It was supposed to "jam" even the Patriot: Russia is retiring the rare Il-76 aircraft.

In Russia, a rare aircraft designed for electronic warfare, the Il-76PP, is likely to be decommissioned. In theory, it was supposed to "jam" even the Patriot missile systems.

This information comes from RBK-Ukraine, citing Defence Express.

According to Defence Express, the exact timeline for the work on the Il-76PP is unknown. However, there is general information indicating that it dates back to the "mid-1980s." Only one unit of this aircraft was manufactured in Russia. Moreover, it remained at the experimental development stage and was never put into mass production.

It is known that a serial transport aircraft, the Il-76MD, was used for the conversion into the Il-76PP, with work conducted at the "ANTK named after Beriev" in Taganrog. It is noteworthy that this factory specializes in A-50 radar reconnaissance aircraft.

The Il-76PP was allegedly designed primarily to "jam" the radar systems of various Western missile systems, including the Patriot.

However, the most interesting and unique aspect of this aircraft is that it was equipped with an electronic warfare system designated "Landysh." This system is also used on the Su-24MP. According to Defence Express, it was the "Landysh" that could have "buried" the Il-76PP.

Indeed, the installation of this electronic warfare system on the Il-76PP required additional power sources. To address this issue, the aircraft's designers installed two extra generators based on the AI-24VT aviation engine. Each of these was supposed to supply power to four AC sources on board the Il-76PP. However, it seems that even this was insufficient for reliably powering the electronic warfare equipment.

Additionally, a challenge arose during the development and testing phases, as the designers of the Il-76PP were unable to achieve electromagnetic compatibility between the aircraft's onboard equipment and the "Landysh" system, the containers for which were mounted on the wingtips.

Thus, the Il-76PP turned out to be a monstrous yet non-functional design that could not fulfill its primary mission. Consequently, in 1993, the aircraft was put into storage at the aforementioned training airfield in Irkutsk. However, it was only remembered when it was time to clear space for construction, which is set for the end of 2024.

Previously, we reported that the Russian Federation supplied its military with 24 new combat aircraft this year. Yet, this production barely offsets the losses.