The new promising Russian military transport aircraft Il-276 may be in demand on the international market in the future. This assumption was made in an interview with "Perviy Technicheskiy" by Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the Aviaport agency and aviation expert.
According to him, the Ilyushin Design Bureau already has developments for an aircraft to replace the medium military transport An-12, even if they did not lead to the creation of prototypes.
But this Il-276 project is cheaper and simpler than the super-heavy "Elephant". In theory, it may be in demand in international markets.
Panteleev added that PS-90A-76 turbojet engines, which are mass-produced, and promising PD-14M engines were considered for an aircraft of this size.
The bet on the not-so-new PS-90A-76 is quite justified. For a military customer, the priority is to complete the assigned combat mission, so engines that have been worked out in production and mastered in operation may be a better solution than more economical, but not yet created, PD-14M. In addition, new generation engines will be more expensive to purchase, and the military does not have the goal of achieving fuel efficiency at any cost.
Aviation expert Roman Gusarov explained to "Perviy Technicheskiy" that the Il-100 "Elephant" is positioned as a potential replacement for the An-124 and goes into a niche where everything is already in order with such aircraft.