MOSCOWm Russia -- The Russian Il-112V military transport will make its first flight shortly according to a report from the TASS Russian News Agency on March 21, 2019, a source in the defense industry said, "It is planned that the first flight of Il-112V will take place soon, at the end of March or beginning of April. Everything is ready for this." The source added that "all issues with engines have been resolved," without further specifying.
A second source told the state-owned media outlet that specialists at the Voronezh Aircraft Production Association presently "are checking the aircraft's engines and its systems" in preparation for the flight testing. The aircraft will be accompanied by an An-26 transport during the test flight, which will "monitor the operation paraments of different systems," a source said.
Eventually, the Il-112V is to replace the An-26 in Air Force service.
TASS noted that it did not have official confirmation of the news. The first Il-112V prototype was rolled out in November 2018 and has subsequently conducted taxi tests. As the aircraft is a brand-new design, rather than a modern adaptation of an older model, the development process has seen some setbacks and timelines have been extended. Serial production is presently expected to start no sooner than 2020.
The Il-112V is expected to have a 5-ton carrying capacity and be able to fly at speeds of around 450 kilometers per hour. Russia will fit the aircraft with an onboard defense system from KRET to protect it from missiles.
You have 0 item(s) in your cart