Il-38 May
The most well known military adaptation of the Il-18 is the maritime patrol/ASW Il-38 'May'. The Ilyushin Il-38 May is a Soviet maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft developed from the Il-18. The Il-38 is believed to have flown for the first time in 1957 and about 100 were built, with about three dozen serving with Russian naval aviation, while five were delivered to India in 1975. It is powered by four Ivchenko Al-20 single-shaft turboprops and has a maximum speed of 450mph and a range of 4500 miles.
This differs from the standard Il-18 by having a lengthened fuselage, MAD (magnetic anomaly detection) tail 'sting', weapon-carrying capability, and the wing located much further forward on the fuselage to offset the change in center of gravity resulting from the introduction of more equipment and stores. Details of the Il-38 are limited, but the airframe is stretched by 4m (1 3ft) over the Il-18 and the wings are moved forward. The Il-38 has a short front fuselage and a much longer aft-fuselage, and two bomb bays. The tail contains a MAD, while under the forward fuselage a search radar (named 'Wet Eye' by NATO) is housed in a bulged radome. There are two internal weapons bays, one forward and one rear of the wing.
According to information from public sources, as of 2005 at the Pacific Fleet at the airbase near the village of Mikolayivka (Primorye) there were based 16 IL-38 with the 77th separate anti-range aviation. Another 20 such "Ilov" were deployed in Severomorsk, Murmansk Region 1 (24 th oplap). In Soviet times, in Skulte (Latvia) 145-I, there was a separate anti squadron, "covering the Baltic Sea. It had 6 "thirty-eighths." However, figures vary. According to western directories, the Russian Navy had only 26 such machines. Domestic Russian public sources indicate that as of 2005, comprising aviation SF are 10 Il-38, the TOF - 15, and several more - in the center of combat training and pereuchivaniya crew Marine aviation at the Navy airbase in the town of Ostrov (Pskov region). Total of about 30 (other estimates - 35).
The first IL-38 were built in the early 1960s on the basis of the passenger Il-18V, which had a markedly longer fuselage. For the first time, "the thirty-eighth" took off 27 Sept, 1961 - with the famous pilot airman test Vladimir Kokkinaki. Search and attack system "Berkut" waas been installed for tests on 10 March, 1963. The system was under development for quite a long time - the plane was adopted by the Navy only on 17 January 1969 - 12 years after having been given a government job for its development. Serial production of the "Ilov" lasted until 1972. In 1967 at Nikolaevke began the first regiment of the submarine Air Hunters.
In all the factory "Banner of Labor" (Moscow) built 65 such machines (it was declared in 1962 that the need was for250). Five of them in 1977 were sold to India and joined the Indian Navy Air Squadron 315. In the early 1970's they were in the air sometimes for 10-14 hours. The machine was considered very reliable. During the years of operation there was only one disaster. An Il-38 was lost during a severe storm in the Pacific Ocean. The crew did not have enough fuel to circumvent a wealth of bad weather, and the commander decided to fly above thunderstorms. But the plane was hit by lightning, in front of the second crew "Ila" It caught fire and disappeared into the abyss.
The average annual flight rate on the IL-38 until 1991, was 300-350 h, which was considered a good indicator. From 1969 to 1981 crews IL-38 produced 4,095 sorties in the military services with a total 24 570 flight hours, the outcome - the discovery of 172 foreign submarines, some of whom were tracking of varying lengths.
Il-38N Novella
The very modernized Il-38 is primarily to replace the anti-system "Berkut" with "Novella". The new complex is fully digital, has less mass and size, with great opportunities. It includes high-resolution radar, television, thermal imaging subsystem, infrared sensor, radiogidroakusticheskuyu system, a magnetometer and a system of electronic intelligence (the latter is installed on the fuselage at the bow, which changed the appearance of flying). Novell is able to detect air targets at a distance of up to 90 km, the surface - up to 320 km. In doing so, the system is able to simultaneously keep an eye on 32 targets.
The Russian navy made a strong bid for the modernization and upgrading of the IL-38. In 2005 the general director of OAO "Aviation Complex named SV Ilyushin Viktor Livanov, noted that "in the modernization of IL-38N for the Russian Navy aircraft observed a significant backlog of earlier dates." The index "N" stands for "Novella". This electronic system designed to search for submarines, which will equipped the IL-38. As of 2005 only one IL-38 had been modernized with the Novell station. It continued to operate on a program of state trials, which were scheduled to be completed before the end of 2006.
The draft State Program General Armaments of Russia until 2015, provides for the modernization of large parts of the aircraft fleet in equipping aircraft fleet. In 2005 funding was discontinued for programs to create machines Tu-204P and A-40 "Albatros" (the latter in the development of Taganrog Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex Berieva, started back in 1983). The life of old aircraft would extend until 2015. These may include alterations within seven to ten years to approximately 35-40 aircraft.
In August 2006 it was reported that the Russian navy will receive its first batch of remanufactured Ilyushin Il-38N maritime patrol aircraft in 2007, following preliminary certification trials. "Preliminary certification will mean that the upgraded aircraft meets the requirements set, so that the initial batch of the aircraft may be built," said Ilyushin director-general Viktor Livanov.
