IL-276 - take off next year

More recently, every fourth aircraft produced on planet Earth was of Soviet origin. And the point is not only in the quantity, but also in the quality of aviation equipment developed and produced in the USSR. Suffice it to recall such unique completed projects as Mriya and Buran. Today, unfortunately, the situation is different. Nevertheless, aircraft are being developed, projects are being created, concepts are being built. Things are moving forward, though slowly. One of the ways to implement ideas in aviation is to find a reliable partner-sponsor. It was precisely this method that Russian developers resorted to at the initial stage when designing the Il-276, which should replace the cargo Anas of models 12, 26 and 72.

India - Russia

At the origins of the aircraft was the NPK from the Russian Federation "Irkut" and the Hindustan Aeronautics organization. The cooperation began in 2001. India's capital investments amounted to almost 600 million in US currency. This is with the market value of the Il-276 aircraft itself (preliminary estimate) at 30-40 million dollars (some publications give cost figures of 15-17 million).



In 2007, the agreement was finalized: according to its clauses, the Indian and Russian participants owned equal shares - 50/50. The joint venture was named Multirole Transport Aircraft Limiterd, headquartered in Delhi.

Plans and reality

Initially, the liner received four names. The aircraft could be a medium military transport or multi-purpose (SVTS or MTS, respectively). Other names are Medium Transport Aircraft and Il-214. The plans were far-reaching: at first they wanted to assemble 205 liners and push the American "bestseller" C-130J. In the process of dreams, somehow "imperceptibly" the cost of the project doubled, and if everything worked out, both Russians and Indians would have been flying on a new plane for 5 years already. But in 2015, India left the project without an "explanation of reasons". Why this happened is not entirely clear: either the Americans put pressure on them, or they felt sorry for the money.





However, the development did not stop: the aircraft was renamed Il-2017 in 276, some specific elements were removed from its design that contribute to better operation in the climatic conditions of India. As if anticipating a gap, KB them. Ilyushin in 2014 worked out their own version of the liner. Therefore, "going out on an independent voyage" was not so painful.



What will be the "purely" Russian Il-276. According to its intended purpose, this aircraft is of a “double” type: civil-military. It is supposed to create several modifications of the aircraft:

✅ landing aircraft with a capacity of up to 150 fighters (70 if with armored vehicles - a pair of armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles or infantry fighting vehicles)
✅ flying hospital
✅ transport aircraft for the transport of goods weighing up to 20 tons, including containers of standard dimensions
✅ search and rescue vehicle
✅ passenger liner, designed for about 100 people

It is worth noting that an unpaved runway with a length of at least 1530 m is also suitable for takeoff. The wingspan became less by 276 m, the fuselage was shortened, but heavier. The keel of the aircraft began to resemble the Il-4. The crew should consist of three or four people (not yet finalized). The flight range will be 76 (2 ferry) kilometers at a cruising speed of 7 km/h (the highest is 800 km/h). The maximum flight altitude is 870 meters. The operational resource of an aircraft is 12 flight hours, 30 sorties or 24 years of service. The aircraft in military modification will be equipped with weapons. However, it is not known how - the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation does not disclose the data. The predecessor has on board a pair of 35 mm cannons and several bombs (up to 23 pieces) of various calibers.

About the design and equipment

This is a monoplane with a high wing and two engines. According to the section of the cargo compartment, the machine repeats the Il-76MD-90A. This solution allows using the existing infrastructure for loading / unloading. Suspension equipment is likely to be borrowed from the same IL-76 or IL-112V.



The features of the new liner include avionics, or avionics, which is also used on the MS-21. The system for displaying information is going to be unified as much as possible with the existing one in order to quickly retrain pilots. At the same time, the avionics is designed to change the architecture: you can add some new systems, modules. The cockpit will have a single information field, which will include 6 multifunctional monitors and a pair of indicators placed on the windshield.

Engines

There is reason for optimism here. At the first stages of the development of the liner, it was planned to install Perm PS-9 units, providing thrust of 9 tf (even a little more). However, the engine was never created: apparently, the factory workers had other, priority projects. As a result, the car began to be adapted for more powerful engines. At the initial stage, it was decided to test the aircraft with the PS-90A-76, which developed a thrust of 16 tf.



Later they planned to switch to the PD-14, which by the time of the tests would be finally “brought to mind”. Its use will reduce the cost of the aircraft. In the meantime, it was necessary to adapt the liner to the PS-90, which turned out to be not only powerful, but also voracious: the take-off weight increased by 4 tons and reached 72 tons. The option of installing NK-93 engines on the aircraft was also considered, but the idea was abandoned.

With the result that

If civilians can “be patient”, then the military needs an aircraft like air. By 2025, at most, 2026, the Russian Aerospace Forces will remain with transport ships, among which a large proportion (about 140 pieces of equipment) will almost exhaust their operational life, not to mention that they are morally obsolete today. The currently used AN-12 will be massively decommissioned just in 2023. It is assumed that 80% of military cargo transportation will fall on the new transporter.



The aircraft is being built at the production facilities of the Aviastar company (Ulyanovsk). First of all, the transporter will go to the army aviation. According to the developers, the state will order at least 12 cars a year. In the future, civil versions of the aircraft will also come into play. But in any case, it will be possible to completely “saturate” the Russian market with such machines no earlier than 2034.



Test flights of the Il-276 are scheduled for next year, and the entry into military and commercial operation is scheduled for 2026. If these deadlines are not met, the country will have to go to the world market, only as a buyer, not a seller ...