IL-76MD Image Credit:Rostec Russia's new generation Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A strategic airlifter completed its maiden flight from Aviasta...
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| IL-76MD Image Credit:Rostec |
The aircraft flew for 4 hours 20 minutes, during which the crew carried out various aerial manueuvers to access handling and performance of the new cargo jet.
The aircraft was tested for in-flight controllability and stability, the performance of the new engines, onboard systems and equipment.
IL-76MD-90A is an extensively modified version of the proven Il-76MD airplane, which was produced in Uzbekistan by Tashkent Aviation Production Association.
The aircraft features a new wing design, upgraded avionics and undercarriage, and four fuel-efficient and quieter fourth-generation PS-90A-76 engines replacing the older D-30KP-2 engines. The upgrade has increased the payload to 60 metric tons, while fuel consumption has been reduced.
Aviastar has started the series production of IL-76MD-90A, with more than 10 airframes currently in the various stages of production. Design of aircraft and organization of series production began in 2007.
Russian Defense Ministry has ordered 39 of the new-generation airlifter for Russian Air Force. The Russian Ministry for Emergencies and Disaster Response has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire six airframes. The Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Police Ministry have also confirmed their interest.
The IL-76MD-90A will also be used as future Russian AWACS and aerial refuelling platform.
The aircraft will be transferred to the G.M. Beriev Aviation R&D and Production Complex in Taganrog for fitting out and conversion to prototype of A-100, a future long-range radar detection and control aircraft(AWACS).
The new A-100, equipped with powerful panoramic surveillance radars and state-of-the-art computers will be capable of scanning the airspace for hundreds of kilometers in every direction, identifying targets and sending complete targeting data to anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems enabling them to shoot down the targets, replacing the current A-50 AWACS based on IL-76 airframe.
Concern Vega has developed Premier, a state-of-the-art panoramic radar system for the new plane. The new radar system comprises a rotating antenna capable of active electronic vertical scanning and mechanical bearing scanning. The radar antenna makes one revolution every five seconds.
With more than 1,000 Il-76s of different variants manufactured to date, this is the most mass-produced military cargo jet in the world.
