slide 2 of 3

Russian Ministry of Defence Awards Ilyushin Contract For Second Batch of Il-38N MPA.

a

Naval Force News - Russia

Russian Ministry of Defence Awards Ilyushin Contract For Second Batch of Il-38N MPA

Russian plane maker Ilyushin announced it has received a contract from the Russian Ministry of Defence for the modernization of a second batch of Il-38 Maritime Patrol Aircraft to Il-38N standard. The exact number on it modernized aircraft was not specified. In March 2014, Ilyushin CEO Viktor Livanov said that the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to upgrade 28 Il-38 to the Il-38N standard until 2020.

Russian Navy Il-38N Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Picture: Alex Beltyukov

The Il-38N is an improved variant of the soviet era Il-38 which first flew in 1971. It is fitted with the new search and tracking system (the Novella system) and a new flight navigation suite. Il-38N is able to find air targets at ranges of up to 90 kilometers and follow the surface objects within a radius of 320 kilometers.

The fifth and last modernised Il-38N Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the first batch is ready to be delivered to the Russian Navy. Picture: Nikolai Savinykh

The first batch (upgrade of 5 Il-38 to Il-38N) is almost complete as Ilyushin reports that the fifth Il-38N (tail number 78) is conducting its final flight tests in Zhukovsky. The plane is about to be delivered to the Russian Navy.