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| Ilyushin Il-18 |
Militarymedia.net - The Il-18 (Western reporting name Coot) first flew in 1957 and was produced in large numbers for civilian operators. Its production began in 1959. This aircraft was a milestone in the development of Soviet commercial aviation. Its performance, capacity and reliability make it an obvious choice for redundant airframe adaptation for military roles. This military version was used by the Soviet Air Force and Soviet Naval Aviation. Civil and military versions of the Il-18 have been exported to a number of Soviet allies and countries where Soviet influence has spread, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Vietnam and Yugoslavia. In some countries the Il-18 is used as government, presidential or VIP transport.
Currently one Il-18 is still in service with the North Korean Air Force. Versions of this aircraft, such as the Il-20 or Il-38, are used by the Russian military.
The Il-18T is a military transport aircraft. It was used to carry troops, vehicles, cargo and evacuate casualties. But there are also commercial aircraft with the same designation.
The Il-18 can carry a maximum load of around 13,500 kg. The maximum payload range is 3,700 km.
The Il-18 is powered by four Ivchenko AI-20M turboprop engines, producing 4 250 hp each.
There are many variants of the Il-18. Only military variants are listed below.
Ilyushin Il-18 Variant
The Il-18AT is a military transport version, converted from the civilian Il-18A.
The Il-18BT is a military transport version, converted from the civilian Il-18B.
The Il-18VT is a military transport version, converted from the civilian Il-18V.
The Il-18TD can carry 118 paratroopers or 69 stretchers. A single aircraft is built to this standard. But that was not wanted by the military. Then this single aircraft was changed to another variant.
Il-18USh navigator trainer aircraft. One Il-18V was modified to this standard. It was tested and found acceptable. However, the Soviet Air Force used a modified version of the Tupolev Tu-124 for this role.
Communication relay aircraft, based on the civilian Il-18D. A total of 3 aircraft were modified to this standard to provide communication relays between VIP aircraft and Government agencies.
Il-20M (Coot-A) strategic electronic intelligence aircraft and reconnaissance radar. Previously known as the Il-18D-36 Bizon. The aircraft is equipped with side-view aerial radar, cameras and other optical sensors. This can be considered the Soviet answer to the Boeing RC-135 series. The Russian Air Force still operates several Il-20 aircraft and versions thereof.
Il-20RT telemetry and communication relay aircraft. A total of 4 of these aircraft were built to support Soviet space activities. Later this was replaced by a special variant of the newer Il-76. The surviving Il-20RT is used by the Russian Air Force and Naval Aviation as a trainer and transport.
Il-22 (Coot-B) air command post variant. It was developed by the Myasischev design bureau and changed from the Il-18D and known as the Il-18D-26 Bizon. There is also an essentially the same, but newly built, aircraft known as the Il-22M. Later several Il-22s were repurposed and served as staff and VIP transport.
Il-22M air command post variant. It is also known as the Il-22M-11 Zebra. Unlike the baseline Il-22, which was converted from the Il-18D, the Il-22M is a newly built aircraft. It was the same as the Il-22, but had new mission equipment.
Il-38 (Western designation May) anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol aircraft. A total of 58 of these aircraft were built.
