Regular readers will be familiar with the Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft, which entered service in the Soviet Union during the 1970's as an approximate counterpart to the US Lockheed C-141 Starlifter. (We saw an Il-76 make a spectacularly long and nearly disastrous take-off in Australia a few years ago.)
A longer, upgraded version of the plane, the Il-76MF model, was developed in the 1990's, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union it didn't enter series production. Only two were manufactured for the Jordanian Air Force, and are operated on its behalf by Jordan International Air Cargo. However, despite its greater performance, the new version still needs good pilots to get the most out of it. This video clip of an Il-76MF making a
I could almost feel the collective wince from my aviation-minded readers. It's a good thing the Russians build tough planes! After that landing, perhaps it should be renamed the 'Porpoise' . . .
A newer and further upgraded version, known as the Il-76MD-90A or Il-476, has been developed for the Russian Air Force, and will enter service in 2014. It has more powerful engines and uses a high proportion of composite materials in the fuselage and wings, saving a lot of weight. Here's a video of the prototype at this year's MAKS airshow near Moscow. It certainly appears to have a significantly better takeoff performance than earlier models, and to be more nimble in the air.
There's worldwide demand for a rugged, tough airlifter in the 30-60 ton cargo class (i.e. capable of carrying up to 2½ times as much cargo as the Lockheed C-130J Super Hercules) at a reasonable price. The Il-476 will have to compete with the Airbus A400M Atlas, which is probably more fuel-economical and may have equal or better rough-field performance, but is a very expensive aircraft. It will also compete against the Ukraine's Antonov An-70, which is turboprop-powered like the A400M, but larger, capable of carrying a heavier payload, and Japan's Kawasaki C-2, which so far hasn't attracted much foreign interest. If the Russians price the Il-476 at a reasonable level, they may attract a number of foreign orders at these competitors' expense.
On the other hand, jet-powered competitors in the C-130 weight class will shortly become available, including Embraer's KC-390 and the Russian-Indian joint-venture UAC/HAL Il-214. Their purchase price should be much less than any of the larger transports mentioned above, and they should also cost less to operate. A prospective customer may decide to go with more and smaller transports, and divide cargo shipments into smaller loads. It'll be interesting to see how the military cargo field plays out over the next few years.
Peter
