Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) produced six Il-76MD-90A airlifters in 2023 and plans to raise its annual output to 18 aircraft in 2024, UAC CEO Yury Slyusar has told Rossiya 24 TV.
In comments reported by Russian news agency TASS on 26 December 2023, Slyusar said, “The Defence Ministry will need a huge number of the airlifters in the coming years” adding that UAC plans “to produce at least 18 aircraft in Ulyanovsk a year. This year we made six airlifters, but it is a success as the Ulyanovsk Aircraft Plant did not engage in serial production in the hard times.”
UAC is having to hire an additional 2,500 workers to fulfil the production programme, Slyusar added.
The Il-76MD-90A is an upgraded Il-76 (NATO classification ‘Candid’) that features a glass cockpit, modern PS-90A-76 engines, a modified wing and reinforced chassis. The aircraft also has a new navigation system and automatic controls that improve the accuracy of airdrops.
The aircraft, which has a wingspan of 50.5 m, has a range of 4,000 km with a 60-tonne payload, 6,500 km with a 40-tonne payload and a ferry range of 9,700 km.
