Why has Il-112V been a “unwanted brainchild” of the Russian aviation industry for a long time?
Yesterday, March 30, the first flight of the Russian Il-112V aircraft took place, dedicated to the next anniversary of the birth of Sergei Ilyushin, the founder of the famous design bureau. The flight was successful, and experts predict a good future for the military transporter. The history of the Il-112V is very revealing in that it could have appeared two decades ago. However, this "brainchild" of the domestic aviation industry has long been "unwanted."
Since Soviet times, the Russian Ministry of Defense inherited a large fleet of An-26 transport aircraft. These are real “workhorses” capable of carrying 5,5 tons of payload or three dozen military personnel on board, taking off and landing on any runway under any climatic conditions. Today, there are 175 of them in service with our military. An-26 honestly performed their service, but age does not spare anyone. The youngest Ukrainian-made transporter is already 33 years old.
A high degree of wear negatively affects the safety of operation: for the entire time of the disaster occurred with 144 An-26. The last significant one happened a year ago in Syria, when another plane of this model crashed while landing at the Khmeimim airdrome, and 39 Russian troops were killed. The need to abandon the An-26 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was also prompted by deteriorating relations with Ukraine, which blocked the supply of components for repairs through military-technical cooperation.
The decision to switch to domestic aircraft was made at the turning point of 2014. He also had competitors: MiG-110 and turboprop Tu-136. However, the military was chosen Il-112V. This lightweight transporter is capable of transporting paratroopers or payloads weighing up to 5,5 tons. According to its characteristics, it is quite competitive with foreign Xian MA60, C-27 Spartan and An-140. In fact, the Il-112V is a platform on which not only military, but also civilian aircraft will be built. Alexey Rogozin, CEO of Ilyushin, explained:
In the future, the Ministry of Defense may need up to 300 winged aircraft of this class, and in the field of civil transportation - about 1000. It should be noted that everything will rest on the plant’s production capacity, declared at 12 aircraft per year.
In this regard, it is necessary to indicate that the much-needed light transport could appear in our country several decades earlier. Its production could have been established back in 1994, but then no money was found. Ten years later, our own Ministry of Defense made a bet on the Ukrainian An-140, although Il-112 defeated the competition. If the domestic project received the appropriate support and funding, then its production would begin already in 2006 with the declared volumes of 18 winged vehicles per year.
In this case, at the moment, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation could already have an updated fleet of transport aircraft, which would load the Russian industry and prevent human casualties. It is also necessary to indicate that for the ineptly lost time, the Il-112 engines managed to become obsolete and require their replacement with more modern ones.
Nevertheless, the Il-112 is a worthy aircraft in its class, and it really has a good future.
Since Soviet times, the Russian Ministry of Defense inherited a large fleet of An-26 transport aircraft. These are real “workhorses” capable of carrying 5,5 tons of payload or three dozen military personnel on board, taking off and landing on any runway under any climatic conditions. Today, there are 175 of them in service with our military. An-26 honestly performed their service, but age does not spare anyone. The youngest Ukrainian-made transporter is already 33 years old.
A high degree of wear negatively affects the safety of operation: for the entire time of the disaster occurred with 144 An-26. The last significant one happened a year ago in Syria, when another plane of this model crashed while landing at the Khmeimim airdrome, and 39 Russian troops were killed. The need to abandon the An-26 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation was also prompted by deteriorating relations with Ukraine, which blocked the supply of components for repairs through military-technical cooperation.
The decision to switch to domestic aircraft was made at the turning point of 2014. He also had competitors: MiG-110 and turboprop Tu-136. However, the military was chosen Il-112V. This lightweight transporter is capable of transporting paratroopers or payloads weighing up to 5,5 tons. According to its characteristics, it is quite competitive with foreign Xian MA60, C-27 Spartan and An-140. In fact, the Il-112V is a platform on which not only military, but also civilian aircraft will be built. Alexey Rogozin, CEO of Ilyushin, explained:
IL-112 will help in solving many problems, both in the field of military logistics and in the civilian sector.
In the future, the Ministry of Defense may need up to 300 winged aircraft of this class, and in the field of civil transportation - about 1000. It should be noted that everything will rest on the plant’s production capacity, declared at 12 aircraft per year.
In this regard, it is necessary to indicate that the much-needed light transport could appear in our country several decades earlier. Its production could have been established back in 1994, but then no money was found. Ten years later, our own Ministry of Defense made a bet on the Ukrainian An-140, although Il-112 defeated the competition. If the domestic project received the appropriate support and funding, then its production would begin already in 2006 with the declared volumes of 18 winged vehicles per year.
In this case, at the moment, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation could already have an updated fleet of transport aircraft, which would load the Russian industry and prevent human casualties. It is also necessary to indicate that for the ineptly lost time, the Il-112 engines managed to become obsolete and require their replacement with more modern ones.
Nevertheless, the Il-112 is a worthy aircraft in its class, and it really has a good future.
Information