Il-214(also known as MTS - multi-role transport aircraft And SVTS - medium military transport aircraft) - a tactical military transport aircraft developed by the S.V. Ilyushin Aviation Complex company.
The cargo compartment is made in identical dimensions to the Il-76 MD aircraft. According to the project, the MTS aircraft is capable of transporting up to 80% of all types of weapons and military equipment at significantly lower costs. The MTS is capable of transporting a load weighing 12 tons over a range of 3,700 km, a load weighing 20 tons over a range of 2,000 km, or up to 90 paratroopers.
The cost of one aircraft is expected to be 35-40 million US dollars, the cost of the entire development program is approximately 600 million dollars.
Story
Initially, MTS was developed jointly by the companies "Aviation Complex named after S.V. Ilyushin", NPK "Irkut" and the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). . The protocol on the start of joint development was signed on June 6, 2001.
An intergovernmental agreement on the joint development and construction of the MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft) aircraft was signed by the governments of Russia and India in 2007. In subsequent years, the future partners agreed that the Russian and Indian sides would each own 50% of the company's shares, and the headquarters would be opened in New Delhi. It was planned that the production of the aircraft would be located both in Russia and in India.
At the end of 2015, it became known that the Indian side was withdrawing from the project. Russia continued to develop the aircraft independently.
Performance characteristics
The given technical characteristics are estimates.
SpecificationsFlight characteristics
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An excerpt characterizing the IL-214
- I'll kill you! - he shouted, and grabbing a marble board from the table, with a force still unknown to him, he took a step towards it and swung at it.Helen's face became scary: she squealed and jumped away from him. His father's breed affected him. Pierre felt the fascination and charm of rage. He threw the board, broke it and, with open arms, approaching Helen, shouted: “Get out!!” in such a terrible voice that the whole house heard this scream with horror. God knows what Pierre would have done at that moment if
Helen did not run out of the room.
A week later, Pierre gave his wife power of attorney to manage all the Great Russian estates, which amounted to more than half of his fortune, and alone he left for St. Petersburg.
Two months passed after receiving news in Bald Mountains about the Battle of Austerlitz and the death of Prince Andrei, and despite all the letters through the embassy and all the searches, his body was not found, and he was not among the prisoners. The worst thing for his relatives was that there was still hope that he had been raised by the inhabitants on the battlefield, and perhaps was lying recovering or dying somewhere alone, among strangers, and unable to give news of himself. In the newspapers, from which the old prince first learned about the defeat of Austerlitz, it was written, as always, very briefly and vaguely, that the Russians, after brilliant battles, had to retreat and carried out the retreat in perfect order. The old prince understood from this official news that ours were defeated. A week after the newspaper brought news of the Battle of Austerlitz, a letter arrived from Kutuzov, who informed the prince of the fate that befell his son.
“Your son, in my eyes,” wrote Kutuzov, with a banner in his hands, in front of the regiment, fell as a hero worthy of his father and his fatherland. To my general regret and that of the entire army, it is still unknown whether he is alive or not. I flatter myself and you with hope that your son is alive, for otherwise he would have been named among the officers found on the battlefield, about whom the list was given to me through the envoys.”
Having received this news late in the evening, when he was alone. in his office, the old prince, as usual, went for his morning walk the next day; but he was silent with the clerk, the gardener and the architect, and, although he looked angry, he did not say anything to anyone.
When, at ordinary times, Princess Marya came to him, he stood at the machine and sharpened, but, as usual, did not look back at her.
- A! Princess Marya! - he suddenly said unnaturally and threw the chisel. (The wheel was still spinning from its swing. Princess Marya long remembered this fading creaking of the wheel, which for her merged with what followed.)
Princess Marya moved towards him, saw his face, and something suddenly sank within her. Her eyes stopped seeing clearly. She saw from her father’s face, not sad, not murdered, but angry and unnaturally working on himself, that a terrible misfortune hung over her and would crush her, the worst in her life, a misfortune she had not yet experienced, an irreparable, incomprehensible misfortune. , the death of someone you love.
- Mon pere! Andre? [Father! Andrei?] - Said the ungraceful, awkward princess with such an inexpressible charm of sadness and self-forgetfulness that the father could not stand her gaze and turned away, sobbing.
- Got the news. None among the prisoners, none among the killed. Kutuzov writes,” he shouted shrilly, as if wanting to drive the princess away with this cry, “he has been killed!”
The princess did not fall, she did not feel faint. She was already pale, but when she heard these words, her face changed, and something shone in her radiant, beautiful eyes. It was as if joy, the highest joy, independent of the sorrows and joys of this world, spread beyond the intense sadness that was in her. She forgot all her fear of her father, walked up to him, took his hand, pulled him towards her and hugged his dry, sinewy neck.
“Mon pere,” she said. “Don’t turn away from me, we’ll cry together.”
- Scoundrels, scoundrels! – the old man shouted, moving his face away from her. - Destroy the army, destroy the people! For what? Go, go, tell Lisa. “The princess sank helplessly into a chair next to her father and began to cry. She now saw her brother at that moment as he said goodbye to her and Lisa, with his gentle and at the same time arrogant look. She saw him at that moment, how he tenderly and mockingly put the icon on himself. “Did he believe? Did he repent of his unbelief? Is he there now? Is it there, in the abode of eternal peace and bliss?” she thought.
- Mon pere, [Father,] tell me how it was? – she asked through tears.
- Go, go, killed in a battle in which they ordered the best Russian people and Russian glory to be killed. Go, Princess Marya. Go and tell Lisa. I will come.
When Princess Marya returned from her father, the little princess was sitting at work, and with that special expression of an inner and happily calm look, characteristic only of pregnant women, she looked at Princess Marya. It was clear that her eyes did not see Princess Marya, but looked deep into herself - into something happy and mysterious happening within her.
“Marie,” she said, moving away from the hoop and waddling back, “give me your hand here.” “She took the princess’s hand and placed it on her stomach.
Her eyes smiled expectantly, her sponge with mustache rose, and childishly happily remained raised.
Il-214 is a joint project of Russian and Indian aircraft designers. In 2001, an agreement was concluded between the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the Indian company HAL to jointly develop a new transport aircraft, the Il-214, to replace obsolete transport aircraft manufactured in the USSR, which at that time dominated the Indian fleet.
The characteristics of the new aircraft were supposed to be significantly superior to the old “transport aircraft”, but, unfortunately, this project has not been implemented to this day. The latest news about the development of the Il-214 project is not very encouraging, although things are heading towards the fact that in the next 10 years this aircraft will still take its place in the air fleets of India and Russia.
A few words about the need to develop the Il-214
The following transport aircraft are currently in service with the Russian Air Force:
- An-12, which was released in the late 50s. The last An-12 aircraft rolled off the production line in 1972;
- An-72, which were produced from 1982 to 1993;
- An-26, which were produced from 1969 to 1986.
In India, the army's transport aircraft fleet consists of An-32 aircraft, which are still produced in Ukraine, although in essence, this is a modernized An-26 model. Back in 2001, the Indian military was dissatisfied with the carrying capacity of the An-32, and wanted to replace them with heavier aircraft, which were supposed to be the Il-214.
In the USSR, the issue of updating the fleet of transport aircraft became acute in the late 80s. It was during these years that production of the latest modification of the An-12 was discontinued and production was aimed at building a new aircraft, which was to become the An-70. After the collapse of the USSR, the new aircraft was never able to enter the series. The first prototype made its flight in 1994, and a total of 2 aircraft of this model were produced, the last of which is still in service with the Ukrainian Air Force.
The pursuit of the maximum payload capacity of the An-70 (in the end it amounted to as much as 47 tons) led to the fact that the price of the aircraft became so high that purchasing them for the Russian Air Force became impractical. The main problem in this case is that such a heavy aircraft is not always needed to transport troops, especially since the runways of many military airfields are simply not designed for such a weight.
It is for this reason that the minimum purchase price should have become the main factor in the production of Il-214. If the purchase price is within 1-1.2 billion rubles per aircraft, then the Russian Air Force alone will immediately purchase more than 100 aircraft.
The history of the Il-214 project
The history of the Il-214 project began in 2001, when India and Russia signed an agreement on cooperation in the development of the Il-214. Here's how the collaboration went:
- In 2006, in the hope of speedy completion of the Il-214 project, it was included in the state weapons program. Under this program, the first production IL-214s were supposed to enter service in 2015. As it has now become clear, this forecast did not come true not only in 2015, but even in 2017 it is very far from completion;
- In 2007, additional agreements between the Russian and Indian sides stated that the first test flights would be carried out as early as next year;
- 2009 showed that a plane that did not take off in 2008 will not take off in 2009;
- In 2010, another agreement was signed, according to which the first flight of the Il-214 will be made in 2017, and serial production will begin in 2019. At the same time, it was clearly agreed that the aircraft would be assembled at factories in Russia and India, which would provide the Indian side with jobs.
The main advantage of the Il-214 was the fact that this aircraft should be compatible with the older Il-76 model. This feature was supposed to save the manufacturer from unnecessary costs, since some parts could be left unchanged. Despite this, the latest development of the Il-76, the Il-476, which was supposed to be unified with the new Il-214, turned out to be very complex and problematic, so the designers had to start developing the Il-476 all over again. Most likely, it was this fact that significantly slowed down the development of the IL-214.
Opinions regarding the production of IL-214
K. Makienko, who is deputy director of the Center for Analysis, Strategies and Technologies, noted that the Il-214 project in the near future will remain just another “long-term construction project.” The United Aircraft Manufacturing Company failed to cope with the task, and only large-scale personnel changes in the company's management can somehow influence this situation.
The leadership of the UAC faces a rather complex and problematic task. Further development of the situation can follow two scenarios:
- You can continue the development of the IL-214, invest huge amounts of money in this project, and it is unknown whether the IL-214 will be in demand, because more than 15 years have passed since the start of development;
- The second option is to invest your money in the Ukrainian An-178 aircraft, which has been undergoing testing since 2015. Investments in this model are more promising, since the aircraft is almost ready for production. However, relations between Ukraine and Russia are quite unstable, so this option is also quite risky.
In any case, the Ukrainian An-178 is able to replace the An-12, moreover, its cost will be significantly lower than that of the Il-214. It is possible that the An-178 would be perfect not only for India and Ukraine, but also for Russia, although the current experience of cooperation with Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers is not very successful.
Today it has become obvious that all planned work on the IL-214 will not be completed on time. Many experts doubt that the IL-214 will ever appear. Due to the fact that the deadlines for revision are constantly being missed, in the end, a more interesting proposal will appear that will suit both the Russian military and the Indian side. It has long been clear that the cost of the IL-124 will significantly exceed the figures (even if converted in foreign currency) that were originally stated by the manufacturer.
When should we expect the appearance of IL-214 and is it worth waiting for at all?
Although there are constantly optimistic rumors around the Il-214, time passes, and the old An-series aircraft are exhausting their service life. Now the question is not whether the military will receive a new transport aircraft, but which manufacturer will be able to offer the army a better price faster. The army, one way or another, will receive a batch of new “transporters”, but which ones are not yet known.
Since a combination of technical and economic problems led to the fact that more or less clear agreements regarding the production of Il-214 were signed only in 2012, it is unknown whether these plans will be implemented.
Already, the production schedule for the prototype Il-214 model, which was supposed to make its first flight in 2015, has been violated. Now the deadlines have been moved to 2017, which is also coming to an end. It is worth noting that it was previously planned to launch the IL-214 into mass production in 2015.
The Il-214 could occupy its niche between heavy and light transport aircraft, and replace aircraft such as the An-12, An-26 and similar aircraft that were produced back in the USSR. Obviously, the developers were counting on the interest of the Russian military, who reacted rather “coolly” to this project.
As for the Indian side, the UAC leadership initially treated its partner too lightly. The Indian side is also quite frivolous about the constant shift in the release date of the Il-214. It is easy to understand that sooner or later a new player will appear on the aviation market who will be able to offer India more favorable conditions. After India refuses to purchase the IL-214, it is possible that the Russian military will purchase some other aircraft.
The most important problem that the Russian company Ilyushin has is the events surrounding the Chkalov aircraft plant, which is located in Uzbekistan. Back in 2007, the aircraft plant in Tashkent was included in the United Aircraft Corporation. A year after the conclusion of this agreement, Uzbekistan refused the merger, after which the Russian side had to urgently transfer the production of its aircraft to Russian territory. It was this translation that greatly influenced the development of new models, which practically ceased.
Main expected characteristics of IL-214
If you believe the information disseminated by the manufacturer of the Il-214 aircraft, the new “transport aircraft” will have the following characteristics:
- The cost of the aircraft will be about 40 million dollars;
- The length of the aircraft is 35.2 meters;
- Height – 11 meters;
- The total weight of the aircraft will be 68 tons, while the load will be 20 tons;
- The aircraft will be crewed by 2 pilots;
- The maximum speed of the aircraft will depend on the engine used in it and will range from 800 to 870 km/h;
- The aircraft will be able to transport up to 80 soldiers in full gear or up to 2 infantry fighting vehicles.
The list of electronics that will be used in the IL-214 is also quite impressive, although it will undoubtedly increase the initial cost of the aircraft.
What have you heard about the IL-214 aircraft lately?
Currently, the project, which is called Il-214/MTA, has moved forward. There is an opinion that in the next 5 years a prototype model will appear, which will be tested for no more than 3-5 years. As a result, serial production of IL-214/MTA can be expected in 8-10 years. The countries participating in the project are already discussing how many and in what order they will need new Il-214/MTA aircraft. Russia alone needs at least 100 units, and India will need about 50 aircraft. Other countries are also showing interest in the Russian development, and in total they are ready to purchase about 100 units of Il-214.
Today, the IL-214 project finds itself in a very interesting position. I would like to believe that the developments over 16 years were not in vain, and the plane will still take off in the next 5 years. Today, the market is in dire need of just such a transport aircraft. The declared characteristics will satisfy the needs of the most demanding customers.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian An-178 is already ready and is being intensively tested. Although Ukraine is unlikely to be able to reach an agreement with Russia, the Ukrainian aircraft may capture foreign markets, and the same Indians may refuse to buy in favor of the An-178. I would like to believe that this circumstance will force Russian developers to speed up the implementation of the project, and the Il-214 will take to the air in the next few years.
The long break in the development of new transport aircraft has become one of the main reasons for the critical state of the domestic military transport aviation (MTA) fleet. And if in the class of heavy vehicles the Soviet Il-76 should be replaced in the near future by its modernized version, launched into production in Ulyanovsk, then in the middle weight category Russia has not yet found a replacement for the veteran An-12.
Wrong Sensation
On August 16, 2014, in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Mikhail Pogosyan made a number of statements, one of which could rightfully be called sensational. Some media outlets broadcast the words of the head of the UAC as follows: “The Sukhoi aviation holding company and Indian aircraft manufacturers are beginning the design development of a multi-purpose transport aircraft (MTS).”
“We are at the stage of discussing the further implementation of the program and the transition to design development,” said Mikhail Pogosyan. When checking the news, it was possible to find out that the “sensational” message turned out to be just a mistake by RIA Novosti and ITAR-TASS journalists, who subsequently corrected their reports. The contract for the design and construction of a multi-purpose transport aircraft on the part of Russia remains in the hands of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex. However, the failed sensation provides a good opportunity to talk about the current state of the medium transport aircraft program, which is urgently needed by both the BTA and civilian users.
The main aircraft of this class in the CIS is still the An-12, which made its first flight back in 1957. In particular, the Russian Air Force alone currently operates about 60 aircraft of this type in various versions. They are also part of the Russian Navy aviation. Several dozen aircraft are used by other government agencies and airlines. Taking into account that all of them were built in the mid-60s - early 70s of the last century (production of the An-12 in the USSR ended in 1973), the need for their speedy replacement is the most important task for the Russian aviation industry.
A similar task, albeit less acute, is currently facing Western aircraft manufacturers. The C-130 Hercules, a legendary military transport aircraft (MTC) developed by the American company Lockheed Martin, will celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of its first flight in August 2014. Despite the fact that mass production and modernization of these aircraft is still ongoing, there is an understanding that the aircraft is outdated and requires replacement.
Origins
They began to think about the need for a new medium-sized military-technical cooperation back in the USSR in the late 70s. Initially, there was an idea to follow the Lockheed path and resume production of the An-12, having previously modernized it, but in the end this idea was abandoned, and in 1986, when the USSR Air Force requirements for promising aircraft were approved, the choice fell on the Antonov Design Bureau with his An-70 project. However, during the implementation of the project, the aircraft actually moved into the class of heavy military transport aircraft, and with the collapse of the USSR, the An-70 program slowed down, and the Russian Air Force was left without a new medium military transport aircraft.
The next possible option was the development of the Tupolev: in the first half of the 90s, the largest Soviet design bureau developed the Russian Cargo Aircraft program, in the line of which the medium military-technical aircraft Tu-330 was to be designed and built, unified in many design elements with the Tupolev -204/214. On April 23, 1994, Russian Government Decree No. 369 “On the creation of the Tu-330 medium transport aircraft” was issued. The resolution provided for the production of the lead batch of 10 Tu-330 aircraft by 1998 at the Kazan Aviation Production Association named after Gorbunov (KAPO) with the participation of the Samara Aviation Production Association.
The annex also indicated the main characteristics of the future aircraft: maximum payload of 35 tons, flight range with a load of 30 tons of at least 3,000 km. The power plants were to be adapted Perm PS-90A engines. Apparently, in pursuance of this government decree, the Tupolev ASTC developed design documentation and even transferred it to KAPO. However, the economic situation of the 90s did not allow this project to be implemented, and the Tu-330 remained a “paper” aircraft.
In the early 2000s, as the economic situation improved, the issue of a new military-technical cooperation was returned to again. This time, the Ilyushin Aviation Complex decided to approach the projectile.
The path to MTS
The history of the creation of a multi-purpose transport aircraft (MTS) by the Ilyushin Design Bureau does not contain very many technical and production documents, but it is replete with all kinds of protocols and interstate agreements, as well as loud statements by the leaders of the Russian aviation industry over the past 15 years.
By the beginning of the 2000s, Ilyushin Design Bureau was not in its best shape. At the Tashkent Aviation Production Association named after Chkalov, leisurely small-scale production of the regional turboprop aircraft Il-114 was underway. In addition, development of a modification of the Il-76MF heavy transport aircraft continued. Basically, the legendary design bureau in the past dealt with issues of maintaining the airworthiness of the Il-76TD/MD military-technical aircraft.
The program to create a new medium military transport aircraft, in fact, was the last chance for the Ilyushin Aviation Complex not to sink into oblivion.
The creation of a new machine required a search for partners willing to enter the project primarily with financial resources. The Indians, who needed a promising replacement for their An-32, became interested in the aircraft project. On May 4, 2000, the newspaper “Air Transport” reported that “In early April of this year, AK Ilyushin began negotiations with Indian specialists on the joint creation of the Il-214T transport aircraft. Today, work on the Il-214T aircraft project is at the pre-design stage and is associated with the development of technical proposals.”
And the first protocol on the start of joint development of a new transport aircraft was signed on June 6, 2001.
In the next thirteen years, it will be signed and announced, but real design work on the Ilyushin multi-purpose transport aircraft will begin only in 2012.
It must be said that in the first decade of the new century, the Ilyushin Aviation Complex was able to demonstrate both the ability to digitize and transfer production to a new site of its own aircraft of forty years ago, and the ability to fail the project of the light tactical military-technical aircraft Il-112V (last year it celebrated its twentieth anniversary) , following which in May 2011, the Ministry of Defense decided to purchase seven An-140 aircraft produced by the Aviakor plant.
On May 28, 2012, in Bangalore, India, UAC-Transport Aircraft (UAC-TS), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the joint venture Multirole Transport Aircraft Ltd (MTAL) they created signed a general contract for the design of a multi-role transport aircraft (MTA), and on October 12, 2012, in Delhi, a contract for the first stage of MTA development was signed between the same three parties: MTAL was the customer, and HAL and UAC-TS were the contractors. The contract price was $600 million, each party must invest 50 percent of the amount.
As stated, control over compliance with the requirements for the aircraft at all stages will be carried out by representatives of the defense ministries of both countries. In 2013, work was carried out jointly with HAL specialists on the preliminary design of the aircraft, which was completed in October 2013 and presented to the Russian and Indian Air Forces.
Il and An
The new medium-sized military-technical vehicle will be designed according to a high-wing design with a T-shaped tail. The maximum take-off weight is expected to be 68 tons, and the estimated maximum payload is 20 tons, which it will be able to transport 2000 km. The main interest is the size of the cargo compartment. The specification contains an indication that the cabin is unified in size and design with the Il-76MD, which is rather not an advantage of the aircraft, but a forced decision, apparently stemming from the developer’s doubts about his ability to design the aircraft, and especially the ramp, from scratch.
The result of this approach is that with a nominal cargo compartment height of 3.4 meters, the usable height is limited by the fuselage bend, crane beams and hoists to a range of 2500 to 2750 millimeters. Thus, in the general case, the aircraft will carry about a meter of empty space, which, of course, does not speak well of its design. The cabin width will be 3.45 meters, length - 13.8 meters, which will allow loading four universal aviation containers UAK-5 into it, that is, exactly the same as in the An-12.
There is no information yet about the possibility of loading two twenty-foot containers that match in height, width and overall length; it will depend on what the characteristics of the cargo ramp and loading equipment of the aircraft ultimately turn out to be.
In addition, the aircraft is designed to transport up to 140 military personnel or 90 paratroopers.
As for the power plant, there seems to be no agreement yet. The Ilyushin Aviation Complex, judging by the information on the official website, quite realistically claims two PS-90A-76. However, the more progressive United Aircraft Corporation believes that the MTS project will be equipped with the currently non-existent PD-14M engines. Considering that the first flight was announced on the official website of UAC-TS for 2016, the presence of the PD-14M by that time can be assessed as extreme optimism on the part of the company’s management.
More or less realistic terms for the program were announced at the opening of the DefExpo-2014 exhibition in February 2014. In particular, it was stated that the production of the first prototype of the aircraft is planned in 2018-2019, the second prototype in 2019, and serial production of the aircraft is planned to begin in 2020.
Of particular interest for comparison in terms of timing and cost of the program is the project of the Ukrainian state enterprise "Antonov" - An-178. The An-178 medium military technical project grew out of the original An-148T-100 concept, which was supposed to have a specially designed wide-section fuselage.
However, apparently in order to simplify and reduce the cost of the aircraft, the Antonov Design Bureau went by joining the fuselage of an extended version of the An-148 - An-158 and a newly developed rear part with a ramp. The uniqueness of the project for the post-Soviet space is that only four years passed from the announcement of the start of development in 2010 to the rollout of the assembled fuselage. Assembly of the first prototype should be completed by the end of 2014.
It is curious that despite such a “budget” approach to the development of a new military-technical vehicle, the cargo compartment of the An-178, apparently, turned out to be capable of accommodating cargo, in size not inferior to that declared by Ilyushin. Having a round fuselage with a useful height of 2750 mm, the An-178, according to official statements from the manufacturer, is designed to load two twenty-foot IATA M2 containers.
Meanwhile in Brazil
As was already mentioned at the beginning of the article, foreign aircraft manufacturers are also preparing a replacement for outdated medium-sized military-technical aircraft.
In 2006, the Brazilian company Embraer, specializing in light training and combat aircraft and short-haul airliners, unexpectedly began to develop the concept of a medium military transport aircraft. In 2007, Embraer officially announced its intention to develop and build a medium military transport aircraft with the code C-390.
It is interesting to note that Embraer, being a commercial company whose goal is to make a profit, began designing a completely new type for itself not under a government order, but after a comprehensive study of the market and assessing the sales prospects of the future aircraft. Embraer's assessment showed that in the next ten years, about 700 medium military transport aircraft of the C-130 type will be decommissioned worldwide and will require replacement, thus opening up a market niche that can be captured in time, subject to accelerated development and launch in series of new aircraft.
In March 2008, the Brazilian government agreed to invest $33 million in the project, eventually named KC-390. At the same time, the Brazilian Air Force signed a contract for the purchase of up to 30 aircraft of this type.
And then orders poured in like from a cornucopia. In 2010, the Portuguese Ministry of Defense announced its desire to replace its C-130s with the KC-390, as well as participate in the development program for a new aircraft. Chile, Colombia and Argentina have also expressed their interest.
In June 2012, Boeing joined this project, signing an agreement under which the American corporation provides a number of technologies to the Brazilians, and will also contribute to the introduction of the KC-390 to the market of those countries that plan to replace outdated C-130 Hercules aircraft. Just like the C-130 it is supposed to replace, the KC-390 will have to perform a variety of roles, including the role of a tanker, a platform for airborne early warning aircraft, electronic warfare, and more.
Despite the fact that the promising Brazilian military-technical vehicle has a length of 7 meters and a wingspan of 4 meters less than the Il-214/MTS, the declared carrying capacity was almost 24 tons, which it is capable of transporting over a distance of 2593 km, and 13.5 tons The KS-390 must be transported over a range of at least 4800 km. At the same time, the length of the cargo compartment reaches almost 18 meters versus 14 for the Il-214. Such a gap in the declared characteristics is due to the design of the Brazilian aircraft from scratch, and as a result, the greater weight perfection of its design, in contrast to the MTS, which is based on structural elements of the Il-76MD.
The first flight of the KC-390 prototype is scheduled for the end of 2014, and, knowing Embraer's discipline in meeting deadlines, there is no doubt that deliveries of the aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force, planned for 2016, will not be significantly delayed.
In 2020, it is planned to begin serial production of a domestic multi-purpose transport aircraft. This same year, the IL-214/MTS program will mark exactly 20 years since its inception. With the continuation of such a thoughtful and leisurely design of the MTS, the Russian aviation industry risks meeting this significant anniversary in splendid isolation with an obsolete aircraft, and by that time the main type of medium transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force may become the Brazilian KC-390. However, it will be worse if the Brazilian aircraft is also needed by the Russian Air Force.
And the An-72 has long been ripe. The project of the new multi-purpose transport aircraft Il-214 is ready - it is a twin-engine jet aircraft with excellent aerodynamics, capable of delivering military equipment and paratroopers with a total weight of up to 20 tons over a distance of 2 thousand km.
History of creation
In 2001, on June 6, an agreement was approved on the joint development of a multi-purpose transport aircraft by the aviation complex named after. S.V. Ilyushin, the Irkut Research and Production Corporation and the Indian company HAL. It took another 6 years for the bureaucratic unraveling, and only in 2007 did the governments of Russia and India sign the corresponding document to divide the shares of the joint venture by 50% to each party.
At OKB im. S.V. Ilyushin in 2009 prepared an advance design of the aircraft and submitted it for defense.
The first flight of a prototype of the transport aircraft is planned for 2017, and mass production is expected to begin in 2019. The plans of the Russian-Indian joint venture envisage the production of 100 units for Russia, 45 for the Indian Air Force and the remaining 65 aircraft will be exported.
Everything would be fine, but the Indian side in January 2016 announced its intention to withdraw from the project and the Design Bureau named after. S.V. Ilyushina suspended work. Insufficient funding and the unclear position of the Russian government poses a dilemma for the Russian Aerospace Forces - wait for the continuation of the project or purchase a multi-purpose transport aircraft from Brazil, which will soon be ready.
Design Features
The aerodynamic layout is inherent in all modern transport aircraft - it is a monoplane with a high wing arrangement, two turbofan engines on underwing pylons and a T-shaped tail. The wing has powerful mechanization in the form of slats, multi-slot flaps, ailerons and spoilers. The high position of the wing was chosen to protect against the ingress of foreign objects when operating the aircraft from unpaved airfields.
The fuselage of the transport vehicle is similar to the design of the fuselage and provides quick loading and unloading of military equipment, placing 140 soldiers or 90 paratroopers inside the cargo compartment. A wide ramp and two hoists with a winch serve for autonomous loading when based at airfields that are not suitable for this purpose.
The aircraft's power plant consists of two PS-90A-76 turbofan engines, which have a high thrust-to-weight ratio, allowing the transport aircraft to operate in high altitude conditions above sea level of at least 3,300 meters.
Three crew members (two pilots and a flight engineer) are accommodated in a spacious cabin with excellent ergonomics. Inside there are six color displays with a variety of functions, and on the windshield in front of the pilots, two indicators display the flight and navigation situation.
The open architecture of the airborne radar complex provides for the expansion and modernization of its functions.
The aircraft's landing gear is tricycle, retracts inside the fuselage during flight, and provides for in-flight refueling through a boom located above the cockpit on the left side.
Flight technical data of the Il-214
- Crew - 3 people
- Take-off distance - 1450 m
- Landing distance - 1350 m
- Maximum speed - 870 km/h
- Cruising speed - 800 km/h
- Range with maximum load - 2 thousand km
- Practical ceiling - 12 thousand m
- Ferry range - 7300 km
- Aircraft length - 37.7 m
- Aircraft height - 12.51 m
- Wing span - 32.25 m
- Maximum take-off weight - 68 t
- Amount of fuel in tanks - 25 t
- Engines - 2 x PS-90A1
- Take-off thrust - 2 x 17400 kgf
- Load capacity - 27 tons.
What do they think at OKB im. Ilyushina
A sad situation has arisen with middle-class military transport aircraft in Russia. These machines were developed by Antonov, have been in operation for a long time and need to be replaced, since Ukraine, which periodically breaks off diplomatic relations with us, can be expected to stop supplying spare parts for Antonov’s aircraft.
The freezing of the joint project with the Indians has several reasons. Indeed, we do not yet have - not only a prototype, but also working documentation. At OKB im. S.V. Ilyushin explains this by the lack of sufficient funding and Uzbekistan’s termination of the agreement on production in Tashkent. We had to transfer production to Ulyanovsk and did not have time to work on the project.
While we thought that India would wait for our development, the Antonovites entered into an agreement with them for production An-178. But the Indians only froze the joint project with Russia, and did not terminate it, but it will be terminated if our aircraft manufacturers do not change their attitude to strategy.
Video: Il-214 - tactical military transport aircraft
The complacency and inactivity of the Ilyushin Design Bureau is depressing; the creation of something truly wonderful is not a reason to stop other projects and ignore such a sector of aircraft construction as a medium-lift military transport aircraft.
The IL-214 should have been in service for three years already, but the first flight was postponed until 2017 and only in two years they promise serial production, but there is no trust in this either - it seems that the OKB im. S.V. Ilyushina creates a project for a sixth generation aircraft.
The tactical and technical specifications for the Il-276 medium military transport aircraft have almost been agreed upon, and the first flight should take place no later than 2023, said the head of the Ilyushin division, Alexey Rogozin, in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper. “We have practically agreed on the tactical and technical specifications for this vehicle; we have specially formed a very strong team inside Ilyushin to work on this [...]
The aircraft is being developed on the basis of the unrealized joint Russian-Indian project of the MTA multifunctional transport aircraft. The contract between the two countries was concluded in 2007, and in 2015 India announced its withdrawal from the project; in 2016, it was decided to continue the development of the new aircraft without the participation of the Indian side. In June 2017, the aircraft received official […]
Russian Post expects to purchase 15 aircraft to fully support its activities related to air cargo transportation, including in the Far East. This was stated on Wednesday by the General Director of Russian Post, Nikolai Podguzov, in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel as part of the Eastern Economic Forum, TASS reports. "In order to fully ensure the activities [...]
Igor Bevzyuk, who previously worked as general director at the RTI Systems concern, began working at Il OJSC, where he will create the Il-214 medium military transport aircraft (SVTS). The Komersant newspaper writes about this. Initially, the project was planned to be carried out jointly with India, but at the end of 2015, due to financial difficulties and the reluctance of the military to accept the vehicle […]
The main customer of the Il-214 medium transport aircraft is the military, but the aircraft also has prospects in the civilian market, said President of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar at the MAKS-2017 air show in Zhukovsky. Deliveries are planned to begin by 2015. The vehicle will replace the outdated An-12, Slyusar specified. He expressed hope that as the IL-214 is created, it will be possible […]
A medium military transport aircraft with a payload capacity of 20 tons is being created in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Nikolai Talikov, chief designer of Il OJSC, told TASS about this. “Currently, a package for a medium transport aircraft has just been formed. It is a twenty-ton aircraft, the cross-sectional dimensions are the same as the Il-76. We have already started work on this aircraft. The terms of reference have been formed and [...]
