Ilyushin plans to develop firefighting variant of the Il-76MD-90A airlifter

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World Aviation Defense & Security News - Egypt
 
 
Ilyushin plans to develop firefighting variant of the Il-76MD-90A airlifter
 
The new Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft may be modified to extinguish fire, General Designer of the Ilyushin Aviation Complex Nikolai Talikov said on Thursday. The upgraded Il-76MD-90A plane will be able to carry up to 60 tons of fire extinguishing agents, the general designer added.
     
Ilyushin plans to develop firefighting variant of the Il 76MD 90A airlifter 640 001Ilyushin's Il-76MD-90A military airlifter could be developed in firefighting variant
     
"The Il-76 [NATO reporting name: Candid] plane can be also used to extinguish fire. The aircraft will be able to fight fire if it is furnished with special equipment. The Il-76 plane can carry 42 tons [of fire extinguishing agents]," Talikov said.

"We are planning to develop a plane on the basis of the Il-76MD-90A aircraft, which will be able to carry 60 tons of fire extinguishing agents," he added.

According to him, various variants of using the new version of the Il-76 plane "have already been discussed" with the Russian Defense Ministry and "are currently being developed".

As Talikov said, the Il-76MD-90A plane’s predecessor, i.e. the Il-76MD aircraft, has several versions. It has served as the basis for planes designed to transport and airdrop cargo and military personnel and evacuate sick and wounded persons. The aerial refueling, airborne warning and control system and commercial cargo-carrying planes have been developed on the basis of the Il-76MD aircraft as well.

As it was reported earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry is expected to receive 39 Il-76MD-90A planes before 2020.

As of today, four Il-76MD-90A planes have been manufactured, with two of them delivered to the Military and Transport Aviation.

The Il-78M-90A aerial refueling aircraft is being developed on the basis of the Il-76MD-90A plane. The first Il-78M-90A aerial refueling aircraft is currently being manufactured.
     
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