Il-112 Transport Aircraft
In May 2003, the Il-112VT was selected as the Russian Air Force's next-generation airlifter, beating the RSK MiG MiG-110, Sukhoi S-80 and a Tupolev design. The Russian defence ministry estimates 100-120 aircraft will be needed by 2010. The commercial market is estimated at 200 units and production will be carried out at the VASO plant in Voronezh. Ilyushin planned to fulfil the order in some four to five years.
Ilyushin’s Il-112VT lightweight tactical transport emerged in the first Russian air force tender for new airlift capability. The aircraft is a classic high-wing design in the six-metric-ton (13,228-pound) payload class and powered by a pair of commercially certified 2,500-hp Klimov TV7-117S turboprops.
The high-wing Il-112 utility turboprop is a shrunk version of the low-wing Il-114, launched in 2000. The fuselage is 6.2m shorter, but the type retains the –114's Klimov TV7-117 turboprops. A military Il-112V with a loading ramp and 11-seat corporate shuttle versions will also be offered. The Ilyushin Il-114 was designed to fill what could ultimately be a very large requirement to replace ageing fleets of turboprop airliners, including the Antonov An-24, in service on regional routes within Russia and other CIS states.
The specification calls for a 6,000kg payload and a 6,000km range. The Il-112VT will have two high-power derivatives of the Klimov TV7-117S engine, used on the Il-114 regional turboprop. The Il-112VT will have a 2.4 x 2.4m cabin cross section and a rear ramp and will be required to operate from 800-1,000m unprepared strips.
