How to put Ilyushin on the wing?
Continuing the conversation about the huge problems of the Russian transport aviation, as an example, we can cite the recent report that within the walls of the Ulyanovsk Aviation Enterprise "Aviastar-SP", on the newest production line, a new military transport aircraft Il-76MD-90A was assembled.
This is the first aircraft assembled in Ulyanovsk this year. Hopefully YET first.
In total, eight cars were assembled.
What is the problem here? The assembly has been updated, the aircraft are being assembled and placed at the disposal of the Aerospace Forces. What, as they say, is missing?
It is the planes that are missing. As part of the state order, 2020 Il-39s were supposed to arrive in the VKS by 76. And at the end of 2021 there are only 8 of them.
31 one plane “hovered”, “did not take off”, “moved to the right”. Meanwhile, using the calculator, we get that 8 out of 39 is 20%. The remaining 80% are somewhere outside the framework of the agreement, which was frankly failed.
It turns out that under a contract signed in 2012, the Ministry of Defense received 13 aircraft. Now the contract has been revised, and by 2028, within 7 years, Aviastar-SP will have to build and deliver 14 Il-76MD-90A aircraft. That is, 2 per year.
Perhaps the figure has been adjusted intelligently because 2020 cars were built in 3. It is not yet entirely clear how the situation will continue.
Sergey Sheremetov, director of Aviastar-SP, believes that thanks to the modernization of production, the company will be able to produce up to 12 aircraft per year.
It would be just fine if this is what happened.
In fact, when the first Il-2019MD-76A was solemnly handed over to the military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in April 90, everyone expressed extremely positive emotions. At that time, no one knew that out of five cars, which would have to come to the disposal of BTA, one after another, only three would be assembled.
However, it is still sadder than it really seems.
The contract for 39 aircraft was signed in 2012. On October 5, in the presence of V.V. Putin.
Moreover, in the future, the VTA VKS announced the figure of 100 such aircraft. That is, the total number is 139 cars. This, you see, is a very pleasant prospect.
According to the contract, the first aircraft were to be transferred to the Aerospace Forces in 2014. But not in five years, in 2019. By that time, the Aerospace Forces had to fly at least 20, or even 25 aircraft.
However, this did not happen.
The planes did not go into production. But the cost of one car "slightly" increased. From 3,5 billion rubles to 5 billion. Aviastar-SP lost its then General Director Sergei Dementyev, but this also did not greatly affect the process.
Something really went wrong at all.
Meanwhile, for the Ulyanovsk enterprise it does not look very nice. Ulyanovsk today is proudly called the aviation capital of Russia, and in principle, not without reason. Aviastar-Aircraft Production is indeed the largest manufacturer of aviation equipment.
Yes, there is Irkursk, there is Kazan, there was Voronezh ... We will talk about Voronezh, by the way.
But in fact, the plant that produces large-tonnage aircraft from the Ilyushin Design Bureau, which was transferred (to the great happiness) from Tashkent to Ulyanovsk, is a very large manufacturer. Which, we note, was also not very lucky.
Until 2012, Tu-204 was produced in Ulyanovsk, several dozen were produced, after which the aircraft “could not withstand competition with foreign counterparts.” And Russian airlines continued to buy used Boeings.
And the Il-76, in principle, remained the only lifebuoy for Aviastar-SP. It must be said that Aviastar seems to be trying with all its might to survive, cooperatively participating in work on the MS-21, and on the Il-112V, and on the Il-114-300. Repairs "Ruslans" An-124.
But all these projects (except for the repair of the Ruslans) were written with pitchforks in the sky. In fact, what Ulyanovsk can do best is to build the Il-76 in all its variations.
Hence the second life of the far from new Il-76 (after all, since 1975 in service) in the form of deep upgrades such as Il-76M, Il-76MD, Il-76MDM - this is a chance for survival. Not only the Il-76 model itself, but also the Aviastar-SP.
And here the modernization of the Il-76MDM is very timely. The reconstruction has already been mastered, it remains only to extend the service life of the aircraft through modernization.
In general, if you look at the plane, outwardly no changes are visible. Yes, there are fairings behind which the new antennas are located. But most of the modernization involves the installation of more modern equipment inside the aircraft.
Airborne forces this plane will be very useful.
But the aforementioned Il-76MD-90A is somewhat different. This is actually a new set of equipment that was built into the old IL-76 hull. This is a new plane.
Other avionics, other materials in construction, other engines and control systems. Apparently, this was precisely the stumbling block on which Aviastar stumbled. There is a clear inability of the enterprise itself to master the production of the machine in the required time frame.
Gentlemen, "effective" managers can promise mountains of gold and fulfillment of desires as much as they want, but if on-site workers do not have time to understand the processes and assemble cars, then there will be no planes.
The failure of contracts for the supply of much-needed equipment cannot be explained in any other way. Of course, the modernization of production is a very useful and necessary business. Especially if it can really provide 12 cars a year. Well, not 12, at least 8. But not two or three.
The commander of the military transport aviation, Lieutenant General Vladimir Benediktov, estimated the needs of the military transport aviation at more than 100 units. This is without taking into account the Airborne Forces, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the FSB, the National Guard (possibly) who also use these aircraft.
It turns out not very nice statistics. If we roughly estimate the country's total need for this type of aircraft at 150 units, then even in the case of the promised 12 aircraft per year, the production of such a mass will end in 2034-2035.
The fact that by that time all the modernized Il-76 "tech" production will have already been decommissioned is unambiguous. There is no doubt about that, no aircraft simply can be effective after such a lifetime, no matter how much it is upgraded.
And here the Il-76MD-90A is really the only way out for all operators. But if Aviastar continues to produce 2-3 planes a year, things will start to smell like a catastrophe in some 8-10 years. When the modernized Il-76 will say "everything."
What can be done here, except for emergency measures at Aviastar itself?
It may be recalled that there is another plant in the country, initially focused on the production of large aircraft. This is the Voronezh aircraft building association, a plant that at one time produced Tu-144 and Il-86.
Today, in fact, a huge enterprise is doing about the same thing as Aviastar: everything and nothing. All the same "cooperation" in the MS-21 and Il-112V, and as a means of survival, VASO produces aircraft for the presidential flight detachment on the basis of the Il-96.
And that is all.
In reality, the producer is dying. But work on the Il-76MD-90A can pull the Voronezh plant out of the abyss where it has been falling for the last 10 years. To return life to the plant, to give people work and a decent salary, to keep the engineering staff.
So far, only “effective” managers are getting well at the enterprise. The rest exist, nothing more.
The promises of the Ministry of Defense to order the flying tankers are still promises. An enterprise of this magnitude will not survive on the construction of aircraft for Putin.
If Aviastar-SP is unable to ensure the production of aircraft in adequate quantities, it may make sense to load two similar factories with work. Of course, there will be very, very many problems here, but the way out can be effective.
Today the Ilyushin firm is openly in a fever. Unsuccessful (there is no other opinion yet) work for a large amount of time on the Il-112V, the obsolete Il-76 of the last century ... and in budgets.
But for this it is simply necessary to do something with the factories. Because an aircraft manufacturing enterprise that is not able to produce aircraft is nonsense, with which you really need to do something.
Unfortunately, there is not so much time left for this, as much as the “old men” of the Il-76 can give. This is no more than 10 years. Further, they will have to be replaced by other planes.
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