The 10 Largest Cargo Planes in the World, Ranked by Payload (2026)

The largest cargo plane ever built was the Antonov An-225 Mriya, which once lifted 559,600 lb (253.8 t) in a single flight. It was destroyed on the ground near Kyiv in February 2022, so the largest cargo plane still flying today is its smaller sibling, the Antonov An-124 Ruslan, rated for up to 330,700 lb (150 t).

This list ranks the 10 largest cargo planes by maximum payload, the weight of cargo each can carry. That is the measure that matters for a freighter, and it gives a different order than length or wingspan would.

Specs are current as of October 2026, and each entry is marked in service, retired or destroyed. For the biggest aircraft of any kind, see our ranking of the biggest aircraft in the world.

1. Antonov An-225 Mriya: 559,600 lb (253.8 t)

Only one Antonov An-225 Mriya was ever completed. It first flew on December 21, 1988.

It was 275 ft 7 in (84 m) long with a wingspan of 290 ft (88.4 m), and six Progress D-18T turbofans lifted a maximum takeoff weight of 1,410,958 lb (640 t). Its hold measured 142 ft (43.35 m) long, 21 ft (6.4 m) wide and 14 ft (4.4 m) tall.

On September 11, 2001, it carried 559,600 lb (253.8 t), five main battle tanks, the heaviest payload on record. On August 11, 2009, it flew the heaviest single item ever airlifted, a 418,830 lb (189,980 kg) generator for a gas power plant in Armenia.

The Mriya was destroyed at Hostomel airport near Kyiv on February 27, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Antonov announced in 2022 that it would finish a second, partly built airframe with parts salvaged from the wreck. The Polish outlet PortalMilitarny, and FlyMag in May 2025, reported that the unfinished fuselage was likely destroyed in an April 2025 strike on Kyiv’s Sviatoshyn airfield, which Antonov has not confirmed, and no second Mriya has flown.

2. Antonov An-124 Ruslan: 330,700 lb (150 t)

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan, which NATO calls the Condor, first flew on December 24, 1982. The standard An-124-100 carries 264,555 lb (120 t), and Antonov Airlines rates the upgraded An-124-100M-150 for 330,693 lb (150 t).

It is 226 ft 8 in (69.1 m) long with a 240 ft 6 in (73.3 m) wingspan. Its hold is 118 ft (36 m) long, 21 ft (6.4 m) wide and 14 ft (4.4 m) high.

Its size is why NATO’s SALIS strategic airlift program chartered up to six An-124s, two full-time and four on call, on behalf of 18 countries.

Since 2022 the fleet has been split by the war: Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines flies five, and an An-124 stranded at Toronto Pearson after Canada closed its airspace to Russian aircraft in 2022 was seized by Canada in June 2023.

3. Boeing 747-8F: 308,600 lb (140 t)

The Boeing 747-8F carries more than any other Western-built cargo plane. Boeing gives its maximum structural payload as 154 tons (140 t), and at 250 ft 2 in (76.25 m) it is 18.3 ft (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400F it replaced.

It first flew on February 8, 2010, and Boeing delivered 107 of the freighters. The final 747 of all, a 747-8F for Atlas Air, was delivered on January 31, 2023.

It beats the C-5M on payload but not on loading. The 747-8F is built for pallets and containers, while a military airlifter like the C-5M is built to load vehicles.

4. Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy: 281,000 lb (127.5 t)

The Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy is the biggest cargo plane in the US military. It can carry 281,000 lb (127,459 kg), or 36 standard 463L pallets, and its hold is 121 ft long, 19 ft wide and 13.5 ft high.

The C-5 first flew on June 30, 1968, and 131 were built. The US Air Force flies 52 C-5Ms, rebuilt with General Electric F138 engines rated at 51,000 lbf (227 kN) each. On September 13, 2009, one set 41 records, including carrying 176,610 lb to over 41,100 ft.

At 247 ft 1 in (75.31 m) long and 222 ft 9 in (67.89 m) across the wings, it is barely shorter than the 747-8F. The two trade places depending on which measure you pick.

5. Boeing 747 Dreamlifter: 250,000 lb (113.4 t)

The Boeing Dreamlifter is a 747-400 with a swollen upper fuselage, built to fly 787 Dreamliner wings and fuselage sections from Japan and Italy to final assembly in the US. Boeing converted four, and the first flew on September 9, 2006.

It carries up to 250,000 lb (113,400 kg) in a hold of 65,000 cu ft (1,840 m³). Atlas Air operates the fleet for Boeing.

The Dreamlifter occasionally leaves the 787 supply chain. In July 2020 one landed in Salt Lake City with 500,000 face masks for Utah schools.

6. Boeing 777F: 235,900 lb (107 t)

The Boeing 777F first flew on July 14, 2008, and is 209 ft 1 in (63.73 m) long. Boeing rates it for 107 t (235,900 lb) over 5,000 nautical miles, and calls it the best-selling widebody freighter.

Its replacement, the 777-8F, is rated for 118 t (260,100 lb) but has not entered service. Boeing first hoped to deliver it in 2027, and by July 2026 its launch customer Cargolux did not expect one until 2029.

7. Antonov An-22 Antei: 176,370 lb (80 t)

The Antonov An-22 Antei first flew on February 27, 1965, and set 41 records for speed, payload and payload to altitude. It carried 176,370 lb (80 t) on four Kuznetsov NK-12MA turboprops driving contra-rotating propellers, with a 211 ft 3 in (64.4 m) wingspan.

Sixty-eight were built, and Russia once planned to fly them until 2033. On December 9, 2025, the last operational An-22 crashed near Ivanovo on a test flight after heavy maintenance, killing all seven people aboard, and the type has been reported retired.

8. Boeing C-17 Globemaster III: 170,900 lb (77.5 t)

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III carries 170,900 lb (77,500 kg), including a 69-ton M1 Abrams tank. It is 174 ft (53 m) long with a 169 ft 10 in (51.77 m) wingspan, and its hold is 88 ft long, 18 ft wide and 12 ft 4 in high.

It first flew on September 15, 1991. Production ended in 2015, after 279 had been built.

The C-17 cruises at about 450 knots (Mach 0.74). The old version of this page put its top speed at 670 mph, a figure no published source supports.

9. Xian Y-20B: 145,505 lb (66 t)

The Xian Y-20 is China’s heavy military transport, and the Y-20B with four Shenyang WS-20 turbofans is rated for 145,505 lb (66 t). It is 154 ft 2 in (47 m) long with a 164 ft (50 m) wingspan.

It first flew on January 26, 2013, and entered service on July 6, 2016. The Military Balance 2026 counts 95 in Chinese air force service, 55 of them transports, 30 YY-20A tankers and 10 Y-20Bs.

10. Airbus BelugaXL: 111,333 lb (50.5 t)

The Airbus BelugaXL is built on the A330 and carries 111,333 lb (50,500 kg). It makes the list for a different reason: its hold holds 78,000 cu ft (2,209 m³), more than any aircraft here.

Airbus built six. The first flew on July 19, 2018, and entered service on January 9, 2020, carrying two A350 wings at a time between Airbus factories.

Largest by volume: the Beluga and the Super Guppy

Ranked by hold volume instead of weight, the order changes completely. Outsize freighters carry wings, fuselage sections and rocket stages that fill a hold long before they reach its weight limit.

The BelugaXL replaced the original Airbus BelugaST, a modified A300-600. The XL lifts about 6 t more and has roughly 30% more capacity, enough for two A350 wings where the ST carried one.

Before the Beluga, there was the Aero Spacelines Super Guppy. NASA lists its cargo bay at 111 ft long and 25 ft across, with a useful load of 45,000 lb, so it ranks low on payload and high on space.

The Super Guppy carried Saturn V third stages during Apollo, and in August 1969 it flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia. Only one remains in service, flown by NASA.

Coming next: the 777-8F and the A350F

Two new widebody freighters will join the top 10 once they enter service. Neither is ranked yet, because neither has carried a customer’s cargo.

The Airbus A350F made its first flight from Toulouse on September 29, 2026. Airbus rates it for up to 111 t (244,700 lb), plans a flight test campaign of more than nine months, and had 115 orders at the end of August 2026.

The Boeing 777-8F, at 118 t (260,100 lb), would slot in between the Dreamlifter and the C-5M. It follows the delayed 777-9 passenger jet, and customers now expect it in 2029.

What about the C-130 and the A400M?

The C-130 Hercules and Airbus A400M are two of the most famous military transports, but they are tactical airlifters, built to land on short strips near the front rather than to carry the most weight. For the full range of airlifters by role, see our guide to the types of cargo planes.

The C-130J Super Hercules has a maximum allowable payload of 42,000 lb, or 44,000 lb for the stretched C-130J-30. That is about a quarter of the C-17’s load.

The Airbus A400M Atlas carries 37 t (81,600 lb), or up to 116 paratroopers. It has 178 orders from 10 nations, and sits between the Hercules and the C-17 in size.