How will the modernized IL 96 400 differ? Russian Aviation

IL-96- a wide-body passenger aircraft for medium and long-haul airlines, designed at the Ilyushin Design Bureau in the late 1980s. It made its first flight in 1988 and has been in serial production since 1993 at the Voronezh Joint-Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Company plant. Il-96 became the first and last Soviet long-range wide-body aircraft.

By the mid-1970s, almost all long-haul air transportation in the USSR and socialist countries was carried out on Il-62 aircraft. However, the capabilities of these aircraft could not fully meet the rapid growth in volume long-distance transport: due to the relatively low passenger capacity, the number of flights increased, and accordingly, the load on airports increased.

In addition, the cabin of the narrow-body aircraft was far from the degree of comfort that was achieved on the Boeing 747, which entered service in 1969, which became the world's first wide-body aircraft.

In 1978, using the results of work on the Il-86D project, the OKB began developing the Il-96 aircraft with a T-shaped tail, a higher aspect ratio wing with supercritical nose profiles and an area of ​​up to 387 sq.m. Research on this option was carried out until 1983, when the progress achieved in the field of aviation science and technology made it possible to abandon the idea of ​​​​creating Il-96 aircraft using in its design many ready-made units and systems of the Il-86 aircraft and move on to the creation of a fundamentally new Il-96-300 aircraft.

The Il-96-300 aircraft differs from its predecessor Il-86 by having a fuselage shortened by 5.5 meters, a larger wing span and a reduced sweep angle, increased dimensions of the vertical tail, and an improved interior of the passenger cabin.

New alloys are used in its design and the proportion of composite materials is increased. The aircraft uses an automatic fuel consumption control system, which allows it to maintain the alignment of the aircraft in flight. Special attention was devoted to issues of reliability and safety of aircraft operation.

The Il-96 uses a Russian digital avionics system with six color multifunction displays, an electronic thrust control system, an inertial navigation system and satellite navigation aids. Also on Il–96–300 it was decided to install new Solovyov PS-90A engines. The smooth nacelle of the PS-90A, uncharacteristic of the dual-circuit engines previously produced in the USSR, increased the fuel efficiency of the aircraft.

A set of requirements presented to Ilyushin Design Bureau by the Ministry civil aviation- transportation of a commercial load of 30 and 15 tons over a practical range of 9,000 and 11,000 km with a cruising speed of 850 to 900 km/h at an altitude of 9,000 to 12,000 m - made the traditional one the optimal aerodynamic design: a four-engine cantilever low-wing aircraft with a vertical tail. The T-shaped tail was abandoned. The IL-96-300 was initially created as an aircraft with development potential: its design allows for the relatively fast and inexpensive development of various modifications of the aircraft.

Further development of the aircraft Il–96–300 was the creation of the Il-96M variant, in which many US aviation companies took part. The fuselage of the aircraft was extended to 64 meters, that is, even more than on the Il-86. But the main distinguishing feature of the Il-96M was the Pratt & Whitney PW2337 engines.

The prototype was created on the basis of the first prototype Il-96-300. The plane took off on April 6, 1993, but was not put into serial production. On the basis of the Il-96M, the cargo Il-96T was created, which was also assembled in a single copy. A double-deck version of the Il-96-550, equipped with an NK-92 turbofan engine (4 x 20,000 kgf) and designed to carry 550 passengers, was also studied.

In 1999-2000, work was carried out on the project of the Il-96-400T cargo aircraft, which has the capabilities cargo plane Il-96T, but has Russian PS-90A-2 turbofan engines and avionics. It made its first flight on May 16, 1997. In operation since 2009.

The first prototype was assembled directly at the design bureau workshop on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow. At the beginning of September 1988, the plane was solemnly rolled out of the assembly shop. The first flight of the experimental Il-96-300 aircraft was carried out on September 28 from the Frunze Central Airfield on Khodynskoye Field. The aircraft was piloted by a crew under the command of Honored Test Pilot of the USSR Hero Soviet Union Stanislav Bliznyuk. Flying right over central regions Moscow lasted 40 minutes.

During testing IL-96 performed several notable long-range flights, including Moscow–Petropavlovsk–Kamchatsky–Moscow without landing in Petropavlovsk. The plane covered 14,800 km in 18 hours and 9 minutes. On June 9, 1992, Il-96 flew from Moscow to Portland via the North Pole, spending 15 hours in the air.

The aircraft was tested in Yakutsk at –50 °C and in Tashkent at +40 °C. Based on the test results, on December 29, 1992, the aircraft was awarded an airworthiness certificate. For six months, new cars were tested on Aeroflot routes, and due to lack of funding, operational tests had to be combined with commercial cargo transportation.

Commercial operation of the aircraft began on July 14, 1993 on the Moscow–New York route. At first, the aircraft was used mainly on foreign flights: to Singapore, Las Palmas, New York, Tel Aviv, Palma de Mallorca, Tokyo, Bangkok, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Sao Paulo, Havana, Hanoi, Santiago, Lima.

Everyone flying on this moment at Aeroflot Il-96 aircraft were collected in the first half of the 1990s. In exchange for reducing duties on the import of foreign equipment, Aeroflot undertook to purchase an additional batch of Il-96, but the deal never took place, although duties were reduced.

In 2005–2006, three Il-96-300s were delivered to Cuba, including one to serve the President of Cuba. In 2009, the Venezuelan government signed a contract for the supply of two Il-96-300 - one for passenger, the other for VIP transportation. In the fall of 2008, the IFC leasing corporation seized two Il-96-300s from Krasnoyarsk Airlines due to the company's insolvency.

In 2009, Polet Airlines began operating cargo planes Il-96-400T, which Aeroflot initially planned to buy, but later abandoned them. As of September 2009, Polet airline has three Il-96-400T aircraft with a plan to receive three more aircraft in 2010.

Also, during the MAKS-2009 aerospace salon, an agreement was signed with a Peruvian airline for the supply of two Il-96-400T freighters with an option for another such aircraft, and negotiations are underway on its delivery to China and the countries of the Middle East. The current version of the aircraft is equipped with new engines and the most modern Russian-made flight and navigation system, which allows the aircraft to be operated without any restrictions around the world.

Such aircraft have not yet been produced in Russia. Il-96-400T can transport up to 92 tons of cargo on medium and long-distance routes. The aircraft is certified in accordance with Russian airworthiness standards, harmonized with the standards of the European Union and the USA. At various times, negotiations were held on the sale of Il-96 to China (three aircraft), Syria (three aircraft) and even Zimbabwe. KrasAir airline planned to transfer two of its Il-96s to Iran Air on a one-year wet lease in 2007.

The first two prototypes (nos. 96000 and 96001), stored for a long time at the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Ramenskoye, were destroyed in May 2009. Another 5 aircraft (2 KrasAir and 3 Domodedovo Airlines) are temporarily taken out of service and are in storage.

Creators Il–96–300 were guided by the economic indicators of the Boeing 767, however, since the first flight of the Il-96-300, long-haul airliners of the new generation Boeing 777, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A380 have been put into operation, and it is expected that they will soon reach Boeing market 787 and Airbus A350. By 2012, two more Il-96-300 will be produced for the SLO Russia (including the presidential Il-96-300PU). The cargo version of the Il-96-400T aircraft remains in production.

Flight characteristics of Il-96

What was impossible yesterday becomes possible today. The Voronezh Aviation Plant (VASO) began assembling the first experimental Il-96-400M, which is a modernized version of the good old Il-96-300, equipped, naturally, with no less good Perm PS-90 engines. The project was and now remains unprofitable, but who knows what the American sanctions will reach?

Both the Superjet and MS-21 have imported components, while the IL-96 (and PS-90 engines, of course) are completely domestic. So far, total bans in the field of aviation look like a bad dream, but the Russian leadership, apparently, has decided that our country should have a cure for such a nightmare. Just in case.

The issue was resolved precisely at this level, because in recent years PJSC VASO has been producing new wide-body aircraft exclusively in the interests of government customers. However, back in May 2016, in parallel with the Russian-Chinese wide-body project, a fundamental decision was made to develop and launch into serial production a modernized Il-96-400M passenger aircraft for Russian airlines. At that time, many were perplexed as to why Russia needed two aircraft of the same type, but now much is becoming clear.

Well forgotten old

The new modification will differ from the basic Il-96 by having a fuselage extended by 9.65 meters, the use of more powerful PS-90A1 engines and a modernized avionics complex, as well as a completely new interior of the passenger cabin, increased to 350 passengers.

As they say, you will laugh, but it is in this version that the plane comes closer to the original idea, because at one time the general designer Genrikh Novozhilov “shortened” the airframe due to too little thrust of the Perm engine, which left on the step of the last carriage of state funding from sadly drooping on apron of the Samara engine NK-93. So it remained in the Soviet past. Now no one remembers the former competition between the Perm Design Bureau of Solovyov and the Samara Design Bureau of Kuznetsov; now the Permians have another main enemy. "Pratt-Whitney" is called, and the residents Perm region this name is familiar.

But let’s return to the Il-96-400M, according to which in December 2016 a contract was signed with PJSC “Il” for development work, providing for the development and construction of the first prototype in Voronezh. According to materials published on the official government procurement website, the cost of the contract for development work on the aircraft is more than 10 billion rubles, of which 7.55 billion are allocated for the actual construction of the prototype. About 6 billion have already been received from the state budget in 2016-2017, and the remaining 4 billion will be received by the end of this year.

In a typical two-class configuration, the Il-96-400M will accommodate 326 passengers in three cabins economy class and 24 passengers in business class. The maximum take-off weight of the aircraft has been increased to 270 tons, the maximum payload weight will be 58 tons, and the flight range with a load of 40 tons and an aeronautical fuel reserve will be 8,100 kilometers.
Recently, in July, the Government of the Russian Federation allocated funds in the amount of 1.32 billion rubles of state investment, which will go to the authorized capital of VASO and will be used for the reconstruction and technical re-equipment of production for the production of Il-96-400M. The cost of the entire reconstruction project, which is due to be completed in 2020, is 1.467 billion rubles. That is, the plans are quite serious, there is no turning back.

Backup option?

In the spring of this year, VASO began manufacturing the first parts for the prototype Il-96-400M, and at the same time the slipway for assembling its fuselage, which had previously been occupied by the fuselage of the unfinished fifth Il-96-400T, was cleared. According to the contract, the production of the Il-96-400M prototype should be completed before the end of 2019, and its preliminary flight tests should be carried out between November 2019 and January 2020. Certification tests of the airliner should be completed by June 2020 with the issuance of an addition to the type certificate - approval of a major design change. Around the same time, the MS-21 will also go into production, including with the new Perm PD-14 engines. Thus, the Il-96-400M is frankly a backup option.
Of course, no one will order Aeroflot to buy even a modernized Il-96, but still with four engines; the most likely potential buyer is a special flight squad"Russia". Let us remind you that the country's leadership flies entirely domestic aircraft with Perm engines, and nothing else.

However, who can now say what will happen with sanctions in three years? Americans regularly introduce new restrictions, and there is no end in sight. It is also possible to introduce a moratorium on the sale of new American planes, avionics, aircraft engines and the termination of maintenance of existing American-made aircraft. Just like it already happened with Iran, for example.

And since both European aircraft and new Russian ones contain a share of American components and technologies, their purchase and commissioning can also be fraught with significant difficulties and take a significant amount of time. Russia is precisely insuring itself against this peak event, so that we have proven projects in the civil aircraft industry that are carried out without the participation of our “foreign partners.” From the word “absolutely”.

There is no time for economic efficiency here; we are talking about the strategic security of the country. And the Perm PS-90 engine, like an experienced veteran, is always ready to back up the newcomer PD-14, who still has everything ahead of him.

Although the situation is changing so quickly, including the ruble exchange rate, that the Il-96-400M can already compete with Boeings and Airbuses owned by foreign airlines. They will refuel for foreign currency, and our planes - for rubles. Of course, on domestic flights the new IL is still not a competitor to Western aircraft while they are flying.
But let’s better think that sanctions in aviation are just a bad dream.

Text: Alexey Klochikhin

Among the numerous models of aircraft manufactured by domestic manufacturers, the Il-96 stands out with particular reliability and excellent characteristics. According to analytical data confirmed by world experts, this particular model demonstrated safety during operation, given that there was not a single case of death on board.

Domestic manufacturers presented several modifications of the Il-96 to the public. After analyzing the flight characteristics and internal equipment, almost all models were highly praised by experts. However, for various reasons, the serial production of some aircraft was frozen.

Engineers working at the Ilyushin design bureau developed the Il-95 aircraft back in the early 80s of the last century to serve long-term passenger flights. It was decided to use the IL-86 as the basis for the new model.

When creating an improved air transport, specialists made some changes to the basic design, as can be seen by looking at the photos. For example, the fuselage was shortened, and the length of the keel, on the contrary, was increased; the airliner was also equipped with modern avionics and a powerful power unit.

The Il-96-300 model was launched into serial production in the early 1990s, and after just a year, the airliner began serving passengers. Domestic aircraft manufacturers have built and put into operation 22 units of reliable and safe aircraft of the series in question. Moreover, one of the models of this series, Il-96 300 PU, was used for air transportation President of the Russian Federation.

Unfortunately, further fate The aircraft project turned out to be quite complex. The first blow to the further development of the project was dealt by the Russian government by approving an order regarding the removal of the mandatory contribution from aircraft manufactured by foreign designs when importing equipment into the territory of our country.

The well-known airline Aeroflot, in response to the adoption of the new law, issued a statement that if duties are indeed reduced, the company is ready to buy Il-96 aircraft. The issue regarding the removal of duties was resolved, but, unfortunately, Aeroflot did not keep its promises, that is, it did not buy a large batch aircraft.

Despite such an unpleasant incident, the Russian airliner was of great interest to potential foreign buyers. Which, however, is not surprising, because even looking through photos of the IL-96 interior, you can see strengths. Buyers were no less impressed by the flight navigation system, created using a special design that allowed pilots to control the airliner without the help of a navigator.

Russian designers decided to equip this particular model with the latest equipment:

• latest generation control system VSUP-85-4;
• the latest indicators;
• modernized electronic displays.

The IL-96 cabin is quite spacious and has a modern air conditioning system that supplies the compartment with air supplied from the engines.

At the beginning of 2009, it was decided to stop production of the Il-96-300, since this model was considered unpromising. However, several airliners of this series were purchased by buyers from Cuba, and according to data, these aircraft are of domestic production and are currently used for their intended purpose.

Cabin Il-96-400

Creating a more advanced model

Russian designers created the Il-96-400 at the beginning of 2000 as an updated model of a previously developed airliner. When creating this modification, several changes were made:

• the plane could accommodate many more passengers;
• flight range has increased significantly;
• specifications have been improved.

According to a report published by Izvestia, the resumption of production of the Il-96 will begin in the near future.

After all, a business agreement has already been signed between the Voronezh Joint-Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Community and the special flight squad “Russia” for the delivery of several units of Il-96-400 M by 2020. The message noted that one of the updated aircraft models will be used as presidential transport.

Currently, the airliner has successfully passed all tests, both factory and ground. Experts noted the excellent flight and technical characteristics, as well as the comfortable cabin and reliability of air transport.

The layout of the IL-96 interior provides for the arrangement of seats, which is shown in the photo below.

Passengers are in comfortable seats during the flight. Each ship has 8 toilet rooms and a buffet room.

When developing the Il-96-400M model, Russian engineers made many changes to the previously created air transport model, making the new aircraft strikingly different from many aircraft created by other airlines:

1. Many military units became interested in the model in question, classifying it as a tanker aircraft. This model is equipped with additional fuel tanks, which are located in the fuselage compartment. If necessary, an additional fuel system is simply connected to the main one, and its capacity allows you to additionally transport about 62 tons of fuel. This model is considered as a “two in one”, because if the services of a tanker are not required, the aircraft can quite easily be converted into a regular one air Transport. Moreover, the modifications will not affect the range that the aircraft of the new model range can cover.
2. It is equally important to note the second feature of the IL-96 - the safety of air travel. During the tests, the pilot was able to land the plane without damage according to the usual landing pattern, on which all 4 power units were specially turned off.

Not every air transport created by the hands of the world's most famous aircraft manufacturers can boast of such features.

Future Russian wide-body long-haul passenger airliner Il-96-400M is awaiting rebranding. It will receive a new designation - Il-496. According to Izvestia, a fundamental decision has already been made, but this name will begin to appear in official documents starting next year. The first prototype will be built before the end of 2019. According to experts, the market for such aircraft in Russia is small. But the Il-96-400 project is important from the point of view of developing competencies in the aircraft industry.

As three sources told Izvestia aviation industry, familiar with the situation, the wide-body long-haul airliner being created at Il PJSC will receive a new designation - Il-496. This decision has already been approved in principle at the government level.

- The need for rebranding is due to the fact that the aircraft being created is not just a modification of the Il-96, but its deep modernization. In fact, we are talking about a new aircraft,” explained one of the interlocutors.

Il PJSC, the company that developed the aircraft, did not comment on rebranding plans to Izvestia. At the same time, they noted that they expect to prepare all the technical documentation for the construction of the first prototype of the Il-96-400M by the end of this year.

“The features of the designed aircraft will be the installation of modern domestic flight and navigation equipment, as well as a modern passenger cabin, which will provide comfortable conditions for passengers,” noted the Ilyushin press service. - The presentation of the Il-96-400M is scheduled for the end of 2019.

In this case, domestic navigation equipment includes the inertial system (responsible for determining the position of the aircraft in space), transponders (automatically transmit data to ground radar stations), navigation and landing systems. At the first stage in 2018–2019, it is planned to equip all Il-96-300 aircraft with such systems.

The Il-96-400M development program involves the production of one prototype and six production aircraft. Construction of the first prototype at the aircraft plant in Voronezh is scheduled for the end of 2019, the first production aircraft - for 2020. In the same year, it is planned to complete certification tests of the airliner.

The press service of the Ministry of Industry and Trade told Izvestia that the implementation of the Il-96-400M project is proceeding in accordance with the approved schedule. The work receives funding within the limits of federal budget funds.

According to Alexei Sinitsky, editor-in-chief of Aviation Transport Review, the niche of wide-body long-haul aircraft in Russia is small - a little more than 80 aircraft of this class are in operation. More than 60% of them are in the Aeroflot group of companies, Utair has several cars, and the rest are in tourist carriers. These liners can find application on Far East Russian Federation or international tourist routes. Special versions of the aircraft may be of interest to specialized government customers.

Il-96-400 in its current form according to economic characteristics and equipment remains at the level of previous generation aircraft. But it's not much cheaper than new ones modern airliners foreign production. In terms of cost of ownership over the life cycle, the loss is very large,” noted Alexey Sinitsky.

Nevertheless, the Il-96-400M project should help the domestic aviation industry maintain competencies and load production capacity. In the long term, the civilian line of aircraft should be replenished with a new generation wide-body airliner, the creation of which Russia has begun together with its Chinese partners - the COMAC Corporation.

The Il-96-400M is being created as an extended modification of the passenger Il-96-300. The take-off weight of the new airliner will be 270 tons. The aircraft will be able to carry up to 400 passengers. This vehicle will use Russian-made avionics, materials and components. According to Izvestia, the total planned budget for the airliner creation program is 53.4 billion rubles.

The promising Russian wide-body airliner Il-96-400M will receive two engines instead of four - and this, the developers assure, will allow it to compete on equal terms with the best Boeing and Airbus aircraft. However, this will happen in seven years at best. Why is Russia modernizing an old Soviet airliner and will it interfere with the creation of a similar Russian-Chinese aircraft?

Russia is launching the process of deep modernization of the Il-96-300 and the creation of a new wide-body aircraft on its basis. passenger plane Il-96-400M.

“The IL-96-400M would have good commercial prospects if it had a modern engine”

As the chief designer of Il OJSC Nikolai Talikov told the newspaper VZGLYAD, in 2019 it is planned to build a prototype of the aircraft, conduct testing and certification. In 2020, its serial production should begin with final assembly at the Voronezh Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise (VASO). In five years, by 2025, it is planned to assemble seven such aircraft, that is, one or two aircraft per year. Although if there is interest in the aircraft, VASO will be able to produce three aircraft per year. “At one time, the plant produced eight to ten Il-86 aircraft per year,” recalls Talikov.

Unlike its predecessor (Il-96-300), the fuselage of the Il-96-400M will be increased by 9.35 meters due to two inserts in front of and behind the wing. In addition, the modernized airliner will receive a new “heart”. It will have more than powerful engines PS-90A1 with a maximum thrust of 17.4 tons instead of PS-90A (16 tons). As a result, the Il-96-400M will be able to carry up to 415 passengers - 115 more than the Il-96-300.

The airliner will receive new radio communications and flight navigation equipment. There will be a more comfortable cabin with an additional central luggage rack and division into classes, the latest on-board equipment and an entertainment system. In other words, it is planned to bring the filling of the liner to the modern world level.

Modernization of long-designed aircraft is a traditional world practice. For example, the Boeing 747 is older than the Il-96, but it still flies thanks to the fact that its hardware is constantly being modernized, notes Roman Gusarov, director of the Avia.ru portal. Including engines.

And engines are the main problem of the new airliner. Even the new Perm PS-90A1 is still inferior in efficiency to its Western counterparts. A more worthy engine is only being developed. We are talking about the prospect of installing on the Il-96-400M, instead of four PS-90A1, two PD-35 engines with a take-off thrust of 35 tons. “With the same payload weight of 58 tons, it will be possible to increase the flight range from 8,750 km to 10,800, and fuel consumption will be significantly lower,” says Talikov. It is expected that when equipped with two engines, the Il-96-400M will be able to compete on equal terms with the foreign A-330-300Neo, B-787-8 and B-787-9, including in terms of fuel efficiency. The developer states that the cost per seat-kilometer will be lower than that of competitors. However, it is planned to certify the PD-35 only in 2024.

The lack of a modern engine can mean one thing - airlines are unlikely to show much interest in the modernized airliner. “The IL-96-400M would have good commercial prospects if it already had a modern engine. When the PD-35 engine is installed, then the aircraft will become comparable to imported analogues in terms of basic characteristics. In the meantime, the airliner will lose in two parameters - fuel consumption and the number of engines. Western technology flies on two engines, but we have four, which means operating costs are higher,” says Gusarov.

Hence such a small plan for the production of aircraft - one or two per year. “This will be quite enough. I think it will be possible to install seven aircraft by 2025 through the State Aviation Administration,” says Gusarov.

However, why in seven years will the Il-96-400M with the new PD-35 engine be needed, if by that time its competitor, the wide-body long-range airliner that Russia is developing together with China, should take off? In Russia this aircraft is still called ShFDMS, in China – C929. According to the plan, the airliner should make its first flight in 2023, and the first deliveries will begin in 2026. This airliner promises to be not only comparable in basic characteristics to its Western counterparts, but also superior to them - thanks to the latest engines, composite materials and the latest advances in aerodynamics. It is expected that the Russian-Chinese airliner will be 10-15% more efficient than the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus 350.

The development and creation of production will require $13 billion in investment and another $7 billion to create a spare parts supply chain, sales support and marketing. Costs are divided equally between Russia and China. For comparison: a total of 53.4 billion rubles (or $940 million) is planned to be spent on the Il-96-400M modernization program for 2016–2023.

And yet there are reasons why the modernization project is already quite old Soviet plane was supported and will be financed by the state.

“This is a purely Russian project, and Russia is interested in it strategically from the point of view of preserving competencies that are easy to lose”

Firstly, this relatively inexpensive project will allow the Russian aviation industry to retain technology and competencies - in other words, the ability to develop and build large wide body aircraft. This is extremely important, because today only three countries (regions) in the world can build such airliners - the USA, Europe and Russia. In addition, the president flies on the Il-96-300; there are five such aircraft in the presidential fleet, and it is difficult to imagine that the first person of the Russian state will switch to a foreign, even Russian-Chinese, aircraft.

Secondly, no one can guarantee that everything will go according to plan for the Russian-Chinese project. China is a very complex, albeit very promising partner, and there are many examples of how joint Russian-Chinese plans were disrupted for one reason or another.

Finally, “much of what will be installed in the new version of the Il-96-400M can be used in the new Russian-Chinese project,” says Gusarov. For example, the same PD-35 engine can form the basis of the engine for this project.

In addition, if relations with the West suddenly worsen and affect the aviation sector, the Il-96-400 will fill the niche of wide-body Boeing and Airbus.

“In any case, no matter what happens to the Chinese project or no matter how relations with the West worsen, we will maintain the competencies and production of wide-body aircraft, retain personnel and technology. If necessary, it will be possible to expand production to 10 aircraft per year, which will be quite enough for our market, and there will still be some left for export. All over the world, large wide-body aircraft are not produced in such large volumes as traditional narrow-body aircraft,” the source says.

Finally, there is another extremely important reason why Russia cannot be allowed to lose the technology to create such aircraft. Based of this aircraft it is possible to create third-generation air control centers, the so-called doomsday planes. They could be used in the event of a nuclear war if ground control structures are destroyed. The most famous of these specialized aircraft are the American E-4B, based on Boeing 747 airliners, and the Russian Il-80, developed on the basis of the passenger Il-86.

In fact, the wide-body Il-86, created back in the 70s, was technically a breakthrough in the Soviet aviation industry. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they simply forgot about it: there was not enough money, and the technological chains were broken.

IN modern Russia The IL-96-300 was used only by Aeroflot (which had long since been withdrawn from its fleet) and the bankrupt airline Transaero. Although several aircraft are still in the fleet of the Presidential Administration and the state-owned Cuban airline.

Place of your own big airliner occupied by foreign competitors, mainly used Airbus (A310, 340) and Boeing (747, 767, 777). There is even a version that the problem was not even that imported airliners were more economical and competitive than ours, but that the Americans and Europeans gave a conditional 10% of the deal for each ordered batch of their aircraft (they simply bribed them). Even if this is the case, the only way to change the situation in the near future is through market measures, making the Russian offer more attractive.

The main thing is that the state does not overstep the bounds and does not decide to force Russian airlines to buy the Il-96-400M under pressure without any apparent need. “If there is no imposition of a non-competitive aircraft on everyone and everything, then everything is fine. Still, airlines need to make money,” says Gusarov. It will be another matter if favorable conditions for the purchase and ownership of such aircraft are offered to airlines, and they themselves want to switch to their operation.

A source in the aviation industry told the newspaper VZGLYAD and the estimated cost of the future aircraft. In terms of price - 7 billion rubles, or $120 million - the Il-96-400M already looks attractive, at least at the current ruble exchange rate. “It turns out that we are selling a wide-body aircraft at the price of a narrow-body aircraft. This approximate price narrow-body A-320,” notes Gusarov. However, for airlines, it is important how much it will cost to own the aircraft as a whole over the entire period of its operation. When the PD-35 engine appears, this cost may turn out to be no worse than its Western counterparts. And by that time, Russian airlines will just need to replenish their fleet with wide-body aircraft. For example, according to Kommersant, Aeroflot will remove all 22 Airbus 330s and four out of 15 Boeing 777s from its fleet by 2025.