The Ilyushin Il-112 is a high-wing light military transport aircraft being developed by Ilyushin Aviation Complex for air landing and airdrop of military air cargoes, equipment and personnel. The aircraft is newest of all historically Soviet-origin aircraft, and being manufactured by Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in Voronezh. The Il-112V is equipped with the avionics combining the entire equipment complexes and systems into an integrated complex – the onboard equipment integrated complex. All aviation information as well as information on the operation of aircraft systems is displayed on six LCD monitors.
Design
The aircraft was designed to operate in adverse weather conditions and is expected to meet all current ICAO noise and emissions requirements. The Il-112 has similar weights and dimensions to the An-26 it is intended to replace but differs by having a notably larger cabin cross-section, allowing it to accommodate 44 armed soldiers instead of 38. Thanks to the engine's reduced specific fuel consumption, which is down by 38 percent, the Il-112 has twice the ferry range, at 5,200 km. The crew is reduced from six to two thanks to modern avionics and onboard equipment.
Development
Maiden flight was originally scheduled for 2011 and the Russian Air Force was expected to place an order of 70 planes. In May 2011, the Russian Defense Ministry decided to abandon the military transport version of the Il-112 and purchase seven Antonov An-140T cargo planes. On October 16, 2012, Dmitry Rogozin, in India at the meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation, said that "Russia intends to offer India's involvement in the production of Il-112. We have brought to mind, to establish the technical documentation of the project is the development of the aircraft Ilyushin KB. And we're going to, among other projects, to offer India to take part in this project." In January 2013 it was announced that in late December, the Main Commander of the Russian Air Force presented the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu the case for a resumption of the Il-112 project. On 24 June 2013 it was reported that the Il-112 is considered as a replacement for the Antonov An-26 and Antonov An-32 in export, and on 26 June, that the Ilyushin Design Bureau sent JSC Klimov a request for the establishment of a new turboprop engine. In August 2013, the general designer of Ilyushin, Viktor Livanov, citing the First Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov, confirmed that work on the aircraft has been resumed. On 10 August 2015, the United Aircraft Corporation announced that the first production-standard Ilyushin Il-112V transport aircraft is set to roll off the line at Voronezh Aircraft Production Plant in the first half of 2017. Yury Borisov, a Russian deputy minister of defense, said the aircraft is also scheduled to make its first flight in 2017. On 2 November 2015, Yuri Slyusar, president of United Aircraft Corporation announced that the Il-112V will make its maiden flight in July 2017. On 20 June 2016, Andrey Kapustin the managing director of Aviastar-SP, said that the Ulyanovsk-based aircraft-maker will produce elements for the second experimental Il-112 prototype before the end of 2016. On 11 November 2016, Russia's Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies announced that it is developing a new on-board defense system for the Ilyushin Il-112V. The ODS is based on the President-S ODS that is designed to protect aircraft from being hit by anti-aircraft missiles and artillery. The defense system is currently installed on the Ka-52, Mi-28 and Mi-26 helicopters. On 3 February 2017, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin reiterated that the first flight of the developmental aircraft of the Il-112 will be around the middle of 2017. On 20 June 2017, Ilyushin Chief Designer Nikolai Talikov stated that the first flight will most likely be rescheduled to beginning of 2018. On 18 January 2018, the first prototype of the IL-112V was shown at the Voronezh Joint Stock Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It has 2 improved Klimov TV7-117ST turboprop engines, with 2,610 kW each, each powering 6-bladed AV-112 constant-speed reversible pitch propellers. It is fitted with a monolithic, single piece wing. The aircraft is 25.15 m long, with a height of 8.89 m and a wing span of 27.6 m. Russian unmanned air system developer Kronstadt Group partnered with Ilyushin to develop an autonomous aircraft demonstrator based on the Il-112. Emerged after the bankruptcy of the Transas Group, St. Petersburg-based Kronstadt is developing the medium-sized Orion UAS demonstration testbed, unveiled at the July 2017 MAKS air show. The first prototype of the Il-112V was rolled out on 27 November 2018. It is intended for performance and flight handling trials. Taxi trials had begun by the end of December. The aircraft performed its first flight on 30 March 2019.
