Editing Antonov (section)

===Soviet era===
[[File:Flugzeug Antonov An-2 D-FKMC.jpg|thumb|[[Antonov An-2]], mass-produced Soviet utility aeroplane.]]
[[File:Antonov A-15 1999 by Jiri Havlice.jpg|thumb|right|[[Antonov A-15]] in Czech markings]]
====Foundation and relocation====
The company was established in 1946 at the [[Novosibirsk Aircraft Production Association]] as the top-secret Soviet '''Research and Design Bureau No. 153''' ('''OKB-153'''). It was headed by [[Oleg Antonov (aircraft designer)|Oleg Antonov]] and specialised in [[turboprop]] [[military transport aircraft]]. The task was to create an [[agricultural aircraft]] CX-1 (An-2), the first flight of which occurred on 31 August 1947. The [[Antonov An-2|An-2 biplane]] was a major achievement of this period, with hundreds of these aircraft still operating as of 2013.<ref name="korr" /> In addition to this biplane and its modifications, a small series of gliders A-9 and A-10 were created and built in the pilot production in [[Novosibirsk]]. In 1952, the Bureau was relocated to Kyiv, a city with a rich [[aviation]] history and an aircraft-manufacturing infrastructure restored after the destruction caused by [[World War II]].

====First serial aircraft and expansion====
[[File:An-12 in flight.jpg|thumb|[[Antonov An-12|An-12]], [[Cold War]]-era tactical transport, in flight]]
[[File:001 An-12, Malmo Airport, Sweden.jpg|thumb|47-year-old [[Antonov An-12|An-12]] still in operational condition in 2011]]

The 1957 introduction of the [[Antonov An-10|An-10]]/[[Antonov An-12|An-12]] family of mid-range turboprop aeroplanes began the successful production of thousands of these aircraft. Their use for both heavy combat and civilian purposes around the globe continues to the present; the [[Antonov An-10|An-10]]/[[Antonov An-12|An-12]] were used most notably in the [[Vietnam War]], the [[Soviet–Afghan War]] and the [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl disaster relief megaoperation]].

In 1959, the bureau began construction of the separate Flight Testing and Improvement Base in suburban [[Hostomel]] (now the [[Antonov Airport]]).

In 1965, the [[Antonov An-22]] heavy military transport entered serial production to supplement the An-12 in major military and humanitarian [[airlift]]s by the Soviet Union. The model became the first Soviet [[wide-body aircraft]], and it remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft. Antonov designed and presented a [[Nuclear aircraft|nuclear-powered]] version of the An-22. It was never flight tested.

In 1966, after the major expansion in the [[Sviatoshyn]] neighbourhood of the city, the company was renamed to another disguise name: "Kiev Mechanical Plant". Two independent aircraft production and repair facilities, under engineering supervision of the Antonov Bureau, also appeared in Kiev during this period.

====Prominence and Antonov's retirement====
[[File:Tatarstan Airlines Antonov An-24 Pichugin-1.jpg|thumb|right|[[An-24|Antonov An-24]], the Soviet Union's most common [[regional airliner]]]]

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the company established itself as the Soviet Union's main designer of military transport aircraft with dozens of new modifications in development and production. After Oleg Antonov's death in 1984, the company was officially renamed as the '''Research and Design Bureau named after O.K. Antonov''' ({{langx|ru|link=no|Опытно-конструкторское бюро имени О.К. Антонова}}) while continuing the use of "Kiev Mechanical Plant" alias for some purposes.

====Late Soviet-era: superlarge projects and first commercialisation====
[[File:An-225 front day V1.jpg|thumb|right|[[An-225]] which was previously the largest operative aircraft in the world was recently destroyed in 2022.]]
In the late 1980s, the Antonov Bureau achieved global prominence after the introduction of its extra large aeroplanes. The [[Antonov An-124|An-124 "Ruslan"]] (1982) became the Soviet Union's mass-produced [[military transport aircraft|strategic airlifter]] under the leadership of Chief Designer [[Viktor Tolmachev]].{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} The Bureau enlarged the "Ruslan" design even more for the [[Buran programme|Soviet spaceplane programme]] logistics, creating the [[Antonov An-225 Mriya|An-225 "Mriya"]] in 1985. "Mriya" was the world's largest and heaviest aeroplane.<ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2023-03-10 |title=Ukraine detains officials over destruction of famous plane at start of war |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-detains-officials-over-destruction-famous-plane-start-war-2023-03-10/ |access-date=2023-05-09}}</ref>

The end of the [[Cold War]] and [[perestroika]] allowed the Antonov company's first step to commercialisation and foreign expansion. In 1989, the [[Antonov Airlines]] subsidiary was created for its own aircraft maintenance and [[cargo airline|cargo]] projects.