Russia’s upgraded Il-38N Maritime Patrol Aircraft receives lightweight electrical power supply units

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Naval Aviation News - Russia
 
 
 
Russia’s upgraded Il-38N Maritime Patrol Aircraft receives lightweight electrical power supply units
 
The upgraded Russian-made Ilyushin Il-38N (NATO reporting name: May) antisubmarine warfare plane has received advanced electrical power supply system units manufactured by Tekhnodinamika Group, the group’s press office said. Tekhnodinamika Group is a subsidiary of Russia’s state hi-tech corporation Rostec.
     
Il 38N antisubmarine aircraft ASW MPA Russia The seventh Il-38N MPA of the Russian Navy during flight tests in Zhukovsky. Picture by Alexander Mishin / russianplanes.net
     
"The group has delivered three MTP-5000 three-phase power supply modules designed for the upgraded Il-38N antisubmarine warfare plane to the Ilyushin Company. The modules were delivered to the enterprise under a contract signed with Russia’s Defense Ministry," the press office said.

The advanced units are an integral part of the electrical power supply system; in particular, they can be used as an emergency power source, the press office added.

"The module was developed in 2010. Unlike the electromechanical converter mounted on the Il-38 plane earlier, the advanced module is two times lighter as it weighs about 45 kilograms, it does not require serious maintenance and features an unlimited service life," the press office said.

"A prototype module is currently being used by a Sukhoi Su-25SM [Frogfoot-A] attack aircraft," the press office added.

In 2014, the production of components for the module was transferred to the group’s enterprise in Ufa in the Urals, which organized its serial production over two years. In October, the seventh upgraded Il-38N antisubmarine warfare plane started undergoing ground and flight trials at the Ilyushin Company’s flight test and development base.

The upgraded Il-38N plane is equipped with the Novella target search and track system that can detect aerial targets at a distance of up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) and above-sea targets at a range of up to 320 kilometers (199 miles). The system can track 32 above- and underwater targets simultaneously. The Il-38N plane can also conduct electronic intelligence.

As it was reported earlier, the Ilyushin Company has delivered the first five upgraded Il-38N planes to Russia’s Navy. There are plans two deliver another two Il-38N aircraft in 2017.

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