Ilyushin Il-112

The Ilyushin Il-112/Il-212 (Ил-112) is a high-wing light military transport aircraft being developed by Ilyushin Aviation Complex (JSC IL) for air landing and airdrop of military air cargoes, equipment and personnel. The aircraft is manufactured by Voronezh Aircraft Production Association in Voronezh. In October 2023, according to a source inside the Russian industrial-military complex, it was reported that the Il-112 project will be redesigned and renamed into the Ilyushin Il-212, the main difference being that now the aircraft will be equipped with turbofan instead of turboprop.

Development


Work began on the Il-112 project in 1994, for both civil and military roles, including as a 40-seat airliner and cargo versions with a rear loading ramp to replace the Antonov An-26. The project was announced at the 1995 Paris Air Show where a model was exhibited. The military transport version, the Il-112V, was entered into a Russian Ministry of Defence competition to replace the Antonov An-26, the Yakovlev Yak-40 and the Let L-410 in Russian service, being evaluated against designs from Sukhoi (the Su-80) and Mikoyan (the MiG-110). The Il-112 was ordered into full development on 8 April 2003, with the type planned to enter service in 2008. It was required to carry a cargo of 6000 kg over a distance of 3000 km. A market of up to 120 aircraft for the Russian military and 120 civil sales was estimated in 2004.

In May 2010, with the funds allocated for development exhausted and no sign of a prototype, the Russian Defence Ministry cancelled the development contract, and in May 2011 decided to purchase seven Antonov An-140T cargo aircraft produced by Aviakor in Samara, Russia.

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 to 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. A new contract was signed by Sergey Shoygu, the Russian Minister of Defence, on 14 November 2014. Flight tests were to begin in 2017 and production in 2019. The performance requirements were considerably reduced, with the aircraft now required to carry 5000 kg of cargo over a distance of 1200 km.

On 10 August 2015, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) announced that the first production-standard Ilyushin Il-112V transport aircraft is set to roll off the line at Voronezh Aircraft Production Plant (Russian acronym VASO) 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 (UAC) 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 (KRET) announced that it is developing a new on-board defense system (ODS) 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 (VASO). It has two improved Klimov TV7-117ST turboprop engines, with 2,610 kW (3,500 hp) each, each powering six-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 UAV, unveiled at the July 2017 MAKS air show.

In July 2023, it was reported by RIA Novosti that the initial turboprop Il-112 project had changed. Instead, Ilyushin will develop a variant of the aircraft with turbojet, named Ilyushin Il-212, which will be designed on the basis of the Il-112. The Il-212 will retain the fuselage, onboard equipment, and avionics from its predecessor. However, the new aircraft will receive Russian-made jet engines PD-8, a derivative of the PD-14 engine. In addition, it will be equipped with updated landing gear, a new fuel system, and a new hydraulic system.

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 (2,808 nm). The crew is reduced from six to two thanks to modern avionics and onboard equipment.

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 (digital cockpit).

Operational history
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 2018.

The aircraft performed its first flight on 30 March 2019, after which it was grounded for modifications to reduce its weight. The first prototype had weight reductions of 800 kg applied, while the second and third flying examples are expected to be 2000 kg lighter still. Runway repairs at VASO's airfield delayed further flight testing, which did not resume until 30 March 2021.

In October 2020, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov had announced that the two flying prototype aircraft would be delivered to the Defense Ministry in 2021, and that the first serial production units should arrive to the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2023. This never happened as the first flying prototype crashed and the second flying prototype was never fully completed.

Il-212
In the Summer of 2023 at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, it was announced that the project would move forward as the Il-212. The modified aircraft will replace the turboprop Klimov TV7-117S engines with turbojet PD-8 engines, which are a derated variant of the Aviadvigatel PD-14. However, additional changes will include new fuel and hydraulic systems as well as different landing gear, all resulting in an aircraft with increased payload. Anticipated certification of the PD-8 has been pushed to 2024.

Accidents and incidents
On 17 August 2021, the only flying prototype Il-112V (RF-41400) suffered a fire in the right engine and crashed near Kubinka Airfield. All three crew on board were killed, including test-pilot Nikolai Kuimov, Hero of the Russian Federation.

Variants

 * Il-112V
 * Military variant (cancelled)


 * Il-112T
 * Civil variant (cancelled)


 * Il-212
 * New variant of the aircraft with PD-8 jet engines, an updated landing gear, and new fuel and hydraulic systems.