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Ilyushin Il-76

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The Ilyushin Il-76 (NATO reporting name: Candid) is a 4-engined strategic airlifter designed in the Soviet Union and in widespread use in Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally built for the military, the plane has subsequently seen extensive service as a commercial freighter, especially for the delivery of outsized or very heavy cargo. The Il-76 has reportedly carried some 90% of the world's ramp-delivered airfreight and about 90% of Europe's disaster relief supplies [citation needed] while a water-carrying version of the plane has proven effective in fire-fighting operations in many countries.

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 nautical miles; 3,100 statute miles) 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. The Il-76's original design was influenced (at least in part) by the development of the US Lockheed C-141 Starlifter. Differences in design included an observation/navigation nose, heavy duty landing gear, more powerful engines, slightly larger cargo hold and a defensive tail gun (military versions). It first flew on March 25, 1971, and is still in production in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Operational history

File:Iraqi Airways Ilyushin Il-76 at Basle - November 1984.jpg
Ilyushin Il-76MD of Iraqi Airways at Basle in 1984

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.[1] Building on that experience, the bulk of the Canadian Forces equipment into Afghanistan is flown in using civilian Il-76[2].

On August 29, 2005, the day before the levees of New Orleans gave way to the forces of Hurricane Katrina, the Russian Federation offered humanitarian aid to the United States. Two EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft landed at a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock, Arkansas September 8. This marks the first time Russia has flown such a mission to North America. A second Emergency Situations ministry Il-76 first-aid shipment, specially arranged with the U.S. leadership, departed Russia for Little Rock September 14.

India also used an Il-76 to deliver aid on September 13, 2005 for Katrina victims.

The Il-76 is also in use as an airborne tanker, otherwise known as a refueller (Il-78), and a waterbomber. Its airframe was used as a base for the Beriev A-50 'Mainstay' AWACS aircraft.

Variants

Military variants

  • Il-76D - ('D' for Desantniy, Десантный - "for paratroopers") has a gun turret in the tail for defense purposes.
  • Il-76M - Transport version.
  • Il-76MD - Transport version.
  • Il-76MD-90 - An Il-76MD with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines.
  • Il-76MF - Stretched military version with 6m longer fuselage and Lift capability of 60 Tonnes. .
  • Il-76PP - Il-76MD-based radio jammer
  • Il-78MKI - Tanker version for the Indian Air Force. Has mid-air refueling pods.
  • Il-76 Phalcon - For the Indian Air Force. Hosts Phalcon radar for AWACS.
  • SKIP - (СКИП - Самолетный Контрольно-Измерительный Пункт, Airborne Check-Measure-and-Control Point) - Il-76/A-50 based aircraft initially built to support Kh-55 cruise missile tests.

Civil variants

Ilyushin Il-76T
  • Il-76T - ('T' for Transport, Транспортный) unarmed civil cargo transport version. NATO code-name Candid-A. It first flew on November 4, 1978.
  • Il-76TD - The civil equivalent of the Il-76MD, first flew in 1982.
  • Il-76TD-90VD - An Il-76TD with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines and a partial glass cockpit.
  • Il-76TF - Civil transport stretched version with Aviadvigatel PS-90 engines. It is the civil version of the Il-76MF.
  • Il-76P - Firefighting aircraft. The Il-76 waterbomber is a VAP-2 1.5 hour install/removal tanking kit conversion. The Il-76 can carry up to 13,000 U.S. gallons (49,000 liters) of water; 3.5 times the capacity of the C-130 Hercules. Since this kit can be installed on any Il-76, the designation Il-76TP, Il-76TDP are also used when those versions of the Il-76 are converted into waterbombers. The Il-76P was first unveiled in 1990.

Foreign Variants

KJ-2000

Main article: KJ-2000

Domestic Chinese AWACS conversion of Il-76 after the setback of the A-50I.

The current KJ-2000 AWACS in Chinese service is equipped with a domestic Active Electronically Scanned Array active phased array radar system similar to the Swedish Ericsson's Erieye radar. The radar is designed by the Research Institute of Electronic Technology (also more commonly known as the 14th Institute) at Nanjing, and it utilizes the experience gained from the 14th Institute's earlier indigenously developed Type H/LJG-346 SAPARS (Shipborne Active Phased Array Radar System) that was completed in 1998 (the same Type H/LJG-346 SAPARS was also the predecessor of the active phased array radar system onboard PLAN Lanzhou class destroyer). Chinese claim that the domestic radar is superior to the Israeli radar and it can track more targets at greater range. The radar is arranged in the same way as that of A-50I.

CFTE Engine Testbed

China Flight Test Establishment (CFTE) currently operates a flying testbed converted from a Russian-made Il-76MD jet transport aircraft to serve as a flying testbed for future engine development programmes. The first engine to be tested on the aircraft is the WS-10A “Taihang” turbofan, currently being developed as the powerplant for China’s indigenous J-10 and J-11 fighter aircraft. The #76456 Il-76MD, acquired by the AVIC 1 from Russia in the 1990s, is currently based at CFTE’s flight test facility at Yanliang, Shaanxi Province.

Adnan I

Iraqi development (with French assistance) with fibreglass-reinforced plastic radome over the antenna of the Thomson-CSF Tiger G surveillance radar with a maximum detection range of 189 nm (217.5 miles; 350 km). None operational after the Gulf War.

Operators

Il-76 operators (countries only operating civil aircraft are in blue)

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 bold.

Incidents and accidents

Specifications (Il-76D)

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General characteristics

  • Crew: 5 – 7
  • Capacity: 40,000 kg (Il-76), 48,000 kg (Il-76M/T), 50,000 kg (Il-76MD/TD), 60,000 kg (Il-76MF/TF)

Performance

  • Thrust/weight: 0.305 (Il-76), 0.282 (Il-76M/T), 0.252 (IL-76MD/TD), 0.228 (Il-76MF/TF)

Armament

  • Guns: 2× 23 mm cannon in radar-directed manned turret at base of tail

Some military models have 2 hardpoints under each outer wing capable of supporting 500 kg bombs.

References

  1. ^ [Ilyushin Il-76 Russia's Versatile Airlifter]
  2. ^ Canadian Parliament Website
  3. ^ "Ilyushin Il-76 D2-FEM", AirTeamImages.com.
  4. ^ "Air Congo Ilyushin Il-76", Airliners.net.
  5. ^ "Ecuatorial Cargo Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  6. ^ "Atlant-Hungary Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  7. ^ "HUK - Hungarian Ukrainian Air Cargo Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  8. ^ "Atlas Air Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  9. ^ "Chabahar Air Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  10. ^ "Lease", Air Almaty
  11. ^ "GST Aero Ilyushin Il-76T", Airliners.net.
  12. ^ "Jamahiria Air Transport Ilyushin Il-76/78", Airliners.net.
  13. ^ Jet Line
  14. ^ "Air STAN Ilyushin Il-76", Airliners.net.
  15. ^ "Moscow Airways Ilyushin Il-76", Airliners.net.
  16. ^ "Ilyushin 76", Aerolift
  17. ^ "Jet Air Cargo Ilyushin Il-76TD", Airliners.net.
  18. ^ JUBA Cargo
  19. ^ "BSL Airline Ilyushin Il-78", Airliners.net.
  20. ^ a b Hassan, Mohamed Olad. "Cargo Plane Is Shot Down in Somalia," Associated Press, March 23, 2007.

Related content

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

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