[dyestymum]

The first flying prototype of the Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A transport aircraft (also known as the Il-476), built by Russian Aviastar aircraft plant, has gone for test-flights. Two prototypes of the modernized plane has been built. The first prototype was a testbed and it was sent to TsAGI, the central aerodynamics institute in Moscow, last year. The company will begin building three production-standard aircrafts and assembly of the first of these three production planes will start in August. The factory plans to build 16 of the aircraft per year by 2016, for which the plant will take on an additional 5,000 staff. The information was given by plant's general director, Sergei Dementyev.

The new version has PS-90A turbofan in place of the older D-30 engine, cargo capacity is up from 52 to 60 tons and new cockpit avionics.

Russian armed forces plan to buy 90 of these aircrafts.