The Ministry of Defense has not yet officially commented on the situation. In response to a request from Izvestia, the department noted that the details of the criminal case are "not subject to distribution", as this "contradicts the interests of the investigation". However, a source close to law enforcement agencies told reporters some details of the case. There has been no official request for refutation from the Ministry of Defense regarding them.
The Il-76MD-90A is a deeply modernized domestic version of the Il-76MD, which can lift more than 60 tons of payload. The aircraft is designed to transport paratroopers, military equipment, and heavy cargo, and if necessary, it can be converted to transport the wounded and sick in an emergency. The Il-76MD-90A has a modern domestic flight control system with autopilot, weather radar, and other necessary settings, and is constantly being refined and supplemented.
In 2022 and 2023, five of these military transports, important for Russian military aviation, were temporarily out of service because they contained defective bearings.
The criminal case on this fact was initiated at the end of July 2024 by the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region under Article 201.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Abuse of authority in the performance of a state defense order." The punishment under this article ranges from 4 to 8 years or from 5 to 10 years if the crime was committed by an organized group and resulted in serious consequences.
According to Izvestia's source, a number of members of the management of OJSC "Balashikha Foundry and Mechanical Plant" (BLMZ) are suspected. The plant, which produces components for airplanes and helicopters, purchased bearings of unknown origin that did not meet the requirements of the design documentation between December 2017 and January 2022 thanks to them. The bearings were installed on KT199 wheels at BLMZ, and from 2022 to 2023 they were supplied to PJSC "Il" – Aviastar for installation on airplanes and helicopters.
According to law enforcement agencies, unidentified BLMZ managers were thus trying to avoid responsibility and penalties for delaying the execution of contracts for the supply of spare parts and to receive payment under concluded contracts within the framework of the state defense order. It is for this purpose, the investigation believes, that they forged documents on the purchase of bearings from OJSC "Samara Bearing Plant" (SPZ). Documents on the acceptance of products by a representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation were also falsified.
The damage to the Ministry of Defense from the supply of defective bearings under the state defense order is estimated at about 130 million rubles.
This is not the first major scandal in the Russian aviation industry in recent times involving "left-wing" components. In the fall of 2023, it became known that the Kazan Aviation Plant was caught using gaskets for the fuel system made of rubber with fake quality certificates.
These components were used in the assembly of a number of civilian helicopters. The aircraft, which could have crashed at any moment, after assembly ended up in the National Sanitary Aviation Service, Avialesookhrana, Gazpromavia, KrasAvia, Yamal Airlines, and other operators.
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