Ilyushin Il-76

Il-76
Il-76TD-90VD of Volga-Dnepr in 2011
Role Strategic airlifter
National origin Soviet Union / Russia
Manufacturer Ilyushin / Tashkent Aviation Production Association
First flight March 25, 1971
Introduction June 1974[1]
Status Operational
Primary users Russian Air Force
Ukrainian Air Force
Indian Air Force[2]
TransAVIAexport Airlines
Number built 960[3]
Variants Ilyushin Il-78
Beriev A-50
KJ-2000

The Ilyushin Il-76 (NATO reporting name: Candid) is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas of the USSR. Military versions of the Il-76 have seen widespread use in Europe, Asia and Africa, including use as an airborne refueling tanker or as a command center.

The Il-76 has seen extensive service as a commercial freighter for ramp-delivered cargo, especially for outsized or heavy items unable to be otherwise carried. It has been used as emergency response transport for civilian evacuations and to deliver humanitarian/disaster relief aid around the world, especially to undeveloped areas due to its ability to operate from unpaved runways. A water-carrying version of the plane has been effective in fire-fighting. There is also a model used for zero-G training.

Contents

Design and development

The aircraft was first conceived by Ilyushin in 1967 to meet a requirement for a freighter able to carry a payload of 40 tons (88,000 lb) over a range of 5,000 km (2,700 nmi; 3,100 mi) in less than six hours, able to operate from short and unprepared airstrips, and capable of coping with the worst weather conditions likely to be experienced in Siberia and the Soviet Union's Arctic regions. It was intended as a replacement for the An-12. Another intended version was a double-decked 250-passenger airliner but that project was cancelled. The Il-76 first flew on March 25, 1971.

Production of Il-76s was placed in Tashkent Aviation Production Association in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (then a republic of the Soviet Union). Some 860 of the basic transport variants were made.[4] In the 1990s, modernized variants were developed (MF, TF), with a cargo compartment 20 m long by 3.4 m wide by 3.4 m tall, but were not produced in significant quantity due to financial problems of the major user, the Russian Air Force. The prototype of the longer variant Il-76MF, with greater capacity, first flew on 1 August 1995. The production ceased around 1997, and the factory has since deteriorated.

Some commercial aircraft were modernized to the Il-76TD-90VD version, starting from 2004, using new PS-90 engines to meet European noise limits.[1] In 2005, China ordered in Russia 34 new Il-76MDs and 4 Il-78 tankers, and the factory in Tashkent produced 16 incomplete airframes. In 2004, A PLAAF (People's Liberation Army Air Force) Il-76 carried out flight mission in Afghanistan, later in 2011, PLAAF Il-76s were sent to Libya to evacuate Chinese citizens. The two missions were reported first steps of PLAAF developing long-range transportation capacity.[5]

Production of the Il-476 at a new production line at the Aviatstar factory in Ulyanovsk, in Russia, in cooperation with the Tashkent works, is under consideration.[4] The construction of two prototype IL-476s has begun at the Ulyanovk facility.[6][7][8][9]

Operational history

First aircraft were delivered to the Soviet Air Force in June 1974.[1] Next it became the main Soviet strategic transport aircraft. From 1976 it was operated by the Aeroflot lines.

Between 1979 and 1991, the Soviet Air Force Il-76s made 14,700 flights into Afghanistan, transporting 786,200 servicemen, and 315,800 tons of freight. The Il-76 carried 89% of Soviet troops and 74% of the freight that was airlifted.[10] As Afghan rebels were unable to shoot down high-flying Il-76s, their tactics were to try and damage it at take-off or landing. Il-76s were often hit by shoulder-launched Stinger and Strela heat-seeking missiles and large-calibre machine-gun fire, but because the strong airframes were able to take substantial damage and still remain operational, the aircraft had a remarkably low attrition rate during the period of conflict. Building on that experience, the bulk of the Canadian Forces equipment into Afghanistan is flown in using civilian Il-76.[11] In 2006, the Russian Air Force had about 200 Il-76s. Civilian users in Russia have 108.[4]

Il-76s sitting on the ramp at the Tripoli Airport were bombed by USAF F-111s during Operation El Dorado Canyon in April 1986.[12]

The Il-76 is also in use as an airborne tanker, otherwise known as a refueller (Il-78, some 50 were made[4]), and a waterbomber. Its airframe was used as a base for the Beriev A-50 'Mainstay' AWACS aircraft (some 25 were made[4]). Still more applications have been found in Antarctic support flights and simulated weightlessness training for cosmonauts.[13] Beriev and NPO Almaz also developed an airborne laser flying laboratory designated A-60, of which two were built, although little is known about it, as the project is still classified.[14]

Variants

Prototypes and developmental variants

Military variants

Civil variants

Foreign variants

Operators

Military and civil operators in 38 countries have operated 850+ Il-76 in large numbers. While Russia is the largest military operator of the Il-76, followed by Ukraine and India, Belarus' TransAVIAexport Airlines is the largest civilian operator. In the list below, known current operators are listed in italics.

 United Nations
 Algeria
 Angola
 Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Belarus
 Burkina Faso
 Cambodia
 China
 Democratic Republic of the Congo
 Republic of the Congo
 Cuba
 Equatorial Guinea
 Hungary
 India
 Iran
 Iraq
 Jordan
 Kazakhstan
 Kyrgyzstan
 Laos
 Latvia
 Libya
 Mali
 Moldova
 North Korea
 Russia
 Serbia
 Sierra Leone
 Soviet Union
 Sudan
 Syria
 Turkmenistan
 Ukraine
 United States
 United Arab Emirates
 Uzbekistan
 Yemen

Incidents and accidents

Specifications (Il-76D)

Data from [2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Notes:

  1. ^ 48,000 kg for the Il-76M/T, 50,000 kg for the Il-76MD/TD and 60,000 kg for the Il-76MF/TF
  2. ^ 92,000 kg (Il-76MD/TD), 104,000 kg (Il-76MF/TF)
  3. ^ for other models: 170,000 kg (Il-76M/T), 190,000 kg Il-76MD/TD), 210,000 kg (Il-76MF/TF)
  4. ^ 4,000 km (Il-76M/T), 4,400 km (Il-76MD/TD), 4,200 km (Il-76MF/TF)
  5. ^ 633.3 kg/m² (Il-76MD/TD)
  6. ^ 0.282 (Il-76M/T), 0.252 (Il-76MD/TD), 0.228 (Il-76MF/TF)

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Related lists

References

  1. ^ a b c d Butowski, Piotr. Iliuszyn Ił-76 powraca. Lotnictwo nr. 9/2004, p. 28-32 (Polish)
  2. ^ a b "Ilyushin beriev IL-76 Candid (Gajraj)". Indian-military.org. http://www.indian-military.org/air-force/support/transport-aircraft/205-ilyushin-beriev-il-76-candid-gajraj.html. Retrieved 7 July 2011. 
  3. ^ [Ilyushin Il-76: Russia's Versatile Jet Freighter]
  4. ^ a b c d e Butowski, Piotr. Rosyjski kontrakt na Ił-76 i Ił-78 dla Chin. Lotnictwo nr. 1/2007, pp. 54-55 (Polish)
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External links