Russia is required to independently manufacture the entire inventory of military transport aircraft in the strategically critical field of transport airplanes. As equipment decommissions at the end of its service life, the current fleet of transport aircraft is rapidly diminishing. The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has been assigned an unprecedented challenge: developing and beginning the production of new aircraft in each category of transport planes—light, medium, heavy, and super-heavy.
The Ministry of Defense is primarily updating the aircraft fleet as part of a comprehensive rearmament drive. The initial phase involved the upgrade of the Il-76MD-90A. The Il-76 has a history that extends nearly three decades. The aircraft entered service within three years of its inaugural flight. Production of the heavy transport aircraft class reached approximately 1,000 units, with a payload capacity of up to 50 tons.
Engineers substantially enhanced the aircraft’s characteristics during its initial years of development, making it indispensable in combat operations. The initial demonstration of its flight capabilities occurred during the Afghan War. The Il-76 was responsible for the delivery of nearly all personnel, 74% of ammunition, and equipment to combat zones. The aircraft completed 14,700 flights during the Afghan conflict, which equates to an average of four missions per day spread over a decade. Soviet personnel continued to provide weapons to allied forces even after the withdrawal of major forces in 1989.
The Taliban made an effort to disrupt the flights of Soviet aircraft. The Taliban’s capture of an Il-76, which transpired six years after the official conclusion of hostilities, served as the inspiration for Andrei Kavun’s film Kandahar. This incident is perhaps the most well-known. Seven crew members remained captive for over a year before they could escape. Interestingly, one of the Ural transport companies still operates the legendary aircraft. The Il-76MD-90A is the 25th iteration of the iconic transport aircraft.
Mikhail Kuimov, a test pilot who has flown nearly all of the basic Il-76 variants, asserts that the core control system remains untouched. Aviators familiar with the Il-76 will easily adapt to the new model. This modification replaces all electromechanical instruments, including artificial horizons, speed, and altitude indicators, with a complete “glass cockpit”. The displays of the aircraft have become more compact, consolidating all previously dispersed systems across multiple panels into a single information field accessible to all crew members. The new aircraft is capable of landing in nearly any weather condition due to its improved safety measures.
Thanks to a new autopilot, the aircraft meets ICAO Category II standards, reducing the decision height for landing to 30 meters. This implies that the transport aircraft, which weighs 200 tons, has the capability to abort a landing at such a low altitude if necessary. Furthermore, the aircraft either completely replaced the engines, landing gear, and wings, or underwent substantial redesigns. If the airframe and aerodynamics function well during operation and the engines and avionics undergo periodic upgrades, the aircraft can have a long service life.
The Aviastar-SP plant in Ulyanovsk, which was specifically designed for the production of large transport planes, commenced the production of the new aircraft. The Russian Ministry of Defense has executed the most significant contract in the past two decades, procuring 39 new Il-76MD-90A aircraft at a cost of approximately 140 billion rubles which is about US Dollar 1.4 billion. The new Il-76 was initially designed using contemporary digital technologies to satisfy this order.
As a result, Aviastar-SP had to replace one-third of its equipment to construct aircraft using electronic blueprints. The installation of new five-axis machining centers resulted in a substantial reduction in the production time of parts and a quality improvement. The plant’s modernization will require an additional two years and a total of 10 billion rubles (100 Million USD), an unprecedented sum.
Designers decided to create a seamless wing panel without unnecessary joints, making it stronger. This solution would have been unattainable in the absence of sophisticated machining centers. Specialized assembly machines were used to build the initial three aircraft. The plant is ready to manufacture up to 21 aircraft annually, a highly ambitious objective for Aviastar-SP, even though it has experienced layoffs and a 20-year gap in attracting new talent.
The Russian military requires a minimum of 130 heavy and super-heavy transport aircraft, and private companies require even more. The commercial cargo aviation market turnover is anticipated to increase to $3 billion and reach $7 billion by 2030, according to industry experts.
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