Russian Transport Aircraft fleet (VTA)

The State of VTA

News on the Il-76MD-90A program provides an opportunity to look at the state of Russia’s VTA, or Military-Transport Aviation.

The Il-76MD-90A is a new aircraft, an updated version of the venerable Il-76 transport produced by the Soviets in large numbers during the 1970s and 1980s.

According to most sources, the VTA is supposed to acquire 39 Il-76MD-90A transports by 2020 [or 2021?]. This may have been slashed to 30, others say. Manufacturer Aviastar-SP reports it has ten of the aircraft in various stages of assembly.

The new transport was at TsAGI in Moscow recently for static structural testing. Prior to that, it conducted flight tests from the Aviastar-SP production facility at Ulyanovsk-Vostochnyy.

Besides new PS-90 engines, the Il-76MD-90A has an all-glass digital cockpit, new flight controls, navigation, and communication systems. The airframe and landing gear have been reinforced. It lifts 60 tons while reportedly consuming less fuel.

The original Il-76 had slightly greater cargo capacity than the U.S. C-141. It’s critical to the mobility of Russia’s Airborne Troops (VDV) and their air-droppable equipment. Civilian versions of the Il-76 remain in use worldwide.

At present, VTA may operate about 100 Il-76M or Il-76MD, and perhaps ten An-124 transports. But the number of operational aircraft could be as low as 60 Il-76 variants and a handful of An-124.

At the outset of the current GPV in 2011, the air forces hoped to procure 100 or more new and updated heavy transport aircraft. The current inventory needs complete replacement in the 2020s and early 2030s. But they have relatively little to show well into 2017.

Together with 39 (or 30?) Il-76MD-90A transports, VTA plans to acquire 30 Il-76MDM aircraft. It’s a renovated Il-76MD with its original engines but the glass cockpit and other updates from the Il-76MD-90A.

Cooperation with the Antonov design bureau and its production facilities is off the table now that military-industrial ties with Ukraine have been severed. Observers once looked for Russia’s VTA to buy 30-50 An-70 transports and the same number of Il-76MD variants and updates.

They also anticipated that Moscow would buy 20 new An-124 aircraft and modernize quite a few existing ones. No alternative for replacing the super-heavy transport has been proffered.

The PAK TA (future aircraft system — transport aviation) remains a mirage. Moscow could mobilize Aviastar-SP to renew production of the An-124, but it would require a lot of resources and time, plus the facility will already have its hands full with the Il-76MD-90A, etc.

There is also the question of VTA’s smaller transports which are ancient and in dire need of replacement. The MOD has settled on procurement of 48 turboprop Il-112V aircraft in GPV 2018-2025 to replace some of its aged An-26 fleet. This decision came after it abandoned efforts to get Antonov’s An-140. The Russians reportedly will continue to develop the turbojet Il-214 medium transport despite India’s decision to bow out of the once joint effort. But there’s little tangible in this program to date.

As if on cue, an anonymous aviation industry source has spilled to Interfaks-AVN on developments in the Il-76MD-90A transport program. Remarkable timing. Can you say reflexive control? But one mustn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. The author is grateful for all info.

The source says Aviastar-SP plans to complete three of the new transports this year. It has already finished five, according to him.

Two Il-76MD-90A aircraft have gone to the MOD (the VKS presumably). Two have gone to Beriev in Taganrog for “reequipping into special designation aircraft.” AWACS and aerial tankers presumably. The fifth is with Ilyushin for development and testing.

Interfaks-AVN’s source reports that the 2012 contract for 39 Il-76MD-90A transports is still in effect.

By 2025, Aviastar-SP intends to produce 170 aircraft in the Il-76MD-90A family. By 2021, it aims to make 18 per year and 21 each year after 2021. It is hoping for 65 export orders.

If you’re still reading in Ulyanovsk or Moscow, we’d all love to hear anything about plans to replace or produce more An-124 transports.

https://russiandefpolicy.blog/2017/02/26/the-state-of-vta/

https://russiandefpolicy.blog/2017/02/28/the-state-of-vta-addendum/

State flight tests of the modernized Il-76MD-M aircraft began

The first prototype of the modernized heavy military transport aircraft Il-76MD-M carried out the first flight [June 14, 2017] during the stage of state joint tests, which the Aviation Complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin holds with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.



The flight, which lasted more than six hours, was carried out on the eve of the LII airfield. M.M. Gromov in the Moscow region of Zhukovsky. The aircraft was piloted by a joint crew of the test pilots of the Aviation Complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin and the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. V.P. Chkalov. The commander of the crew was honored test pilot of the Russian Federation Dmitry Komarov.

"The beginning of the stage of state joint testing is a very important event for us. The modernization of the Il-76MD aircraft, which have proved their reliability, will allow them to extend their service in military transport aviation, increase combat effectiveness, and prepare for a mass transfer to the new Il-76MD-90A, "said Ilyushin's general director Alexei Rogozin.

IL-76MD-M - a project for the modernization of Il-76MD aircraft, developed by the Aviation Complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin in accordance with the tactical and technical assignment approved by the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Defense Ministry in order to modernize the fleet of heavy military transport aircraft Il-76MD, as well as Il-78 and Il-78M fuel tankers.

Between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Aviation Complex. S.V. Ilyushin signed a contract for the modernization of the first batch of military transport aircraft of the Russian Air Force Il-76MD to the level of Il-76MD-M. According to the modernization project, a new pilot-navigation complex was installed on the plane, the lighting, landing and transport and household equipment, as well as defense and communication facilities were replaced. In the nose part there is an optico-electronic sighting system, which works both in the infrared range and in the optical range. During modernization, the Units with the prospective military transport plane Il-76MD-90A and the Il-78M-90A fueler were used. The service life of the aircraft is increased.

In turn, the state joint tests of the Il-76MD-90A aircraft are scheduled to be completed in 2019. In fact, even today the aircraft is in the troops and is being operated simultaneously with the tests.

Comment bmpd. Recall that the first flight of the first model of the modernized military transport aircraft IL-76MD-M (registration number RF-76746, serial number 0073479374, serial number 60-04) was held on February 28, 2016 at the aerodrome JSC Flight Research Institute named after M. M. Gromov "in Zhukovsky. Work on the modernization of this initially military aircraft of the Air Force was carried out on the technical basis of OAO Il in Zhukovsky.

The modernization work was carried out in accordance with the State Contract concluded in August 2013 with the Russian Ministry of Defense with OJSC "Aviation Complex named after I. S.V. Ilyushin "to carry out modernization of the heavy military transport aircraft Il-76MD and the Il-78M refueling aircraft. The state contract provided for the re-equipment of the Il-76MD aircraft, starting in December 2013, but the Il-76MD aircraft (registration number RF-76746, serial number 0073479374, serial number 60-04) actually provided for the conversion as head The Russian Air Force, which was in storage pending repairs from 2009, entered the Il-I facility in Zhukovsky only at the end of 2014, when works on its modernization were started.

The refueling aircraft Il-78, which is subject to pilot modernization under this contract, entered the IL IL base only in 2016.

The upgraded Il-76MD-M aircraft retains the old D-30KP engines, which are being modified to extend their life. The modernization work should bring the airborne equipment of the aircraft to the level of the equipment of the newly constructed Il-76MD-90A. The total service life of the aircraft is extended by 15 years. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense, the cost of upgrading the IL-76MD to the Il-76MD-M version should be only one third of the cost of the new IL-76MD-90A aircraft.

Serious modernization works are planned to be conducted at aircraft repair plants or at technical aviation bases of the Military Transport Aviation. Earlier it was reported that the Ministry of Defense of Russia plans to modernize 41 military transport aircraft Il-76MD to the level of Il-76MD-M.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2672139.html

The former head of the Iliyushin Aviation Complex, Henry Novozhilov, on the state of transport aviation

The website of the Kommersant Publishing House published an interview with the former general designer of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex, Heinrich Novozhilov, "We are striving to make airplanes that do not require major repairs." This enterprise became the head one in the transport aviation division of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Heinrich Novozhilov, the plant's general designer in 1970-2005, and now the chief science adviser of the new head of the company Alexey Rogozin, told Kommersant what tasks are ahead of Ilyushinsky firm, what projects are key and how they are to be implemented.

What will the new status for the Iliyushin Aviation Complex affect?

Certainly, it is positive. With the formation of a gap between generations, it turned out not so easy to pick up the leadership of the air complex. We were organized on January 13, 1933. Sergei Ilyushin assembled a team of six people and began designing a plane TsKB-26, which became the prototype of the IL-4 aircraft - 5.5 thousand of these aircraft made a significant contribution to the victory. Sergei Vladimirovich retired in 1970 in July. He said: "Since I can not come first and go last, I can not be general."

Now the 69th year of my work has gone here. And then, in 1970, by order of the Security Council I was appointed general designer and responsible manager of the enterprise. And in this position I served until 2005: then I turned 80 years old, I wrote a statement and since then I have been working as the Chief Adviser on Science of the General Director. When the corporatization took place, Victor Livanov became the general director, he headed the team before leaving in May 2014. Since that moment, we have changed three leaders: Sergeev, Velmogkin, Rogozin. This, of course, is not great. Alexei Rogozin and I met repeatedly, discussed the problems, and I realized that he and his team are serious people who are interested in ensuring the fulfillment of all the tasks that lie ahead of the division of military transport planes and in front of the Iliyushin Aircraft Complex. Sergei Vladimirovich, when he started work, he said that the most difficult thing was to create a team of enthusiastic like-minded people. It's harder than building a plane. Today, Ilyushin's formula needs to be continued. We have been in good relations with Oleg Konstantinovich Rogozin for many years, especially our contact increased with the creation of the IL-86. He was well versed in technology and was a brave man. I want to express confidence that Alexei Rogozin will follow his grandfather's way and will be a reliable leader. Ilyushinsky style of work consists in that it is necessary to do simply, reliably and durably. During these years, there was not a single day that our aircraft were not in series production.

Are there any new developments now? What is the team working on right now?

Well, firstly, a light turboprop military transport plane IL-112. We have been dealing with it for a long time. Once there was a government decree signed by Viktor Chernomyrdin, so that we could make a passenger plane for 50 people. And curious in this resolution was the system of payment: we had to get money from oil. In Ufa there is an oil refinery, we were given a quota, they produced gasoline and kerosene on the basis of this quota, sold it, and the money went to create an IL-112. They made a preliminary design and began to work. But then the quota was liquidated, and the money was gone. Then the military was asked to replace the An-26 aircraft. We won the competition, presented a breadboard model, the cabin was made of wood, the model of the IL-114 aircraft was used. We started to work, we released about 80% of the drawings, and then the financing ceased. Here it is after a certain number of years resumed. We continued our work. Today, our first VASO plant is building the first prototype IL-112. Today the fuselage is built there, a wing is built, they are docked, it remains to make the filling, and we hope to complete the first flight by the end of the year. This is the first novelty. The second "old" novelty is the IL-114. In Russia, there are three areas in which our citizens understand best: football, aviation and space. And now you read the newspapers, some write that the designer used to impose to Aeroflot what he sees fit, without taking into account the interests of passengers ... No, the plane was always created together. Now they say that this machine has a "redundant" wing. Let's read the requirements for performance and economic characteristics: the practical range is not limited by the total time and should be 5.4 tons with a commercial load of 1 thousand km, with a commercial load of 1.5 tons - 4.8 thousand kilometers. This is done, among other things, so that the aircraft can be operated in the Arctic and Antarctic conditions.

And what about other new products?

An interesting story happened with the creation of a promising medium military transport aircraft, which we initially started to do with the Indians. Immediately the question arose about the cabin: the partners did not need a big one, but we also have to think about our air forces. The corresponding research institute gave the conclusion that the cross section should be the same as on the IL-76 (3,45 on 3,4 m - "b"). And then the plane was born, we installed two PS-90-76 engines on it, half of the 76th car appeared. In addition, now on the basis of the IL-96-400T cargo plane we are going to make a long-haul wide-body aircraft for 415 seats. It's time to displace our respected colleagues, what we are doing today. As for the IL-96, today the most important and difficult thing is to make a new passenger interior.

Is it so difficult?

This is a very difficult job that captures all the aircraft systems. In 1996, we flew the Il-96-300 plane to Basel, it was necessary to make an interior for the quarter. Only for three quarters have consulted.

What is the current interest in military transport aviation?

I'm sure, in Il-112, in Il-76 planes and, of course, in the development of this car - in the elongated modification of IL-76MF.

Military transport aviation receives about 16-18 cars a year from overhaul. Does this fit into the life-cycle program?

We generally strive to make planes that do not require major repairs. A civilian car usually has about 30,000 flight hours, and the military has a small raid, so there it is necessary to look more closely at the state of the aircraft, because the aircraft that flies has less damage than the one that is on the ground. Therefore, I think that there are no special problems, especially since we are now engaged in the modernization of those machines that they have.

What about production capacity? In order to cover all the existing needs of customers, enough?

This is a difficult question. Now the system of work has changed. If earlier we designed and we had here in Moscow, there was pilot production, which made the first prototype aircraft, and it took off from the central airfield, today, for example, we build a new light military transport aircraft IL-112 immediately at VASO. Of course, designers are desirable to add: in the Ilyushin Aviation Complex, we have about half as many people as before 1990. The Russian market is great: both in terms of volume and type of aircraft. And they should be built for the Russian conditions, this is my deepest conviction. But these planes have always found external demand.

In your opinion, when was the hardest period in the enterprise?

I have experienced two conversions in my life. The first was proclaimed by Comrade Malenkov in 1946-1947. We started making pots, teapots ... I can now say that the most difficult part of a teapot is a spout. And when Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev announced the conversion, the Ilyushin Aviation Complex was commissioned, for example, to produce paper bags. We made an automatic machine in Tashkent, he produced any number of these packages, but there was nothing to fall asleep at that time. Or here we had a booth for dynamic drying of mink skins. Once an American professor came to us and asked: "They say you are working on a conversion? And who is responsible for this? "I say:" Anatoly Shaposhnikov. " The professor asks: "What else does he do?" I replied that he was also responsible for the electrician and the flight-navigation complex on our aircraft.

Is there an influx of young cadres?

A very serious issue, and we are doing this in the aviation complex. We carry out a number of works with the Academy of Sciences of Aviation and Aeronautics, and with the aviation engineering club headed by Yuri Sergeevich Yeliseyev. We spend with the youth of the Olympiad on the history of aviation. In 2016, we recruited 457 people. It's not that small. More than half of the new employees, 236 people, are young people under the age of 35. We have a connection with the institutes, we conclude contracts with the students of the MAI, so that they then come to work for us.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2707995.html

Foreign view on the Russian military transport potential

Since the end of 2015, Russia has conducted a number of expedition operations in Syria, relying on the aging military transport aviation and marine platforms. If you fail to correct previous failed attempts to replace them, the country risks losing the opportunity to conduct such operations for the next ten years, says Tom Waldwin of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in the article "Russian military lift risks atrophy".

The current Russian military transport equipment is only a fraction of the one that was in service with the Soviet Union at the time of the end of the Cold War (aviation was 1/5, sea was a quarter from the fleet of the early 1990s). Moreover, the Russian Armed Forces rely on aircraft and ships designed and built during the Soviet period, most of which are approaching the end of their service life.



Military Transport Aviation

Russian capabilities in the sphere of heavy air cargo transportation are based on three types of aircraft: An-22 Antey, Il-76 and An-124 Ruslan. The An-22 made its first flight in 1965, the Il-76 in 1971, and the An-124 in 1982. By the end of the Soviet era, the projects of creating a new generation of military transport aircraft were considered, but with the collapse of the USSR they were collapsed.

The Antonov aircraft plant is located in Ukraine, and the military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Kiev abruptly ended with the accession of Crimea to Russia in 2014. In late 2013, the countries discussed the issue of the resumption of production of An-124. Only a small part of the An-22 aircraft remains flight-tolerant, and efforts are being made to extend their service life to 2020.

Much more numerous is the fleet of Il-76 aircraft, which serve as the "workhorses" of Russian VCS. The aircraft was at the center of modernization efforts, but the results remain modest. Since 2002, two Il-76MD aircraft have been upgraded to the Il-76MD-90 version, and the original D-30 turbofan engines have been replaced by PS-90A. Updates also touched on on-board radio electronic equipment. Nevertheless, this project is also in a state of uncertainty.

At the end of 2006, Russia decided to move the Il-76 production from Tashkent to the Aviastar plant in Ulyanovsk and began developing a much improved version called Il-76MD-90A. It will be a new aircraft, and not just a modernization of the existing design. The first flight tests of the prototype were carried out in September 2012. The following month, Aviastar received a contract worth 139.4 billion rubles for the construction of 39 Il-76MD-90A aircraft with a delivery period between 2014 and 2020. As of mid-2017, only three of the 39 aircraft were transferred.

At the end of 2012, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued PJSC "Aviation Complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin "contract worth 3.4 billion rubles for the modernization of IL-76MD according to the IL-76MD-M standard. This project included the modernization of avionics to the level of IL-76MD-90A, but did not imply the replacement of the D-30 engine. The goal was to extend the life of the aircraft for another 15 years. Today, this project is behind schedule.

With a long-term vision, Moscow once again began to consider the possibility of improving its military transport fleet in the framework of the "Advanced Aviation Transport Aviation Complex" (PAC TA) project. Ilyushin seems to have returned to the developments of the 1980s and early 1990s on the Il-106 project, but it is still difficult to judge the pace and progress in this work. The company is also working on the light turboprop Il-112 transport aircraft, as well as the IL-214 turbofan military transport aircraft. The first is designed to replace the An-26, and the second - An-12.



http://bmpd.livejournal.com/2716240.html