The Ilyushin Il-112 (russian: Ил-112) is a high-wing light
military transport aircraft
A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used to support military operations by airlifting troops and military equipment. Transport aircraft are crucial to ma ...
being developed by Ilyushin Aviation Complex (JSC IL) for air landing and
airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible tro ...
of
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
air cargo
Air cargo is any property carried or to be carried in an aircraft. Air cargo comprises air freight, air express and airmail.
Aircraft types
Different cargo can be transported by passenger, cargo or combi aircraft:
* Passenger aircraft use the ...
es, equipment and personnel. The aircraft is being manufactured by Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in
Voronezh
Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...
.
Development
![Maquette_Ilyushin_Il-112](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Maquette_Ilyushin_Il-112.jpg)
Work began on the Il-112 project in 1994, for both civil and military roles, including as a 40-seat airliner and cargo versions with a rear loading ramp to replace the
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...
.
The project was announced at the 1995
Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
where a model was exhibited.
The military transport version, the Il-112V, was entered into a
Russian Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (russian: Министерство обороны Российской Федерации, Минобороны России, informally abbreviated as МО, МО РФ or Minoboron) is the govern ...
competition to replace the An-26, the
Yakovlev Yak-40
The Yakovlev Yak-40 (russian: Яковлев Як-40; NATO reporting name: Codling) is a regional jet designed by Yakovlev. The trijet's maiden flight was in 1966, and it was in production from 1967 to 1981. Introduced in September 1968, the Ya ...
and the
Let L-410
The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft, manufactured by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice (named Aircraft Industries since 2005), often used as an airliner. The aircraft is capable of landing on short a ...
in Russian service, being evaluated against designs from
Sukhoi
The JSC Sukhoi Company (russian: ПАО «Компания „Сухой“», ) is a Russian aircraft manufacturer (formerly Soviet), headquartered in Begovoy District, Northern Administrative Okrug, Moscow, that designs both civilian and milita ...
(the
Su-80) and
Mikoyan
Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (russian: Российская самолётостроительная корпорация „МиГ“, Rossiyskaya samolyotostroitel'naya korporatsiya "MiG"), commonly known as Mikoyan and MiG, was a Russi ...
(the
MiG-110).
The Il-112 was ordered into full development on 8 April 2003, with the type planned to enter service in 2008. It was required to carry a cargo of over a distance of .
A market of up to 120 aircraft for the Russian military and 120 civil sales was estimated in 2004.
In May 2010, with the funds allocated for development exhausted and no sign of a prototype, the Russian Defence Ministry cancelled the development contract,
and in May 2011 decided to purchase seven
Antonov An-140
The Antonov An-140 is a turboprop regional airliner, designed by the Ukrainian Antonov ASTC bureau as a successor to the Antonov An-24, with extended cargo capacity and the ability to use unprepared airstrips.
Design and development
First flow ...
T cargo aircraft
produced by
Aviakor
OJSC Aviakor (russian: Авиако́р) is an aviation plant located in Samara, Russia. It is part of the Russian Machines holding under control of the financial industrial group Basic Element owned by Oleg Deripaska.
Aviakor constructs, rep ...
in Samara, Russia.
On October 16, 2012,
Dmitry Rogozin
Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin (russian: link=no, Дми́трий Оле́гович Рого́зин; born 21 December 1963) is a Russian politician who served as director general of Roscosmos from 2018 to July 2022. He previously served as deputy p ...
, in India at the meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation, said that "Russia intends to offer India's involvement in the production of Il-112. We have brought to mind, to establish the technical documentation of the project is the development of the aircraft Ilyushin KB. And we're going to, among other projects, to offer India to take part in this project."
In January 2013 it was announced that in late December, the Main Commander of the Russian Air Force presented to the Minister of Defense
Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
the case for a resumption of the Il-112 project.
On 24 June 2013 it was reported that the Il-112 is considered as a replacement for the
Antonov An-26
The Antonov An-26 ( NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...
and
Antonov An-32
The Antonov An-32 ( NATO reporting name: Cline) is a turboprop twin-engined military transport aircraft.
Design and development
The An-32 is essentially a re-engined An-26. It is designed to withstand adverse weather conditions better than the ...
in export,
and on 26 June, that the Ilyushin Design Bureau sent JSC Klimov a request for the establishment of a new turboprop engine.
In August 2013, the general designer of Ilyushin, Viktor Livanov, citing the First Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov, confirmed that work on the aircraft has been resumed.
A new contract was signed by
Sergey Shoygu
Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...
, the Russian Minister of Defence, on 14 November 2014. Flight tests were to begin in 2017 and production in 2019. The performance requirements were considerably reduced, with the aircraft now required to carry of cargo over a distance of .
On 10 August 2015, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that the first production-standard Ilyushin Il-112V transport aircraft is set to roll off the line at Voronezh Aircraft Production Plant (Russian acronym VASO) in the first half of 2017.
Yury Borisov, a Russian deputy minister of defense, said the aircraft is also scheduled to make its first flight in 2017.
On 2 November 2015, Yuri Slyusar, president of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that the Il-112V will make its maiden flight in July 2017.
On 20 June 2016, Andrey Kapustin the managing director of Aviastar-SP, said that the Ulyanovsk-based aircraft-maker will produce elements for the second experimental Il-112 prototype before the end of 2016. On 11 November 2016, Russia's Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET) announced that it is developing a new on-board defense system (ODS) for the Ilyushin Il-112V. The ODS is based on the President-S ODS that is designed to protect aircraft from being hit by anti-aircraft missiles and artillery. The defense system is currently installed on the
Ka-52
The Kamov Ka-50 "Black Shark" (russian: Чёрная акула, translit=Chyornaya akula, English: kitefin shark, NATO reporting name: Hokum A) is a Soviet/Russian single-seat attack helicopter with the distinctive coaxial rotor system of th ...
,
Mi-28
The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name "Havoc") is a Russian all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It is an attack helicopter with no intended secondary transport capability, better optimized than the Mil M ...
and
Mi-26
The Mil Mi-26 (russian: link=no, Миль Ми-26, NATO reporting name: Halo) is a Soviet/Russian heavy transport helicopter. Its product code is ''Izdeliye 90''. Operated by both military and civilian operators, it is the largest and most po ...
helicopters.
On 3 February 2017, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin reiterated that the first flight of the developmental aircraft of the Il-112 will be around the middle of 2017.
On 20 June 2017, Ilyushin Chief Designer Nikolai Talikov stated that the first flight will most likely be rescheduled to beginning of 2018.
On 18 January 2018, the first prototype of the IL-112V was shown at the
Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Company (VASO). It has two improved
Klimov TV7-117ST turboprop engines, with 2,610 kW (3,500 hp) each, each powering six-bladed AV-112 constant-speed reversible pitch propellers. It is fitted with a monolithic, single-piece wing. The aircraft is 25.15 m long, with a height of 8.89 m and a wing span of 27.6 m.
Russian unmanned air system developer
Kronstadt Group partnered with Ilyushin to develop an
autonomous aircraft
An autonomous aircraft is an aircraft which flies under the control of automatic systems and needs no intervention from a human pilot. Most autonomous aircraft are unmanned aerial vehicle or drones. However, autonomous control systems are reachi ...
demonstrator based on the Il-112.
Emerged after the bankruptcy of the
Transas Group, St. Petersburg-based Kronstadt is developing the medium-sized
Orion UAV, unveiled at the July 2017
MAKS air show
MAKS (russian: МАКС, russian: label=short for, Международный авиационно-космический салон, Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmicheskij salon, "International Aviation and Space Show") is an international air ...
.
[
]
Design
The aircraft was designed to operate in adverse weather conditions and is expected to meet all current
ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
noise and emissions requirements.
The Il-112 has similar weights and dimensions to the An-26 it is intended to replace but differs by having a notably larger cabin cross-section, allowing it to accommodate 44 armed soldiers instead of 38. Thanks to the engine's reduced specific fuel consumption, which is down by 38 percent, the Il-112 has twice the ferry range, at 5,200 km (2,808 nm). The crew is reduced from six to two thanks to modern avionics and onboard equipment.
The Il-112V is equipped with the
avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
combining the entire equipment complexes and systems into an integrated complex – the onboard equipment integrated complex. All aviation information as well as information on the operation of aircraft systems is displayed on six LCD monitors (
digital cockpit).
Operational history
The first prototype of the Il-112V was rolled out on 27 November 2018. It is intended for performance and flight handling trials.
Taxi trials had begun by the end of December 2018.
The aircraft performed its first flight on 30 March 2019,
after which it was grounded for modifications to reduce its weight. The first prototype had weight reductions of applied, while the second and third flying examples are expected to be lighter still. Runway repairs at VASO's airfield delayed further flight testing, which did not resume until 30 March 2021.
In October 2020, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov announced that the two flying prototype aircraft will be delivered to the Defense Ministry in 2021, and that the first serial production units should arrive to the
Russian Aerospace Forces
The Russian Aerospace Forces or Russian Air and Space Forces ( rus, Воздушно-космические силы, r=Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily) or VKS ( rus, ВКС}) comprise the air and space branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Fe ...
in 2023.
Accidents and incidents
On 17 August 2021, the only flying prototype Il-112V (RF-41400) suffered a fire in the right engine and crashed near
Kubinka Airfield
Kubinka (russian: link=no, Кубинка) is an air base in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located northwest of Kubinka. In close proximity to Moscow, the Kubinka facility showcases the best of the Russian Air Force to the general public.
The 82nd a ...
. All three crew on board were killed, including test-pilot
Nikolai Kuimov
Nikolai Dimitriyevich Kuimov (russian: Николай Дмитриевич Куимов; 16 December 1957 – 17 August 2021) was a Russian test pilot and a Hero of the Russian Federation.
Kuimov studied as a pilot before specialising in test ...
,
Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation (russian: Герой Российской Федерации, Geroy Rossiyskoy Federatsii), also unofficially Hero of Russia (russian: link=no, Герой России, Geroy Rossii), is the highest honorary title ...
.
Variants
;Il-112V
:Military variant
;Il-112T
:Civil variant
Specifications
See also
References
*
*
External links
Ilyushin Il-112T webpageIlyushin Il-112V webpage
{{Ilyushin aircraft
Il-112
2010s Russian military transport aircraft
High-wing aircraft
T-tail aircraft
Twin-turboprop tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2019