The An-22 is basically an enlarged version of the earlier Antonov An-12 except that it is fitted with a twin tail. This gives the An-22 better engine-out performance, and reduces height restrictions for hangars. Also of note are large anti-flutter masses on the top of each tail.
Being designed as a strategic airlifter, it has the capability to takeoff from austere, unpaved and short airstrips. This is achieved by four pairs of contra-rotating propellers, similar to those on the Tupolev Tu-114. The engines generate significant thrust, and produce a slipstream over the wings and large double-slotted flaps. The landing gear is ruggedized for rough airstrips, and tire pressures can be adjusted in flight for optimum landing performance.
The An-22 follows traditional cargo transport design with a high-mounted wing allowing a cavernous cargo space of 33 m in length and a usable volume of 639 m³. The forward fuselage is pressurized and provides space for 5 to 8 crew and up to 28 passengers, but the cargo space is unpressurized allowing the rear cargo doors to be opened during flight for paratroops and equipment drop. Like the An-12, the aircraft has a circular fuselage section. The An-22 has set a number of payload and payload-to-height world records.
Only one production variant was built, the standard An-22. Prototypes, such as the one first featured at the 1965 Paris Air Show had fully-glazed noses that lacked the radar of production models.

The An-22 was originally built for the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot, the state airline. One unit that operated it was the 566th 'Solnechnogorsk' Military Transport Aviation Regiment, which used the An-22 from 1970 to 1987. Approximately 45 remained in service by the mid-1990s, mostly with the Russian Air Force, but these are slowly being replaced by the bigger turbofan-powered Antonov An-124. The remaining An-22s appear to be operated by an independent military transport aviation squadron at Tver (Migalovo), commanded in 2004 by Lt. Col. V. Borisenko. Currently one An-22 is in use for civilian cargo duties with Antonov Airlines.

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