General information
Public Joint Stock Company Ilyushin Aviation Complex (also referred to as ILYUSHIN) was founded in 1933. The order of USSR People’s Deputy Commissar of Heavy Industry and Head of the Main Directorate of Aviation Industry P.I. Baranov established the Design Bureau for Experimental Light Aircraft and Military Series Engineering at the facilities of V. R. Menzhinsky Plant No.39. Sergei Ilyushin was appointed Head of the Design Bureau. Under his guidance, the Bureau became one of the leading complex aircraft engineering enterprises in USSR and Russia.
Within 80 years, the Bureau developed over 200 various aircraft modifications, and saw 120 going into production. Throughout the Ilyushin Design Bureau existence, production facilities manufactured over 60 000 IL branded airplanes. They feature simple design, high reliability, long lifetime, ease of handling and low maintenance.
Bomber, ground-attack aircraft, military airlifters and special-purpose aircraft were built for the Air Force of the country. The legendary ground-attack aircraft IL-2 and IL-10 and long-range bombers IL-4, constituting over 30% of the entire military fleet, made a considerable contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. In post-war years, IL-28 became the first mass-produced jet bomber for the Air Force.
The entire history of passenger aircraft construction is traceable in the Design Bureau.
In mid 1940s, the first mass-produced passenger carriers IL-12 and IL-14 appeared; these marked the beginning of civil transport aviation development. The turboprop IL-18 made flying affordable for a large number of Soviet citizens; it was in service for international airways and provided basis for Soviet aircraft export sales.
The turbojet long-range airliner IL-62 and its modification IL-62M provided high flight safety and comfort for passengers and contributed to further development of international airlines. Passenger flights started in 1967 and continue to the present.
The creation of special-purpose aircraft that played a key role for the country’s Air Force defined the special character of Ilyushin’s school. Most notable are anti-submarine aircraft IL-38, special-purpose scout aircraft IL-20, refueling tanker IL-78 et al.
In 1970, upon S.V. Ilyushin’s recommendation, his student Genrikh Vasilievich Novozhilov was appointed General Designer – Executive Officer of the enterprise by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. Led by Novozhilov, the Company created the most widely used military and civil jet airlifter IL-76 with engines D30-KP, which has been adopted by Air Force since 1974.
Since mid-1970, the turbojet IL-76 and its modifications have been the main military airlifters of the country’s fleet.
Hundreds of millions of passengers and millions of tons of cargoes were carried by IL-12, IL-14, IL-18, IL-62, IL-62M, and IL-86. Currently, IL-114-100, IL-96-300, and IL-96-400T are in successful operation. The "command point" version of IL–96–300 is in service for the state leaders of the Russian Federation.
New aircraft of various purposes are appearing in the IL family. IL-103 and IL-96T were the first Russian aircraft to obtain the USA FAA Airworthiness Certificate. Successful international cooperation resulted in certification and mass production of IL–114–100.
In the 1990s, the enterprise faced new economic conditions. Viktor Vladimirovich Livanov, elected Director of the plant in 1988, a Moscow Institute of Aviation Technology graduate who had come to work as a process engineer in the assembly shop, was appointed General Director in 1995, and has been heading the Aviation Complex as General Director – General Designer since 2005.
Today, ILYUSHIN is focused on design of cargo carriers and military airlifters.
In September 2012, flight tests of the highly modernized IL-76MD-90A got underway. This is the first Russian aircraft produced serially with 3D digital design technology implication. Systems and structure of the aircraft have been subjected to drastic modernization as compared to the basic version.
In October 2012, ILYUSHIN started cooperation with UAC-TA and with HAL (India) in respect of the Multi-Purpose Transport Aircraft (MTA) project.
For the State merits, Ilyushin Aviation Complex was awarded the Order of Lenin (1942), the Order of Red Combat Banner (1944), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1969), and the Order of the October Revolution (1983).
Currently, the ILYUSHIN team constantly cooperates with the leading manufacturers of aircraft components, R&D institutes and major air companies, and performs the entire set of activities related to design, modernization, preparation, support of aircraft production, and continues airworthiness of the earlier-produced ILYUSHIN aircraft.
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