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| Ilyushin Il-76 |
Militarymedia.net - The Ilyushin II-76 Candid is a famous Soviet-era design. Russia's first four jet heavy transport, designed and used to fly strategic military cargo to frontline air bases in the most extreme operational conditions. The prototype II-76 made its first flight in 1971. It was intended as a replacement for the An-12. It was a much more capable aircraft, which could lift 50 t, whereas the An-12 had a payload capacity of 20 t. Production began in 1974. The basic transport II-76 (NATO reporting name Candid-A) was built purely for military service. It saw extensive service during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. More than 800 of these cargo planes were built, as well as a number of special versions. The Il-76 is currently in service with Russia, Algeria, Belarus, China, Cuba, India, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Ukraine.
The aircraft is designed to deliver heavy vehicles and engines to remote, underserved airfields. It can operate from short and unpaved runways. The Il-76 can cope with the worst weather conditions experienced in the Siberian and Arctic regions.
The tough and reliable airframe gave rise to many variants – some designed to better perform basic transport jobs, and others serving as indispensable combat support roles. A bewildering array of other specialized variants have been developed for the role including mobile hospital, cosmonaut training and air command post, aerial laser platform, and firefighter.
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| Ilyushin Il-76 |
Ilyushin Il-76 Variant
The Il-76M (Candid-B) is a military version of the civilian II-76T (Candid-A), with added fuel, higher operating weight, powered lift line, full pressure, and cargo handling equipment in the hold.
The Il-76MD (Candid-B) is a military version of the civilian II-76TD (Candid-A) with an upgraded D-30KP-2 turbofan to maintain performance at higher ambient temperatures, increased fuel capacity, and a strengthened wing.
The II-78 (Midas) is the standard refueling tanker of the Russian air force, and is equipped with three UPAZ-1 external refueling units (one under each wing and one behind the fuselage). When equipped with airframe fuel tanks, the II-78 can transfer up to 65 tonnes / 84,639 liters of fuel at a combat radius of 1,000 km. About 50 of these aircraft were built.
The Beriev A-50 (Massage) is a variant developed for the AWACS role with a Shmel search radar mounted on a large rotodome above the rear fuselage. About 25 of these aircraft were built.
Beriev A-60 aerial laser test site. Two of these aircraft were built, but little is known about the project, which is still classified.
