Moscow. December 16. INTERFAX - New Doomsday aircraft to replace the Il-80 will be created on the basis of the Il-96 airliner, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Military-Industrial Commission (MIC) of Russia Andrey Yelchaninov said in an interview with Interfax.
"The Ministry of Defense has opened work on the creation of aircraft to replace the Il-80, the development and production of prototypes of the control aircraft and the repeater aircraft has been set," Yelchaninov said.
According to him, the control aircraft will be created on the basis of the passenger Il-96, and the repeater aircraft-on the basis of the deeply modernized Il - 76 transport vehicle.
In the media, air command posts are often referred to as "doomsday planes", as they can be used in the event of a nuclear war if ground control structures are destroyed. From the aircraft, you can control all types of armed forces - land units, fleet, aviation and strategic missile systems. The main distinguishing feature is the absence of portholes on the fuselage to protect passengers from the consequences of a nuclear explosion.
The IL-96 is a wide-body long-haul aircraft. It is considered one of the most reliable passenger aircraft in its class - since the beginning of operation, these machines have not had a single accident that would lead to human casualties.
Currently, the aircraft is operated by the special flight detachment (SLO) "Russia", which includes the presidential board. Since 1996, Russian leaders have been flying the IL-96-300PU, a modification of the airliner designed specifically for the head of state.
On December 15, Yelchaninov was appointed to a new position - the first deputy chairman of the Board of the Military-Industrial complex. Previously, he was one of the members of the board, supervised aviation issues.