MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. The Russian military-transport aviation stops operating the biggest turboprop An-22 Antey airlifters from 2024, Commander Lieutenant General Vladimir Benediktov said.

"We are in Tver, which is actually the unofficial capital of the military-transport aviation. The heaviest 12th division in the world is deployed here and operates the biggest An-124 Ruslan airlifters. There were legendary Antey before, which we unfortunately have to stop operating this year," he told the Solovyov Live TV.

Sixty-seven An-22 were produced by the Antonov plant in Soviet Ukraine. "Some remained in Ukraine, we had close to 60 in our airlifter fleet," he said.

An-22 was the first wide-body and the biggest turboprop airlifter in the world. It is 57-meter long and 12.5-meter high. The wingspan is 64.4 meters. Antey made the maiden flight in 1965. The maximum takeoff weight is 225 tons and the carrying capacity is 60 tons. The airlifter can carry a 40-ton cargo to a distance of over 5,000 kilometers. The full-payload range is 3.1 thousand kilometers.