Aviastar SP, one of Russia's largest aircraft-building enterprises, is to build 10 super-heavy Antonov An-124 and dozens of Ilyushin Il-476 cargo aircraft by 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday at a meeting of the United Aircraft Corporation on military aviation.
"There is a large fleet of Ruslan (An-124) aircraft which will be modernized and refitted by 2020 and also ten new aircraft will be built," said Rogozin, who has responsibility for defense matters and the military-industrial complex.
The Aviastar plant will also produce "dozens" of Il-476 transports, he said.
The Il-476 is an extensively modified variant of the Il-76 freighter, with new engines, reinforced wing, modernized cockpit, and heavier payload. The aircraft will be built for the Russian armed forces and Emergencies Ministry, Aviastar told RIA Novosti last August at the MAKS airshow in Moscow.
No contract has yet been signed by the Air Force with Aviastar, Aviation Week reported in December.
The first Il-476 prototype is due to be rolled out at Aviastar in February and fly soon after.
