To revitalize the domestic aviation sector, the United Aviation Corporation (UAC) has launched multiple plans to develop domestic passenger jets, including versions from the Il-96 series.
The first flight of the prototype Il-96-400M wide-body aircraft occurred in November 2023. However, it is now evident that this aircraft, like the Il-96-300, will not be mass produced or given to Russian airlines.
Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, has also declined to purchase the much-debated long-range wide-body plane, despite the fact that its CEO previously claimed that wide-body aircraft were required to replace their foreign fleet.
The plane’s four-engine layout, which is reportedly less fuel efficient than twin-engine aircraft, was a crucial factor in this decision.
Aeroflot’s CEO, Sergey Alexandrovsky, emphasized the necessity to reduce the aircraft’s weight and alter the cockpit to accommodate two crew members in order to compete with Western competitors. He noted that the Il-96-400M is economically inefficient in its current configuration, particularly compared to other aircraft in its class.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the modified Il-96-400M, with its enlarged fuselage, had a 20% price increase over the previously planned cost of 7 billion rubles.
This indicates that the Il-96-400M has already outperformed its goal price, which is nearly half the catalog price of some of the most recent Airbus and Boeing planes in its class. This occurs prior to the aircraft’s certification, as testing determines the final cost.
Independent experts claim that the Il-96-400M’s increased cost is due to the fabrication of all of its components as one-offs. Unlike Western vendors for Boeing and Airbus, most suppliers for this project are monopolies, despite being members of the Rostec group.
However, experts believe that if the jet enters serial production and is handed to airlines in tiny batches of six units per year, the price may eventually fall.
Rostec appears to have taken note of this issue and has resumed construction of the long-awaited Il-96, a Russian aircraft based on the Il-86 airframe created in the 1970s.
According to recent sources, the state corporation has reached an agreement on technical specifications and has commenced development on a twin-engine Il-96. This was discovered by an aviation industry insider.
UAC first announced plans to build a twin-engine variant of the Il-96-400M in May of this year. Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov stated in an interview that the four-engine Il-96-400M with PS-90A engines had little chance of being an efficient aircraft for the commercial airline industry, even with sanctions.
According to the source, the development and manufacturing of the new wholly domestic twin-engine variant of the Il-96-400M would occur concurrently with the development of its PD-35 engines.
This is despite the fact that there are still issues with the development of the high-power PD-35 engine, as former Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov stated in October 2023.
For those unaware, lead designer Alexander Inozemtsev previously said that the thrust of this power unit will range between 35 and 40 tons. However, after testing the gas generator, Manturov anticipates the engine’s thrust to range between 26 and 35 tons. Furthermore, Manturov stated that the engine may not be capable of reaching 35 tons.
According to several reports, the greatest thrust recorded during PD-35 testing at the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM) was not more than 30 tons. This falls short of the projected 38-ton PD-35 engines for the Il-96-400M.
As a result, the viability of placing PD-35 engines on military transport aircraft such as the Il-76, which is expected to carry a 100-ton payload, is dubious.
Experts estimate that if the PD-35 engine can produce 32 tonnes of thrust by 2030, it will be deemed a success for this promising high-power turbofan engine built in Perm.
Given that the PS-90A1 engine, designed expressly for the Il-96-400, has a maximum thrust of 17.4 tons (compared to 16 tons for the PS-90A engines used in the Il-96-300), it is evident that the Il-96-400M required a total engine thrust of at least 69 tons.
This indicates that even with two PD-35 engines producing a combined thrust of 60 tons, the power would be insufficient for the Il-96-400M.
It is critical to consider the certification standards for twin-engine aircraft, which demand the capacity to fly and land with a single engine in the case of a failure.
Nonetheless, according to the source, work is being done to lighten the airframe of the twin-engine Il-96-400M. However, the specifics of the weight loss are unknown.
According to the source, the focus will most likely be on the center wing box, as well as the construction and mechanization of a new wing. Furthermore, outfitting the aircraft with current onboard technology is intended to drastically lower the weight of the twin-engine Il-96-400M.
The source also stressed the importance of standardizing the new center wing box and wing for the Il-96-300 variant, hinting that plans are in the works to build a twin-engine version of the domestic wide-body aircraft. However, whether this will result in a larger wing or a new composite wing is unknown.
Given that some funding for the PD-35 engine has been redirected to other projects, such as the PD-14 and PD-8, and that the timeline for serial production of the high-power Russian turbofan engine has been pushed from 2028 to 2030, the twin-engine Il-96-400M is unlikely to appear in Russian airlines until the next decade—assuming the program is not shelved again.
It is worth noting that the Il-96-400M program was established via presidential decree. The Il-96-400M is an upgraded variant of the Il-96-300, with a longer fuselage (from 55.34 to 63.94 meters) and a bigger wingspan. Furthermore, the aircraft has more powerful PS-90A1 engines, which provide 17.4 tons of thrust, as opposed to the 16-ton PS-90A engines on the Il-96-300 variant.
According to the specifications, the Il-96-400M can carry up to 370 people in a standard two-class wide-body configuration and up to 435 passengers in a single-class configuration. The aircraft’s top speed is 900 km/h, while its cruise speed is 870 km/h.
The aircraft has a nonstop flight range of up to 8,100 kilometers. However, due to the airframe’s overweight design and the fuel-hungry PS-90A1 engines, the first prototype Il-96-400M’s range when fully loaded is limited to 6,400 km, according to reports.
In contrast, the narrow-body MC-21-400LR, with its stretched fuselage, enhanced range of up to 10 to 12 thousand kilometers, and capacity of up to 256 seats, appears to be a far more viable choice. Work on this aircraft began last year.
Furthermore, Denis Manturov believes the long-range version of the MC-21 will be available by the end of 2028. This may have an impact on the twin-engine Il-96 program’s future development.
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