http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 21NEWS Russia & CIS
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stories. Email the news team at [email protected]Ukrainian Navy Ka-226
in Exercise Sea Breeze
THE SOLE Ka-226.50 in
Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly
(VMS, Ukrainian Navy)
service, ‘41 Yellow’ (c/n
03-02), participated in a
simulated rescue mission
at Mykolaiv-Kul’bakino,
Ukraine, on July 9, during
Exercise Sea Breeze- The helicopter had
only entered service last
December and is operated
by the 10 mors’ka aviatsiyna
brihada (mabr, naval aviation
brigade) at Mykolaiv (see
Ukrainian Navy presents
Ka-226, March, p28).
This helicopter was ordered
by the then Ministry of
Emergencies of Ukraine,
under a contract signed in
September 2007, and was
built in 2008. It was formally
accepted in September the
same year at the Kumertau
Aviation Plant in Russia.
In January 2009, it was
initially transferred to Vilnius,
Latvia, but Gelaksis – the
intermediary company from
which it had been purchased- failed to pay for customs
procedures before going
bankrupt and leaving the
Ka-226 stuck in Latvia.
Around 2013, it was moved
to the Lviv State Aircraft
Repair Plant in Ukraine,
where it continued to
languish in storage. Never
delivered to the original
customer, it was eventually
handed over to the Ukrainian
Navy to supplement its
fleet, despite protests
from the State Emergency
Service which felt it had
been illegally seized by the
Ukrainian defence ministry.
It was officially transferred
to the navy’s 10 mabr
on June 8 last year, then
airfreighted to Mykolaiv a
few days later in an Il-76.
The rotorcraft made its first
flight from Mykolaiv last
December 8. Dave AllportThe sole Ukrainian Navy Ka-226, ‘41 Yellow’, performs a simulated rescue mission during a
display at Mykolaiv-Kul’bakino. US Navy/Mass Communication Officer 3rd Class Timothy Logan KeownIl-112V reworked to cut down weight
DURING A visit to
the Voronezh Aircraft
Manufacturing Company on
July 18, the General Director
of Ilyushin, Yuri Grudinin,
provided an update on the
Il-112V light military transport
aircraft programme. The
prototype has not flown
since its initial flight at
Voronezh on March 30 (seeMaiden flight of Il-112V,
June, p21) and is now
back in the final assembly
shop for improvements
as a result of findings
during its initial flight.
The changes include
measures to reduce excess
weight by optimising
systems and removable
structural elements –expected to cut around
one ton off the prototype’s
current weight. Speaking to
Russian news agency TASS
on July 2, chief designer
Sergey Lyashenko said
no firm date had been set
to resume flight testing
with the first aircraft, but
modifications could be
completed in time for it to
take to the air again at the
beginning of next year.
Production of the third
and fourth prototypes
has already begun at
Voronezh, using lighter
materials and increased
incorporation of composite
components. This should
cut the weight by up to 2.5
tons. The type is intended
to replace the An-26
and the Russian defence
ministry has indicated it
intends to order an initial
48 Il-112Vs. Dave AllportThe Il-112V prototype
being reworked in the
factory at Voronezh. UACAbove: New Su-35s ‘02 Red, ‘04 Red’ and ‘09 Red’. Their
delivery was announced by the Russian defence ministry on
July 21. Russian MoD via Dave AllportUzbekistan plans
Su-30SM buy
THE UZBEK government
is planning to purchase
new Su-30SM fighters
from Russia, the state
news agency RIA Novosti
reported on July 8. The
aircraft will apparently be
acquired using a Russian
export credit, according to
the report which added that
a formal request should be
provided “soon”. Russia’s
Federal Service for Military-
Technical Cooperation
(FSVTS) has confirmed
Uzbekistan’s interest inthe Su-30SM, but the
number of jets involved
has not been announced.
Uzbekistan was first linked
with a potential Su-30SM
acquisition in 2017.
The Uzbek Air Force
previously operated around
30 first-generation Su-27
and six two-seat Su-27UB
fighters, but none are
currently operational.
These Flankers were last
active with the 62nd Fighter
Aviation Regiment (62 IAP)
at Karshi Khanabad in 2015.Crown Copyright
RUSSIAN AEROSPACE
Forces Il-76MD Candid
RF-78810 was among the
latest Russian military
aircraft intercepted by the
Royal Air Force during its
Baltic Air Policing (BAP)
rotation. It was met by No XI
(Fighter) Squadron Typhoon
FGR4s operating from
Ämari air base in Estonia
on July 28. The military
transport was approachingEstonian airspace from the
south and was identified
and monitored as it flew
close to NATO airspace.
The Typhoons continued
to escort the airlifter as it
transited north, away from
Estonian airspace. This
was the 14th quick reaction
alert (QRA) scramble and
intercept since the RAF took
over the BAP mission from
the Luftwaffe on May 3.THE LATEST three Su-35S
multi-role fighters for the
Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye
Sily Rossiyskoy Federatsii
(VKS, Russian Aerospace
Forces) have been handed
over to the 790th Fighter
Aviation Regiment (790 IAP)
at Khotilovo, in Russia’s
Tver region. The new
fighters were received
from the manufacturing
plant in Komsomolsk-on-
Amur and flown more than
5,592 miles (9,000km) totheir new home, with three
refuelling stops en route.
Khotilovo air base,
which is part of the 6th
Air Force and Air Defence
Army, headquartered in St
Petersburg, began to receive
Su-35S fighters to replace
existing Su-27s last December
and its pilots trained on
the new type at Besovets.
Khotilovo is also home to two
squadrons of upgraded MiG-
31BM interceptors, which it
began to receive in 2014.More Su-35s delivered to
Western Military District
Candid over the Baltic
21-23 News AFM Sep2019.indd 21 05/08/2019 15:14:06