The Ulyanovsk branch of PJSC "Il" – "Aviastar" (part of the United Aircraft Corporation of the Rostec State Corporation) in the last days of 2024 handed over another serial military transport Il-76MD-90A to the Russian Aerospace Forces. The aircraft received registration number RF-78679 and serial number 0404.
This is the sixth Il-76MD-90A built in Ulyanovsk last year. Previous models were sent to the troops in July, August, September, October and November 2024.
The heavy military transport Il-76MD-90A is a deep modernization of the Il-76MD aircraft. The new Il-76MD-90A, unlike the operational Il-76MD, are equipped with PS-90A-76 engines with a thrust of up to 14.5 tons instead of the "standard" D-30KP2 with a thrust of up to 12 tons.
The aircraft received a "glass" cockpit and a new wing, and the pointer instruments were replaced with devices with LCD displays.
The updated Il-76MD-90A has an increased payload capacity of up to 60 tons, and a delivery range of troops and cargo of up to 5 000 km.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that the Russian Armed Forces began testing a new platform for drones "Pchelka". This is a platform for lifting many copters without catapults into the air and transferring them to the territory of the task.