Oleksandr Vasylyovych Halunenko () is a Ukrainian

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

, Honoured Test Pilot of the USSR, the president of the Ukrainian Federation of Aeronautical Sports (member of the

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

), and recipient of the title

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

. He is known for testing such airplanes as the

Antonov An-124 Ruslan The Antonov An-124 Ruslan (; ; NATO reporting name: Condor) is a large, strategic airlift, four-engined aircraft that was designed in the 1980s by the Antonov design bureau in the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union (USSR). The An-124 is the ...

and the super giant

Antonov An-225 Mriya The Antonov An-225 Mriya (; NATO reporting name: Cossack) was a large strategic airlift cargo aircraft designed and produced by the Antonov Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was originally developed during the 1980s as an enlarged deriva ...

. Halunenko received the Hero of Ukraine award for manually landing the second prototype of the Antonov An-70 successfully, after malfunctions of the electronic control system occurred during its April 1997 initial flight. After retiring from flying in 2004, he served a single term in the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovna Rada building in Ukraine's capi ...

beginning in 2006. A resident of Bucha, Ukraine, Halunenko survived the

battle of Bucha The battle of Bucha was part of the Kyiv offensive (2022), Kyiv offensive in the Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, Bucha. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forc ...

during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

Awards

with the Order of the Gold Star (August 21, 1999) *

Order of Merit (Ukraine) The Order of Merit () (Distinguished service) first, second or third class, is the Ukrainian order of merit, given to individuals for outstanding achievements in economics, science, culture, military or political spheres of activity. It was firs ...

(September 20, 1997)

References

External links

"Лётчик Александр Галуненко: при СССР государство относилось к авиапрому более ответственно"
("The pilot Oleksandr Halunenko: during the Soviet Union, the state was more responsible towards aviation industry"), ''Glavred'', 22 September 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Halunenko, Oleksandr 1946 births Living people People from Zaporizhzhia Oblast Fifth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Party of Regions politicians Antonov Ukrainian test pilots Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine) Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Soviet test pilots