Second life for Ilyushin heavy lifter

The Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft program has recently received a new shot in the arm that can significantly prolong the service life of this model, which enjoys steady demand from both civil and military operators in Russia and abroad. On September 22, the first modernized Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A military heavy-lifter, developed under the Il-476 program, made its 40-minute maiden flight from the factory strip of Aviastar-SP, the Ulyanovsk-based subsidiary of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). This prototype (tail number RA-78650) was rolled out on July 5; the center wingbox and outer wing of another prototype are currently undergoing static and endurance tests at TsAGI Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Zhukovsky outside Moscow.

The start of the Il-76MD-90A flight trials was immediately backed by a launch order from the Russian military. On October 4, the Russian Defense Ministry inked the contract for the purchase of 39 such aircraft; the deal is valued at 140 bln rubles (about $4.5 bln). According to UAC, deliveries should start in 2014 and continue until 2018. Aviastar-SP has already reportedly started to assemble two more Il-76MD-90A prototypes to join the flight trials in 2013. The Defense Ministry is likely to expand its order as the current defense procurement plans call for the purchase of about 100 aircraft of this type.