Russian Ministry of Defense will take delivery of the first military-transport Il-76MD-90A aircraft in 2014, Lenta.ru reports.

The jet will be delivered by Ulyanovsk-based Aviastar-SP under a contract for delivery of 39 Il-76MD-90A aircraft. Other details related to the upcoming delivery have not been unveiled.

The first stage of the joint state testing of the new military-transport Il-76MD-90A aircraft has been completed in December 2013. The functionality of all the aircraft systems has been checked and the aircraft performance has been assessed. The second stage will include testing of the aircraft’s avionics and communications systems. Il-76MD-90A will also perform a cargo airdrop.

The joint state testing of the military-transport Il-76MD-90A aircraft has been started in July 2013. It was reported that following the results of the first stage of testing Russian Ministry of Defense would approve the act for production of a pilot batch of Il-76MD-90A jets. This document will allow Aviastar-SP to launch the serial production of the new transport aircraft.

Il-76MD-90A was derived from Il-76MD. The jet performed its maiden flight in September 2012. The aircraft is powered by new PS-90A-76 engines and it also has a reinforced wing. Its maximum flight speed is 850 km/h and its maximum payload is 60 tons. The jet’s range is about 6000 km. It is planned to develop a tanker aircraft derived from Il-76MD-90A.

According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian air forces, Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev, the new tankers will be designated as Il-478. In April 2014 Deputy CEO of UAC – Transport Aircraft, Olga Fedonyuk said that the company plans to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense for delivery of 31 Il-478 aircraft this year.