Ilyushin Il-78
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| Il-78 | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Inflight refuelling tanker |
| Manufacturer | Ilyushin |
| Maiden flight | 1983 |
| Introduced | 1987 (Il-76M) |
| Primary users | Russian Air Force Ukrainian Air Force People's Liberation Army Air Force Indian Air Force |
The Ilyushin Il-78 (NATO reporting name Midas) is a four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76.
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[edit] Design and development
Il-78 first flew in 1983. Three aircraft may refuel in flight simultaneously from one Il-78. The aircraft is equipped with refuelling pods, one under each wing, the third on the port side of the aft fuselage. The operator controls the hose and drogue system from the tail gunners position, from which the guns and radar have been removed. The Il-78 has a fuel jettison system, something which the Il-76 does not have. The jettison ports are located at the wingtips.
[edit] Operational history
All Russian Air Force Il-78s are now part of the special 203rd "Orlovski" Regiment of aerial tankers, based at Engels-2/Saratov air base.
[edit] Variants
- Il-78T
- Original production version, has two removable fuselage tanks. This aircraft can be used like a regular Il-76 transport when not needed as a tanker. It has 90 tons of fuel in the wings, which is increased to 118 tons by the fuselage tanks. Maximum transferable fuel is 57.72 tons without fuselage tanks and 85.72 tons when fuselage tanks are installed.
- Il-78M
- Equipped with a single permanent fuselage tank, higher gross weight of 210 tons, and no rear cargo door is a dedicated tanker. The cargo ramp is retained but non-functional. The Il-78M entered service in 1987. The total fuel capacity of the Il-78M is 138 tons, of which 105.7 is transferable.[1]
[edit] Operators
- People's Liberation Army Air Force ordered 8 aircraft in 2005.
- Indian Air Force bought 6 aircraft from the Tashkent Aircraft Production Corporation (TAPC) in Uzbekistan in 2003. Local variant known as Ilyushin Il-78MKI.
- Pakistan Air Force reportedly ordered 4 Il-78 Midas air-to-air refueling aircraft from Ukraine. (Air Forces Monthly: November 2006)
- Russian Air Force operates 19 aircraft.
- Ukrainian Air Force operates 18 aircraft. [2]
- North American Tactical Aviation, Inc. A private firm, purchased several IL-78s for their outsourced, air to air inflight operations with various U.S. DoD agencies.
[edit] Specifications (Il-78M)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: Six
- Capacity: 138,000 kg (304,233 lb) of fuel
- Length: 46.59 m (152 ft 10 in)
- Wingspan: 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in)
- Height: 14.76 m (37 ft 1 in)
- Wing area: 300 m² (3,230 ft²)
- Empty weight: 72,000 kg (202,821 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 210,000 kg (462,962 lb)
- Powerplant: 4× Aviadvigatel D-30 KP turbofan engines, 118 kN (26,500 lbf) each
- * Special equipment: 3 external fuel pumps for simultaneous refuelling of up to 3 aircraft. Two of them are on the wingtips, and the third is at the rear of the plane.
Performance
- Maximum speed: 850 km/h (460 knots, 530 mph)
- Range: 7,300 km ( (3,942 nm, 4,551 miles)
- Service ceiling 12,000 m (39,360 ft)
- Thrust/weight: 0.23
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ [Ilyushin Il-76, Russia.s Versatile Airlifter]
- ^ Ukraine - Air Force Equipment
The initial version of this article was based on material from aviation.ru. It has been released under the GFDL by the copyright holder.
[edit] See also
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Related development Ilyushin Il-76
Comparable aircraft Boeing KC-135
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