Russian An-124s in Flight Training Exercise

The Russian Air Force has conducted joint training flights with its Antonov An-124-100 "Ruslan” strategic military transports, which saw six of the type together in the air for the first time.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD), the joint training flights took place in the Bryansk region, with participation from crews of the Seshchinsky and Tver aviation regiments.

The training flights were conducted to enhance the skills of young crew and train on the transfer of military units with their standard weapons and equipment over long distances.

Over the course of the training, the An-124s were flown to altitudes of more than 4,000m. The aircraft were flown at an average speed of 500 km/h across a route of more than 600km.

An-124 crews practised their skill in take-off and landing in difficult weather conditions, encountering precipitation, low clouds and strong winds.

The An-124-100 strategic military transport can transport 500 military personnel or eight armoured vehicles due to its payload capacity of 120 tonne. The four-engine aircraft has a range of 7,000 km.