On the basis of the military transport Il-76, new aircraft may be created in the future.
This was stated by the first deputy general director of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the managing director of PJSC "Il" Sergei Yarkovoy.
“We look to the future with confidence.
The use of new design methods and modern production technologies provide an opportunity for further effective modernization of the aircraft and the creation on its basis of aircraft of various purposes, special aviation complexes that meet all Russian and international requirements, ”Yarkovy TASS quotes.
Over the half-century history of the Il-76 aircraft, about a thousand machines in various modifications were produced.
Today the aircraft of this family are operated in 24 countries of the world.
Legendary story
The Il-76 made its first flight 50 years ago - on March 25, 1971.
Five years earlier, in June 1966, the USSR Ministry of Aviation Industry decided to create a new turbojet military transport aircraft.
Its development was entrusted to the Ilyushin Design Bureau.
The head of the OKB, the legendary Soviet aircraft designer Sergei Ilyushin approved the technical proposal for the design of the Il-76 in February 1967.
In the same year, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a resolution on the beginning of the design of the aircraft.
The first production model took off on May 5, 1973.
Armed Forces of the USSR.
Landing of military equipment from the Il-76 military transport aircraft
RIA News
© Lev Polikashin
The Il-76 is classified as a heavy military transport aircraft.
Depending on the modification, it can carry loads weighing up to 60 tons, its maximum take-off weight is 210 tons. It is worth noting that the Il-76 became the first heavy military transport aircraft with turbojet engines in the history of the Soviet Union (there are four of them on this machine). which allows him to cover a distance from 4 to 6.5 thousand km at a cruising speed of up to 850 km / h.
The aircraft is designed to transport cargo and equipment for various purposes, and can also be used for airborne assault.
The Il-76 has a traditional design of a single-fuselage high-wing aircraft with a swept wing with a span of 50.5 m and a T-shaped tail.
Inside, the aircraft fuselage is divided into several sealed units.
At the same time, he has two cabins: one for the pilots, located in the upper part of the aircraft, and under it there is a second cockpit for the navigator.
In addition, the aircraft has a sealed cargo compartment with a volume of 321 sq.
m, and in the tail of the military models there is a compartment for the shooter, equipped with a stern installation with twin GSh-23 double-barreled cannons.
The crew of the aircraft is 5 people; in the amphibious version, 245 soldiers or 126 fully equipped paratroopers can be transported in the sealed cabins of the vehicle, taking into account its two-deck layout.
For landing, the Il-76 uses a five-bearing chassis.
At the same time, the developer notes that the design and characteristics of the aircraft allow it to be used both on concrete and on unpaved airfields of limited dimensions.
“This aircraft can be found in remote and inaccessible regions with severe climatic and temperature conditions.
He is not afraid of poorly equipped airfields, lands and takes off from unprepared runways with artificial and unpaved surfaces, and can work for weeks away from the home airfield, ”the developer's website says.
According to the executive director of the Aviaport agency Oleg Panteleev, the Il-76 aircraft are currently the main aircraft of the transport aviation of the Russian Federation.
“It is with them that the ability to resolve large-scale tactical and, in some cases, strategic tasks is largely connected.
Including the aircraft is capable of transporting a wide range of weapons and cargo, as well as manpower.
And, if necessary, can drop airborne units, "the expert emphasized in an interview with RT.
According to Oleg Panteleev, the Il-76 still more than successfully copes with the tasks that a military transport aircraft must solve.
At the same time, new modifications and machines built on its basis can become even more effective, Panteleev is sure.
“By itself, the basic design of the Il-76 turned out to be very successful, reliable and easy to operate, but over the past time the radio-electronic equipment that the aircraft was equipped with has become obsolete.
In addition, various technological solutions have appeared, the use of which allows, on the one hand, to modernize some of the existing Il-76 and significantly increase their capabilities, and on the other, to create a new aircraft with modern, reliable and efficient engines, ”the expert said.
New Horizons
The Il-76 aircraft is produced in various modifications that solve a wide range of tasks not only of a military nature.
For example, the flying military hospital Il-76MD "Scalpel-MT", which took part in the operation of Russian troops in Syria, the IL-76PS, which is used in search and rescue operations at sea, the Il-76P firefighting aircraft.
In addition, on the basis of the Il-76, the Il-76MDK was created - a specialized aircraft for training cosmonauts with an imitation of a state of weightlessness.
The Ilyushin Design Bureau noted that the potential and engineering solutions incorporated in the design of the Il-76 aircraft make it possible not only to successfully operate it for 50 years, but also to develop it as a unique transport platform.
Heavy transport aircraft Il-76MD-90A "Genrikh Novozhilov" in the workshop of the aviation enterprise "Aviastar-SP" in Ulyanovsk
RIA News
© Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
“Throughout the history of the IL-76 program, about 1000 aircraft of this type have been produced and delivered to customers.
This is the best proof of its reliability, ease of use, versatility.
Today we are creating a deeply modernized Il-76MD-90A aircraft.
It allows solving most of the tasks of military transport aviation at a qualitatively new technical level, complying with both current and future requirements of the Russian Ministry of Defense, "said IL Managing Director Sergei Yarkovoy.
As Major General Vladimir Popov, Honored Pilot of Russia, said in a commentary to RT, the Il-76 is one of the leading military transport aircraft of high payload.
“Considering that this aircraft has been in operation for a long time, and its modernized modifications meet all the requirements of our time, we can assume that the designers have laid a powerful potential in this project,” the expert noted.
Promising alternative platforms are now being developed, but none has yet been compared in terms of intensity of use and efficiency with the Il-76, Vladimir Popov emphasized.
“It can be considered that this aircraft turned out to be an epoch-making one, since it has been in service for many years, it is used to transport, drop equipment and personnel of the Airborne Forces.
This platform combines uniqueness, uniformity and the ability to perform operational and tactical tasks, ”said the expert.
In addition, according to Popov, the new versions of the Il-76 have improved carrying capacity.
“If the first IL-76 models had a carrying capacity within 45 tons, then the modernized cargo compartment was increased by 10 meters, and new engines were installed, which allows them to lift 60 tons of cargo.
These are good indicators in modern conditions, and we can expect that the aircraft of the new generation will develop in this direction, "- said Vladimir Popov.
Oleg Panteleev also noted the improved characteristics of new aircraft modifications - Il-76MD-90A and Il-78M-90A.
“The advantages that the new engines provide will undoubtedly be used to solve other applied problems and release modifications that will increase the capabilities of the Russian military transport and strategic aviation,” the expert said.
He recalled that a new assembly line was put into operation at the Aviastar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk, which will increase the rate of production of these aircraft.
“In this case, we can hope that the modernized Il-76 aircraft, as well as new-generation aircraft, will be even more widely used.
Such aircraft will be in demand not only in Russia, but also abroad, where there are not so many machines of this type that could solve problems with the same success as the Il-76, ”concluded Oleg Panteleev.