Kubinka (Moscow region). August 24. INTERFAX-The developer of the Kronstadt UAV is ready to cooperate with Ilyushin to create a transport drone based on the Il-112B aircraft, the company's CEO Sergey Bogatikov said in an interview with Interfax.
"The IL-112B is our newest transport aircraft. Its development continues. We are ready to cooperate if the customer considers the unmanned version to be effective and expedient, " Bogatikov said.
He noted that within the framework of the Army-2021 forum, a meeting of the working group of the Military-Industrial Commission (MIC) of the Russian Federation on the problems of creating an unmanned aviation military transport system will be held.
"It is possible that decisions will be made there on the opening of relevant works, "the head of Kronstadt said.
As Interfax reported, in 2018, Ilyushin and Kronstadt announced the signing of a memorandum on joint work in the field of unmanned transport systems. This agreement provides for the creation of a UAV based on the Il-112 light transport vehicle or a completely new design.
"It is in our interests to create a transport drone that could solve the problems of cargo transportation to remote areas with difficult accessibility. And given the active development of the Arctic, it can be assumed that aircraft capable of transporting up to several tons of cargo from one point to another in autonomous mode will be extremely in demand, "Alexey Rogozin, who headed Ilyushin at that time, said at the time.
On August 17, 2021, the only flight sample of the new Il-112B transport crashed. The accident occurred during landing during a training flight near the Kubinka airfield in the Moscow region. As a result, all three crew members were killed. According to the preliminary version, the Il-112 disaster was preceded by a fire of the right engine, the UAC said.