On March 12, 1968, the Ministry of Aviation Industry and the USSR Air Force decided to develop a new light tactical military transport aircraft, which received the name An-26.

This aircraft was destined to become one of the most demanded aircraft in the military transport aviation segment of our country.

As the retired Major General Vladimir Popov, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation, stated in a RT commentary, the An-26 became a unique turboprop light transport aircraft of the USSR Air Force.

Its main task was to transfer troops and equipment hundreds of kilometers.

“An-26 can be called an outstanding development of the Antonov Design Bureau in the niche of tactical military transport aviation.

It allowed the Soviet Union to transfer troops and cargo over medium distances in the shortest possible time, ”Popov explained.

The expert explains the huge popularity of the An-26 among the troops by the ability of the aircraft to land on concrete and unpaved runways, the high reliability of all structural elements and unpretentiousness in operation.

workhorse

The An-26 was developed on the basis of the An-24T, a transport version of the popular regional airliner, which could carry cargo with a total mass of up to 4 tons or up to 37 military personnel.

Also, 33 paratroopers with personal weapons could land from it, and when performing sanitary tasks, up to 24 wounded on a stretcher could be accommodated. 

However, the military considered the An-24T not a very convenient machine in terms of loading and unloading, they were dissatisfied with its insufficient carrying capacity and flight range, Vladimir Popov explained.

Antonovtsy also understood the need to create a more advanced transport for the needs of the Air Force.

Taking into account the requirements of the air force, Soviet engineers implemented a new design of the nose and tail parts of the fuselage in the An-26.

The dimensions of the cargo hatch were increased, and its tail section began to serve as a ladder for self-propelled vehicles.

“The An-26 was better than the An-24T, thought out for airborne landing of both cargo and military personnel.

The standard equipment of the aircraft included cables for attaching carabiners for parachute lanyards and folding seats along the sides.

The carrying capacity of the An-26 was 5.5 tons,” said Popov.

Another key feature of the new aircraft was the upgraded AI-24VT turboprop engines, which were distinguished by their simple design, economy, reliability and ease of operation.

The engine had a high margin of gas-dynamic stability in all flight modes, was equipped with anti-icing devices, fire extinguishing systems and automatic feathering (turning during flight) of the propeller blades.

  • An-26 military transport aircraft

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

In addition, the high operational reliability of the AI-24VT was largely ensured by the presence of means that protect the engines from overloads.

An-26 could accelerate to 540 km / h.

The cruising speed of the aircraft was about 440 km / h, the practical range was 1100 km, the flight altitude was 7.5 km.

The Antonovites also worked on improving the aerodynamics of the new transport aircraft: the An-26 received wings with an increased area and a modified profile shape, which increased lift and reduced air resistance.

The debut flight of the car took place on May 21, 1969.

An-26 was piloted by a crew led by commander Yuri Ketov.

Serial production of the aircraft was launched at the Kiev Aviation Plant.

The first serial samples entered combat duty in 1970, however, the official acceptance of the aircraft into service took place on May 26, 1975 with the release of the corresponding order of the USSR Minister of Defense.

The pilots praised the An-26 for ease of piloting, stability, structural strength, unpretentiousness, good operational and takeoff and landing characteristics.

The aircraft was used in the Air Force, air defense units, the Navy, in the border troops and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was also used to train paratroopers and novice aviators.

An-26 was massively delivered abroad and had many modifications.

For example, the Searchlight version was equipped with a laser target illumination station and suspension units for high-precision missile and bomb weapons.

Other modifications of the An-26 were used for electronic intelligence, transportation of passengers and containers, ice reconnaissance, and medical tasks.

“I would describe the An-26 as a workhorse.

The aircraft is adapted for operation at different airfields and in various natural and climatic conditions: from hot Africa to the North Pole.

Of the minuses - noisy engines, but for the military this moment does not really matter, ”Popov emphasized.

From An-26 to Il-112V

After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Air Force continued to operate the An-26.

According to open sources, there are now more than 100 such aircraft in the fleet of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

As the pilots say, the car still copes with the tasks assigned to it.

“Despite more than half a century of history of domestic turboprop aircraft, the An-26 continues to be distinguished by its reliability.

A very durable car.

Structural strength is the most important positive feature of the aircraft, ”the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation quotes the words of the pilot of the aviation regiment of the Leningrad Air Force and Air Defense Association of the Western Military District Nikolai Pakhomov.

  • An-26 military transport aircraft

  • © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

However, the designated service life of the aircraft is gradually coming to an end.

According to the military department, 50% of the An-26 fleet should be decommissioned by 2030, and 90% by 2032.

“In fact, if necessary, the An-26, of course, can fly much longer, since a really huge operational resource was built into this aircraft.

But in this case, deep modernization is indispensable.

Most likely, it will not be carried out, since the An-26 has long been replaced,” says Vladimir Popov.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation plans to replace the An-26 with a similar one in the Il-112V class, the development of which started in 2014.

The new aircraft can be operated at unpaved airfields and has approximately the same performance characteristics as the Antonov aircraft.

The main differences between the two machines, according to experts, are in much more modern engines and on-board electronic equipment.

“The IL-112V was designed using advanced digital technologies and equipped with advanced domestic avionics.

Flight and navigation equipment provides pilots with the ability to automatically land, ”the website of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) reports.

The IL-112V is equipped with a BARK-65STM electronic unit and a TV7-117ST turboprop engine with a capacity of over 3,000 hp.

With.

developments of "UEC-Klimov" (St. Petersburg).

As stated in the materials of the enterprise, BARK-65STM controls the operation of not only the engine, but also the propeller, thus controlling the entire power plant of the aircraft.

“Such joint control allows the fullest use of the potential of the characteristics of the engine and propeller, in general, to increase the efficiency of the power plant,” the UEC-Klimov website says.

However, the Il-112V project was overshadowed by the tragedy that occurred in August 2021 in the Moscow region.

During a training flight of an experimental version of the aircraft, the right engine caught fire.

The car began to lose altitude and crashed to the ground.

The entire crew was killed.

  • Military transport aircraft Il-112V

  • © UAC press service

After the tragedy, it was decided to seriously modify the IL-112V, including its engine.

The date for the start of mass production has been postponed.

It is assumed that after the improvement and passing all the tests, the aircraft will be produced at the aircraft factory in Voronezh.

The Ministry of Defense can receive up to 200 new vehicles.

In a RT commentary, a military expert, retired colonel Viktor Litovkin, noted that the leadership of the military department and the aviation industry had made an adequate decision on the Il-112V.

According to the expert, the modified aircraft will certainly become a worthy replacement for the An-26.

“In the history of aviation, there have been many accidents of experimental aircraft.

It is more important to draw the right conclusions and correct the identified defects.

If we evaluate the characteristics declared by the developers, then the Il-112V should become a very good military transport aircraft and, of course, surpass the An-26.

There is nothing critical in the transfer of its mass production.

The main thing is that all the necessary tests of the Il-112V be completed and passed successfully,” Litovkin summed up.