News In Brief

Soviet transport aircraft dwarfs US counterpart

The Soviet Union has developed a military transport plane that is bigger than its largest US counterpart and can airlift Soviet SS-20 nuclear missiles, an authoritative military reference book said Wednesday.

The prototype four-engine plane, codenamed Condor by NATO, is the largest aircraft flying in the world today, according to Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1983-84.

Jane's said the new plane, likely to go into service in the mid- or late-1980 s, has a 243-foot wingspan, has a range of 2,850 miles, and is 5 percent bigger than the largest US transport, the C-5 Galaxy.