Russian Defence Minister inspects fulfilment of state defence order at military transport aircraft manufacturing plant in Ulyanovsk
11.10.2023
In the course of the visit to Ulyanovsk Russian Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu inspected fulfilment of state defence order at the enterprise of PJSC Il - Aviastar of the United Aircraft Corporation, which is part of the Rostec State Corporation.
Russian Defence Minister inspected production of Il-76MD-90A aircraft, as well as repair and maintenance of An-124-100 aircraft.
General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation Yuri Slyusar reported to head of the Russian military department that today the Aviastar Il-76MD-90A aircraft in the production programme of 2023 are in various degrees of readiness. The aircraft scheduled for supply this year will be issued to the troops within the deadlines set by contractual obligations.
General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation briefed the Russian Defence Minister on planned work on AN-124-100 Ruslan aircraft in the aircraft repair and maintenance workshop.
Sergei Shoigu specified the type of engines that are planned to be installed on promising models of heavy transport aircraft, as well as during the repair and modernisation of the AN-124-100. Chief the Russian Military Transport aviation Lieutenant General Vladimir Benediktov reported that 'now there are two engine options - either the upgraded D-18T or PD-35'.
Following the results of the work at the enterprise, the Russian Defence Minister held a working meeting with management of the United Aircraft Corporation and the relevant central military administration bodies, during which the state and prospects for the development of military transport aviation were discussed.
'We will discuss today extremely important issues, namely the state and increasing the capabilities of military transport aviation. Taking into account the special military operation, the working capacity of military transport aviation has actually increased several times, we have exceeded the load of the military transport aviation in the most tense times of the Soviet Union by almost two times,' noted the Russian Defence Minister during the meeting.
Sergei Shoigu added that the working capacity continues to increase. The Minister drew attention to the fact that 'firstly, we need to maintain the current fleet that we have. Secondly, we need to increase this fleet by issuing new vehicles which are the latest modification of the Il-76, which we have seen today and which we already have in combat. Of course, they show excellent combat characteristics, but there are also opportunities to continue improving these vehicles, to increase their range and carrying capacity'.
'In addition, today we have to make decisions and consider all issues on the AN-124 heavy transport aircraft. By 2025, we should double their number due to the fact that we now have engines, we have the capabilities and capacity to modernize these aircraft. By 2025, the fleet should be doubled,' said head of the Russian military department.
Sergei Shoigu concluded that 'today we will discuss the most important issue that needs to be addressed for a long time. We found a solution. Now we need to decide on the timing as soon as, and as quickly as possible, we will be able to implement this decision, I mean light transport aircraft, which should replace the AN-72 and AN-26. What has been done in this part and what needs to be done'.
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