The Russian military will receive Il-476 heavy transport planes in 2014, the Defense Ministry said. The Il-476 is a upgraded version of Ru...
The Russian military will receive Il-476 heavy transport planes in 2014, the Defense Ministry said.
The Il-476 is a upgraded version of Russia's Il-76 Candid transport plane, featuring a fully-digital flight control system, new avionics and PS-90A-76 engines with improved fuel efficiency.
Russian defense ministry on Thursday signed a contract worth $4 billion with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) for the delivery of 39 Il-476 planes by 2020.
The Il-476 will be built at the Urals-based Aviastar-SP aircraft-manufacturing plant.
A prototype of the plane carried out a maiden flight in last September and will undergo a comprehensive testing program for another year.
The Russian military has not received new transport planes for the last 20 years.
Ii-476's flight range had increased by 25% and the carrying capacity by 15%-17% compared to Ii-76 plane.
According to various sources, there are up to 300 transport aircraft in service with the Russian Air Force, including An-12 Cub, An-72 Coaler, An-22 Cock, An-124 Condor and Il-76 Candid planes. Most of the aircraft entered service in the 1960s and 1970s and are considered outdated by modern safety,efficiency and noise pollution standards.
