RYBINSK (Yaroslavl region), October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Saturn, Russia's largest manufacturer of aircraft engines, will replace more than 3,000 engines on Il-76 and Il-78 aircraft with new D-30KP-3 Burlak engines, a senior company official said Friday.
General Director Yury Lastochkin said the new engines would modernize the Russian airliners to meet aircraft noise restrictions imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and reduce fuel consumption by 18%.
The use of new engines will also double the time between regular tune-ups, he said.
According to Lastochkin, the D-30KP prototype successfully passed bench-tests in spring 2005. Full-scale production is expected to start in 2007.
