya held multiple records which included; heaviest aircraft ever built, and largest wingspan of any aircraft in operational service. Other records held by the An-225 were cargo related in terms of weight and length as the Antonov An-225 has the capability to carry up to 640 tonnes (705 short tons). The An-225 attracted a high degree of public interest, so much that it managed to attain a global following due to its size and its uniqueness. People frequently visited airports to see its scheduled arrivals and departures.

The An-225 was at Hostomel Airport when Russian forces launched an attack on the airport on 24 February 2022, as part of the invasion of Ukraine. The aircraft was destroyed in the fighting.

An-225 carrying Buran (1.01) in 1989

Records
The airlifter holds the absolute world record for an airlifted single-item payload of 189,980 kg (418,830 lb), and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg (559,580 lb). It also transported a payload of 247,000 kg (545,000 lb) on a commercial flight.

On 11 September 2001, carrying four main battle tanks[9] at a record load of 253.82 tonnes (279.79 short tons) of cargo, the An-225 flew at an altitude of up to 10,750 m (35,270 ft) over a closed circuit of 1,000 km (620 mi) at a speed of 763.2 km/h (474.2 mph). The hire cost can be US$30,000 (GB£23,220) per hour.

On 11 August 2009, the heaviest single cargo item ever sent by air freight was loaded onto the An-225. At 16.23 m (53 ft 3 in) long and 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in) wide, its consignment, a generator for a gas power plant in Armenia along with its loading frame, weighed in at a record 189 tonnes (417,000 lb).

General characteristics

Crew: 6
Capacity: 253,820 kilograms (559,580 lb)
Length: 84 m (275 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 88.4 m (290 ft 0 in)
Height: 18.1 m (59 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 905 m2 (9,740 sq ft)
Aspect ratio: 8.6
Empty weight: 285,000 kg (628,317 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 640,000 kg (1,410,958 lb)
Fuel capacity: more than 300,000 kg (661,000 lb)
Cargo hold: volume 1,300 m3 (46,000 cu ft), 43.35 m (142.2 ft) long × 6.4 m (21 ft) wide × 4.4 m (14 ft) tall
Powerplant: 6 × Progress D-18T turbofans, 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) thrust each
Performance

Maximum speed: 850 km/h (530 mph, 460 kn)
Cruise speed: 800 km/h (500 mph, 430 kn)
Range: 15,400 km (9,600 mi, 8,300 nmi) with maximum fuel; range with 200 tonnes payload: 4,000 km (2,500 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Wing loading: 662.9 kg/m2 (135.8 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: 0.234

Vladimir Putin’s War Room makes Dr. Strangelove War Room look Puny

Aside Markosun War

Vladimir Putin’s massive, triple-decker war room.

war room

MOSCOW — “Gentlemen. You can’t fight in here. This is the war room!”

It could have been a scene straight out of “Dr. Strangelove” when President Vladimir V. Putin stepped into the Russian Ministry of Defense’s brand new, three-tiered, multibillion-dollar control center this week, for a war briefing that had its fair share of movie-like pageantry.

On movie-theater-size screens, live broadcasts showed long-range strategic bombers taking off from Russian air bases to fly sorties over Syria. Putin instructed commanders in Syria to “make contact with the French and work with them as allies” as Russia seeks a central role in a proposed anti-terrorist coalition.

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But the real star of the show may have been the building itself, which is designed to be a new nerve center for the Russian military that will coordinate military action around the world, including ballistic missile launches and strategic nuclear deployments.

The building is roughly the equivalent of the U.S. National Military Command Center used by the Pentagon, but as one Russian state news agency noted in a breathless headline this week, “Russian Defense Data Center Outperforms US Facility Threefold: Official.”

The center, which is fortified and said to sit on top of a maze of underground tunnels, is on the Frunze Naberezhnaya on the left bank of the Moscow river, a little over two miles from Red Square.

room

It was finished in 2014 and is part of a massive, decade-long modernization of Russia’s army, which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but has also produced noted improvements, from the expertise of Russian troops deployed during the Crimea operation to the recent cruise missile strikes launched from the Caspian Sea.

The new national defense center also includes a helicopter pad that was deployed on the Moscow River late last year and can accommodate Russia’s Mi-8 transport helicopter. In case of a war, it would be the country’s premier communications center, and one Russian commander compared it to the military headquarters of the Soviet Union during World War II.

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Another room with a large round table and more giant monitors.

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Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said that the center is a step toward “forming a single information space for solving tasks in the interests of the country’s defense.”

As Worldviews noted during Russia’s International Army Games in August, Russia’s military has sought to raise its public profile through savvy media branding.

At the briefing, army personnel sat in color-coded rows with matching headsets and water bottles bearing the Russian army brand (their flagship store recently opened on Tverskaya Street here, Moscow’s equivalent of Fifth Avenue). The briefing was covered on Russian national television from at least four distinct camera angles.

Andrei Kolesnikov, a reporter who has covered Putin for the past 15 years and is known for his lyrical, fawning reports of the Russian president, waxed introspective as he covered the briefing Tuesday.

“When this building and this room were opened a year ago, I was somewhat perplexed: Yes, it all looks very persuasive, and the Pentagon might even only dream of something like this, if only in a nightmare. But why? Who will need these screens the size of small soccer fields with grandstands for viewers?

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“And here was the answer. Every spot was filled. Russia’s entire high army command were the viewers. Or was it like the warming bench, and at any moment everyone was ready to go on the field …”

Later in the piece, he added: “My soul of course was not filled with delight and trembling at the hellish power of this armada. But I was perturbed, yes, I was.”

The War Rooms from the movies take a backseat to this giant high-tech cavern.

Dr. Strangelove

war room7 strangelove

WarGames 1983

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‘You Only Live Twice”, James Bond.

war room8 you only live twice

Loose Kangaroo Confounds Cops in Denmark

Aside Markosun Animals, Bizarre

Authorities in Denmark are on the hunt for a loose kangaroo that was spotted by a motorist who filmed the out-of-place creature hopping through a field. Footage of the weird encounter was shared by South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police in a Facebook post on Monday. Joking that the “morning driver had to rub his sleep out of his eyes” when he saw the mysterious marsupial, they indicated that the strange sighting had occurred earlier that day near the community of Øster Ulslev on the island of Lloland. Perhaps thinking that no one would believe him, the motorist managed to capture a brief video of the kangaroo before it hopped out of view from the vehicle.

As one might imagine, cops are confused as to how a kangaroo wound up roaming the island since no one has reported such a noticeable creature having gone missing. However, as news of Monday’s sighting spread throughout the community, several people came forward with claims that the marsupial has actually been living in the area for quite awhile. “We see it from time to time, four or five times a week it comes bouncing,” resident Morten Friis nonchalantly told a local media outlet, “it has been here for several years, it is nothing new.” He went on to laugh that “it is very funny, many stop and are completely incomprehensible, and think they see visions. Then we say calmly, ‘it’s just the kangaroo you’ve seen.'”

The possibility that such a creature could make its home on the island is not completely out of the question, wildlife expert Anne Sofie Meilvang said, “even though kangaroos are associated with the warm climate in Australia, the Danish weather does not scare them.” She went on to explain that the animal subsists on a diet of “grass, herbs, bark and leaves,” which can be found in abundance in the area. While the kangaroo may have managed to adapt to living on Lloland, one suspects that its time in the wild may sadly soon come to an end now that its presence in the area has come to light and animal welfare workers are on the lookout for the creature.

Russian Navy Jet Does Really Fast Low Pass

Aside Markosun Aviation

The Sukhoi Su-33 is an all-weather carrier-based highly maneuverable air defence fighter based on the Su-27 “Flanker” and initially known as Su-27K. It has larger (folding) wings, upgraded engines, twin nose wheel, strengthened undercarriage for blue waters ops.

The following video show a Russian Navy Su-33 at some airbase in Russia, performing a couple of really low passes buzzing the cameraman. Cool footage, probably not too safe.

flanker

Theaviationist.com

Kooky Alarm Clocks

Aside Markosun Offbeat, Technology

If you snooze you lose goes the old adage. Getting up early and starting the day bright eyed and bushy tailed is the way to success for the go-getters out there. The downside is having to get disrupted out of deep sleep by noisy contraptions. Here are some strange alarm clocks that will force a person to jump into the rat race at full speed.

The Sub Morning cleverly lures you to the bathroom, by forcing you to submerge it in water

Once you get to the bathroom, you’re basically in the shower already and, once you’re in the shower, the day has officially begun.

Clocky leaps off your nightstand and runs away, making you chase it around the room to shut off the damn beeping.

This sneaky little thing forces both your body and your wits into action.

Target Alarm Clock

If you are a sucker for shooting games, you must try this Target alarm clock. The rules are easy: the clock will sound the alarm based on the time you set, and you need to stop it by using the laser target gun to shoot the bullseye.

I.Q. test first thing in the morning

alarm

This Sonic Grenade alarm clock is guaranteed to get your sleepy children out of bed. Just pull the pin, throw the grenade into the room and get out of the way as it emits an ear-piercing noise.

The Rocket Launcher alarm clock will really “launch” you from your bed. When the alarm goes off, it shoots a rocket off in your room, and the only way to turn it off is to locate the rocket and place it back on the launch pad.

The toughest part about waking up for many people is physically getting out of bed. Luckily, the Carpet Alarm Clock helps you work through the hard part, by forcing you to stand up and step on the mat to turn it off.