The tragedy in Kubinka, near Moscow, where the newest Russian Il-112B transport vehicle crashed, should not interrupt the testing of these vital vehicles for the army.
Several Russian news agencies immediately reported, citing their sources, that after finding out the causes of the crash of the Il-112B military transport aircraft, tests of this type of aircraft will continue.
According to the TASS news agency, two more cars-N103 and N104-should be connected to flight tests in 2022.
In turn, RIA Novosti reports that now the second prototype of the Il-112B is undergoing strength tests on the stand. The third and fourth experimental aircraft will be connected to the flights. "It is expected that the third and fourth samples will take to the air to continue flight tests next summer," the agency notes.
Of course, the loss of an experimental aircraft and the tragic death of one of the best test pilots seriously affected the Ilyushin design bureau, which developed this aircraft, and the entire domestic aircraft industry as a whole.
It is clear that this disaster will seriously shift the timing of the adoption of the aircraft by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The plans were to establish mass production of these machines in 2023.
However, after a thorough check of the causes of the tragedy, it is possible that several changes will be made to the design of the machine, increasing its strength characteristics.
The IL-112B was the first development in Russia, which, as they say, was made from scratch and completely from domestic components. It should replace the already completely outdated fleet of "working donkeys" of military transport aviation-An - 26 aircraft.
A serious competitor to the Ilyushin Design Bureau project was the Ukrainian An-140 medium-haul aircraft. However, after the coup in Nezalezhnaya and the curtailment of military-technical cooperation between our countries, these plans had to be abandoned.
Ilyushin residents call the Il-112B an air "GAZelle". The aircraft is very easy to operate, unpretentious and capable of transporting personnel or cargo within one military district. Thanks to the ramp in the tail section, it can be used for landing military equipment and fighters.
The design of the Il-112B allows it to take off not only from concrete runways, but also from unpaved ones. And even in the open field. The aircraft is equipped with the Vitebsk defense complex, which diverts missiles with thermal homing heads to the side.
According to experts, bringing this machine to mind and putting the aircraft on the wing should be a matter of honor for the designers of the Ilyushin aviation complex.
Alexander Stepanov
