China will resume production of the world's longest and heaviest aircraft -- the Antonov An-225 "Mriya" made by Ukraine's Antonov State Company -- in a deal worth $300 million.

Antonov said it had signed an agreement with state-owned Aerospace Industry Corporation of China to finish building the second and last An-225 that has been gathering dust inside a Ukrainian aircraft hangar over 20 years.

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China will also build a third An-225, this one from scratch, with the assistance of Ukrainian engineers and experts. China intends to fly the home grown An-225 by 2020. It is also expected to give the aircraft a Chinese designation.

There appears to be no plan to build a fourth aircraft but China might choose to do that at a later date once it's gained enough experience.

"The parties expressed their intentions as for long-term cooperation," said Antonov.

The Chinese An-225 will enter service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) as a super heavy cargo lifter and will give the PLAAF the worldwide reach it currently lacks. Heavy and outsized military hardware such as tanks, helicopters and artillery can be carried on this aircraft.

Antonov will transfer technological knowhow for the plane and its engines to the Chinese, allowing them to build a new, modernized version of the plane on their own. China has always been weak at building high-performance jet engines and the deal with Antonov should help them overcome this failing.

Only one complete An-225 was ever built and this flew in 1988. The second one, which China will inherit, is a partially completed airframe the Soviet Union never finished because of lack of funding and interest.

The one airworthy An-225 was developed for the task of transporting the Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle that was destroyed in 2002 when the roof of the hangar housing it collapsed onto it. Buran never made it to space.

After the Buran disaster, the lone An-225 served in the Soviet air force and was put in storage for eight years. It was later refurbished as a commercial heavyweight cargo lifter. It currently flies for Antonov Airlines carrying oversized payloads.

The existing An-225 can haul 250 tons of cargo powered by its six ZMKB Progress D-18 turbofans, each delivering 229.5 kN (51,600 lbf) of thrust.

This strategic airlift cargo aircraft holds the absolute world records for an airlifted single item payload of 189,980 kg and an airlifted total payload of 253,820 kg. It has also transported a payload of 247,000 kg on a commercial flight.

Tagschina, Antonov An-225, Ukraine, Antonov State Company, People's Liberation Army Air Force