05.04.2012
Serial production of up-to-date Il-476 airlifter will start in 2014 year
Up-to-date Il-476 airlifter will be assembled in Ulyanovsk and then under its own power will be transferred to Taganrog, where high-tech "stuff" will be mounted at liner. Representatives of "Aviastar-SP" Aviation Plant and Beriev Aircraft Company agreed about this at the meeting in Taganrog.
Director General of "Aviastar-SP", Mr. Sergey Dementiev, said that "from 2014 serial production of Il-476 airlifter will begin, the main customer is the Ministry of Defence of Russia. The plant is completing the construction of flight hardware, and already three serial aircraft have been founded. Totally 200 aircraft have to be assembled by 2025. "Peak" production capacity is 18 aircraft per year", — noted Dementiev.
In turn, Director General of Beriev Aircraft Company, Mr. Viktor Kobzev said, that "Ulyanovsk plant — the youngest in Russian aviation industry, therefore in its capacities there are installed such high technologies, that many other specialized plants in the world do not have".
New Il-476 airlifter will be able to reach speed up to 850 km/h and to transport payload up to 50 tones for distance of more than 7000 km.
Source: AVIA.RU.
There's never been a single accident with the old IL-76 after decades of service. I know an AM ,transport specialist who praised it very highly.If C-17 prod. is ending,what heavylifter will we be able to acquire a decade from now,(even from 2020) when our existing IL-76s begin ending their useful life? IL-476 production in Russia will continue for at least a decade and given Russian requirements alone will only increase,watch the situ around 2020,if one is still alive and kicking!
As for the one C-17 is better than 3 IL-476s,what happens when the lone C-17 also lacks support and spares? No aircraft type can be 100% available always.There's always safety in numbers. One must also remember that if there was support/spares issues with the Il-76s,they were finally assembled in Uzbekistan,not in Russia,which became problematic after the collapse of the USSR.This problem has been corrected with the entire upgraded aircraft now being built in Russia at Aviastar's Ulyanovsk plant.Here is a report from Janes',last yr. after trials completion prior to production.
Other reports:Aviastar completes Il-476 flight trial programme
Nicholas de Larrinaga, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
21 May 2013
Aviastar SP has completed company flight trials of its Ilyushin Il-476 strategic transport aircraft, the company announced on 21 May.
Russia's Il-476 transport aircraft has completed its programme of 22 company run flight trials. (Aviastar)Russia's Il-476 transport aircraft has completed its programme of 22 company run flight trials. (Aviastar)
Aviastar SP conducted 22 company run test flights of the aircraft, which is marketed internationally as the Il-76MD-90A. The aircraft, RA-79650 is now being prepared by Aviastar technicians for transfer to the Russian Ministry of Defence, who will conduct further tests on the aircraft. Once this second stage of testing has successfully completed, the aircraft will the certified for commercial sales.
The Il-476 is a further incremental upgrade on the 1970s vintage Ilyushin Il-76 'Candid' strategic transport aircraft. The Il-476 is manufactured by Aviastar SP, a subsidiary of United Aircraft Corporation's (UAC's) Ilyushin aircraft design and manufacture bureau, at its Ulyanovsk aircraft factory.
Ulyanovsk Aviastar begins production of transport aircraft Il-476, on the line — Ruslan
Ulyanovsk Aircraft Factory "Aviastar-SP" from this year will build transport aircraft Il-476 — a high-tech upgrade military transport Il-76. In the first game — 3 cars. The organization of production in Ulyanovsk caused the discontinuation of IL-76 production at the Tashkent Chkalov aviaobedinenii, said the regional governor Sergei Morozov.
"There are also negotiations on the conclusion of a contract for the production of Ulyanovsk aircraft An-124" Ruslan ", it will create new jobs and increase wages at the plant by at least 25 percent", — said Morozov.
Октябрь 18th, 2013
Source: AVIA.RU.[/quote]
No disrespect to the C-17,great aircraft but at v. high cost. We will have to wait and see after a few years how the aircraft has settled in into IAF colours.