The plane’s overhaul is estimated at just over 198 million rubles ($2,605 million), the announcement said. It gave no further details.
The possible purpose of the planned modernization remains anyone’s guess, as all related research will definitely be kept under wraps, the newspaper wrote.
The Il-76MD transport plane was earlier selected as the base aircraft for the Beriev A-60 airborne laser laboratory.
In the 1970s a special aviation complex was established at Taganrog machine-building factory to develop airborne laser technology for the Soviet military.
The A-60 carries a Skif-D laser gun capable of destroying enemy missiles and spy satellites.
