Ladoga Changes Course: Why a Civil Aircraft is Being Converted into a Military Transporter
Photo: Press service of JSC UZGA
On May 21, 1969, the An-26 prototype—a passenger An-24 modified to serve military requirements as a ramp transport aircraft—took its maiden flight in Kyiv. On May 21, 2026, exactly 57 years later, industry media reported the transfer of the TVRS-44 Ladoga project from the civilian jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and UZGA to the Ministry of Defense. The coincidence, of course, is coincidental. But the story itself is not: in the niche of regional turboprop aircraft in Russia, the military is taking the aircraft from civilian use for the second time in half a century, and this seems to be the key story, not just a date on the calendar.
An-24, An-24T, An-26: How a regional passenger jet becomes a transport aircraft
The An-24 entered production in 1959 as a pure passenger high-wing monoplane for local flights, with a pressurized cabin, a three-person crew, and a wing raised above the fuselage just enough to allow for landings on the ground. The military immediately took notice. In 1965, the An-24T was released: the passenger cabin was removed, a plywood floor was laid, a cargo hatch was installed in the lower tail, and a side door was installed on the left. The Military Transport Aviation (VTA) deemed this solution unsatisfactory: long objects couldn't fit through the narrow lower hatch, and parachute platforms couldn't be dropped from this configuration. This interim solution proved unsatisfactory.
On March 12, 1968, the Ministry of Aviation Industry and the Air Force jointly decided to develop a full-fledged military transport aircraft based on the An-24. The Antonov Design Bureau completely redesigned the tail to accommodate a unique sliding ramp that sealed the cargo opening in flight, lowered for equipment entry, and slid under the fuselage for loading from the truck bed and for airdrops. A navigation blister with an NKPB-7 sight for precise cargo release was added to the left nose. The AI-24 engines were replaced with uprated AI-24VT engines: 2820 hp instead of 2550. A RU-19A-300 turbojet booster was added to the right engine nacelle. The wing and landing gear were reinforced, and high-profile tires were installed for muddy conditions. Takeoff weight increased from 21 to 24 tons.
The result was a machine that the military took seriously. The An-26 prototype took off on May 21, 1969, and production began at the Kyiv Aircraft Factory that same year, continuing until 1986 with 1398 units produced. It had a payload capacity of 5,5 tons, a takeoff run from ground distance of 780–870 meters, and a crew of 5–6. For half a century, military transport and civilian carriers relied on this very machine, and continue to do so today: others simply weren't built in sufficient numbers.
TVRS-44 "Ladoga": civil design and motor risk
History The development of a new regional aircraft began without any military context. In December 2018, UZGA was looking at the Czechoslovakian Let L-610, the rights to which were by then owned by a Russian company. The logic was economical: take an existing turboprop aircraft, once developed into a prototype, and adapt it for specific missions. In September 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Trade rejected this approach: the project was to be a new aircraft, using only the L-610's scientific and technical background and geometry.
Aerodynamic testing of the TVRS-44 Ladoga engine. Photo by TsAGI.
In September 2020, the technical specifications were approved. On December 25 of that year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed a state contract with UZGA for the R&D project, codenamed "TVRS." The project received its proper name, "Ladoga," in early 2022. Detailed design work began in 2021.
What emerged from the drawings was a machine with a clear niche. A 44-seat twin-engine high-wing aircraft, powered by two Russian-made TV7-117ST-02 aircraft. According to the design specifications, the cruising speed was 460–480 km/h, the range with a full passenger load was approximately 2200 km, and the maximum takeoff weight was approximately 17,5 tons. The aircraft was initially designed for operations from unpaved and snow-covered runways, for low temperatures and poor infrastructure, and for the same network of small airfields where the An-24 and An-26 operate today. According to the aviation industry development program through 2030, the Ladoga was to occupy a position between the nine-seat LMS-901 Baikal and the 64-seat Il-114-300, with the final figure being 105 aircraft by 2030, according to the revised version.
The engine program in this story is a separate issue. The TV7-117ST-02 for the Ladoga is a derivative of the basic TV7-117ST-01, which powers the Il-114-300, with a takeoff power deliberately reduced to 2400 hp. This power reduction was necessary: a boosted military version of the same family powered the Il-112V, the only flying example of which crashed near Kubinka in August 2021. After that accident, all aircraft with TV7-117 engines were suspended for a long period of modification. By the spring of 2026, the situation had stabilized: in January, key restrictions were lifted on the modified TV7-117ST-01, and in April, the designated service life of the main components was extended from 348 to 777 takeoff and landing cycles. UEC-Klimov's next goal is 2000 cycles. The ST-02 version is scheduled to receive type certification in 2026. On paper, the deadlines are in order, but the pace is everything: whether the Ladoga will be able to fly on scheduled routes at all depends on how quickly its service life increases from 777 cycles to a commercially acceptable several thousand.
The cooperation was spread across several sites: the fuselage of the first prototype was built by Aviakor in Samara, individual components by the Smolensk Aircraft Plant, and final assembly by the new UZGA building in Aramil near Yekaterinburg. By the spring of 2026, jig assembly of the first flying prototype was completed, the first flight is scheduled for mid-2026, and the aircraft type certificate is scheduled for 2029. The deadlines have shifted from the original: deliveries were planned for 2025.
TVRS-44T and the shadow of the Il-112V
In parallel with the passenger aircraft, UZGA was developing the TVRS-44T project, a military transport modification tailored to the requirements of the Ministry of Defense. Structurally, this is a different aircraft. The fuselage has been lengthened by 4 meters, and the tail features a full-size ramp with a sliding or lowering door similar to the An-26. Maximum takeoff weight has increased from 17,5 to 18,5 tons. The cargo compartment is designed to accommodate long items, military pallets, and small wheeled vehicles; tiers of stretchers are available for evacuating the wounded; and the aircraft can be converted from a cargo carrier to a troop carrier using folding seats along the sides. Parachute landing from the ramp is a mandatory requirement.
The TVRS-44T is not the first attempt to replace the An-26. Since the early 2010s, Ilyushin Aviation Company had been developing the Il-112V, a light military transport aircraft with a 5-ton payload capacity and the same TV7-117ST turboprop engines, in parallel. The contract with the Ministry of Defense was signed in 2014, and the prototype's first flight took place on March 30, 2019, with the second on March 30, 2021, after two years of modifications, including weight reduction. On August 17, 2021, the sole flying prototype crashed near Kubinka. According to the investigation and publications in industry publications (Aviation Week, Aviation Safety Network), the most likely cause was a surge in the right engine, which escalated into a nacelle fire; high temperatures led to the destruction of the control rods in the wing and a loss of control.
The entire crew—Nikolai Kuimov, Dmitry Komarov, and Nikolai Khludeyev—was killed. By 2026, the Il-112V turboprop was deemed unviable, the program was closed, and it was redesigned as the Il-212, a jet-powered aircraft with two PD-8 turboprops mounted above the wing, following the An-72 design. The Il-212's maiden flight is scheduled for late 2026.
By the time the Ladoga was on the verge of its first flight, one program in the An-26 replacement niche had already been closed due to a crash, and a second (the Il-212) had yet to take off and had changed its powerplant type. The TVRS-44T remains the only viable turboprop aircraft in this niche that has even reached jig assembly.
The parallel with 1968 is almost mirror-image. The base is a passenger high-wing aircraft for regional use. The military version requires a longer fuselage, a modified tail for a ramp, structural reinforcement for the increased takeoff weight, and adaptation for airborne operations. There is one difference, and it's crucial. Antonov received the military order after the disastrous An-24T, and the design bureau developed the An-26 as a separate project. At UZGA, the civil and military branches ran in parallel until, according to reports from Expert, Profile, and Monocle on May 21, 2026, the military became the primary one. The civil configuration has effectively been suspended, and the accumulated resources will be reoriented primarily toward military transport and cargo versions, as a replacement for the An-26 in the armed forces. In comments to industry media, UZGA stated that there is no talk of a complete shutdown; work on the first flight in 2026 is ongoing, and the final design is still being finalized.
No direct reasons for the reversal are given in open sources, but the situation is quite clear. An-26 production ended 40 years ago, most of the remaining aircraft are over 40 years old, and extending their service life to 60 years is a direct admission that a replacement will not be provided on time. As everyone understands, there is no talk of resuming production, as was the case with the Tu-160. The Il-112V turboprop is canceled, and the Il-212 doesn't yet exist in metal. Against this backdrop, the TVRS-44T is the only program that can be accelerated for military orders, building on existing technology.
What does this mean for the regions?
Regional carriers have reoriented themselves without waiting for the May deadlines. NewsIn 2025, Far Eastern airline Aurora, which had a letter of intent for the Ladoga aircraft, signed a separate lease agreement with GTLK for three Il-114-300 aircraft, with delivery scheduled for 2027. KrasAvia, which had previously planned to be the launch operator of the TVRS-44 and announced the acquisition of up to 20 aircraft by 2030, is now tied to a much longer and less certain timeframe.
Irkutsk's Angara was skeptical of the program from the very beginning. At the Federation Council hearings on regional issues aviation The company's first deputy general director, Sergei Zorin, said:
"We're currently operating in a market where there are no alternatives to the An-24 and An-26. Therefore, we can say that there's currently no replacement for the An-24 or An-26."
Angara also has a sober attitude towards official write-off forecasts:
"Reports from the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation indicated that a quarter of these aircraft would be decommissioned by 2030. In reality, we believe the fleet's retirement will occur much earlier, namely in 2028."
And separately about the economy of the new car:
"The cost of the TVRS-44 is 2 billion rubles. It's comparable to the cost of short- and medium-range jets, which are three to four times larger in capacity."
The thesis is simple: 44 seats in the regional market at this price do not pay for themselves.
It's worth noting that we're talking about aircraft that were supposed to operate in the country's outback, serving as regional passenger airliners. This niche is practically disappearing today precisely because there are no aircraft for it.
The government's response is to extend the service life of Soviet aircraft. According to industry publications, the State Research Institute of Civil Aviation has launched certification work to increase the An-26's designated service life from 50 to 60 years and the overhaul period from 20 to 26 flight hours. Completion of the work is scheduled for January 26, 2028. The Soviet turboprop passenger airliner has officially been given another ten years to allow time for factories to begin producing Ladoga and Il-114-300 aircraft.
But this immediately raises the question: what if the factories don't start delivering the Ladoga and Il-114-300? The failure of the civil aircraft production program has already been publicly announced and acknowledged; the situation is not looking good, and extending the service life of forty-year-old aircraft is a highly controversial move. An extension certificate would be a good thing, if it weren't for the impact on passengers. More precisely, the threat to life during operation of imported aircraft, which includes all Antonov aircraft, can already be addressed.
The bottom line: the military order will bring the Ladoga into production. This scenario was already played out in 1968 with the An-26, and it appears to be repeating itself now. Only this time, the plan is for 105 aircraft by 2030, not 1398, as with Antonov's predecessor. And most importantly, regarding the passenger configuration: whether there will be room in this series for the purely civilian Ladoga, which is used by Aurora, KrasAvia, and for which Zorin of Angara is calculating the economics, is not yet publicly available.
However, I would very much like to clarify the situation, since the solution to the problems of military transport aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces in terms of small-tonnage aircraft can only be welcomed, but the situation with passenger fleet is becoming more and more unpleasant.
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