The Royal Air Force Museum in Cosford, near Wolverhampton, is to open its £12.4m Cold War exhibition on 8 February.

The exhibition will be housed inside a new building – designed by architects Fielden Clegg Bradley and built by Galliford Try – which marks the biggest expansion in the history of the museum.

Covering 8,000sq m (86,100sq ft), the building takes the form of two triangles divided by a central walkway, representing “a world divided by opposing ideologies of the democratic countries and the communist block”.

The exhibition will tell the story of the Cold War and include 17 aircraft, a statue of Lenin, interactive kiosks and audio-visual “hotspots” focusing on key aspects of the war such as the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Space Race.

The project has been funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund, the Ministry of Defence and local councils. Details: www.rafmuseum.org