December 2 - Reports in the Russian media indicate that after three years of planning, production will resume on the AN-124 cargo aircraft.
The reports indicate that at least 70 will be produced initially, and they will sell for about USD200 million each.
Designed at the end of the Cold War, only 60 were built, but the market for aircraft that can carry oversize cargo has grown twice as fast as the air cargo market in general.
When, some three years ago, it was proposed that AN-124 production would be resumed, starting in 2008, there were problems raising sufficient finance, but now the government appears to have indicated a willingness to provide the necessary funding.