Ilyushin Il-114
The Ilyushin Il-114 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed by the Ilyushin design bureau.The programme was launched in June 1986 by the Soviet Ministry of Aviation Industry and first flew on 29 March 1990. Initial plans envisioned the production of up to one-hundred aircraft per year, taking place in the Uzbek SSR. While development was initially expected to be straightforward, work was complicated by organisational and financial problems caused by the dissolution of the Soviet Union as well as the crash of a prototype aircraft.
Serial production of aircraft began in 1992 at the Tashkent Aircraft Production Association. However, following dissolution, the loss of skilled labour, and poor financial state of both Russia and Uzbekistan, aircraft were built at a laggard rate, unable to compete with foreign aircraft such as the ATR 72. The last aircraft was produced in 2012 due to the bankruptcy of the plant, with a total of 20 aircraft.
In 2014, United Aircraft Corporation began exploring the possibility of restarting production, as a result of international sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Crimean crisis. The aircraft would be designated the Il-114-300. The first flight of a prototype aircraft, based on an existing Il-114-100 took place on 16 December 2020. Work was temporarily paused in 2021 after the crash of a prototype Il-112 aircraft, which uses the same TV7-117 engines as the Il-114. Flight tests resumed in 2024, with two newly built aircraft being built at the Lukhovitsy Aircraft Plant.
Certification flights were completed in January 2026, with serial production expected later in the year, once type certification has been obtained.
Development
In June 1986, the Ilyushin OKB began work on a replacement for the Antonov An-24, large numbers of which remained in service with Aeroflot. The Soviet Ministry of the Aviation Industry set down requirements for the An-24 replacement, including the ability to carry 60 passengers over a range of at a speed of, while using much less fuel than its predecessor and retaining the ability to operate out of poorly equipped airfields with unpaved runways. Development of the new aircraft was expected to be relatively simple, with the first flight programmed to take place in 1989, with service entry in 1992.The first prototype made its maiden flight from Zhukovsky Airfield on 29 March 1990. Development was slowed by technical problems, and by organisational and financial problems associated with the breakup of the Soviet Union, with the Il-114 to be built at the Tashkent Aviation Production Association in soon-to-be independent Uzbekistan. The second prototype did not fly until 24 December 1991. This second prototype crashed, killing seven of nine people aboard, on 5 July 1993, causing the Russian government to withdraw funding from the Il-114, although the OKB continued development with its own money. The Il-114 finally received airworthiness certification on 26 April 1997.
Further development
Il-114-300
Production restart
President Putin has ordered a study into resuming Ilyushin Il-114 turboprop production at the Aviakor plant in Samara, southeast of Moscow, with results of the assessment due in September 2014. Possible improvements can include updated engines and avionics, rear cargo ramp/door, structural strengthening, digitization of engineering drawings. China may be interested in the modernized Il-114.Ilyushin Company chief designer Sergey Gromov announced that they will develop a version of the Il-114 aircraft fitted with ski and wheel landing gear for the Arctic Region. The development program will produce three Il-114 aircraft by 2020 with Gidromash/Hydromash JSC. It will be designated Il-114-300 and will be produced using only Russian-produced components. Four versions of Il-114-300 would be developed including a passenger version by 2019; Cargo and Arctic versions derived from the passenger version, and a Maritime Patrol Aircraft, whose prototype was showcased at Army-2015 forum.
Russia's United Aircraft Corporation expected that the Russian government would decide later on in 2015 whether to allow the state-backed aerospace group to build a new 50-to-70-seat passenger version of the Ilyushin Il-114. At Moscow's MAKS airshow on 26 August 2015, UAC president Yuri Slyusar said he favors building the new Il-114-300 model but awaits the Kremlin's endorsement.
In December 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that production of the aircraft will be at the Nizhny Novgorod plant Sokol, starting in 2019–2020. Until 2025, almost 56 billion rubles from the state budget will finance the construction of 100 Il-114 planes. However, UAC president Yury Slusar announced at the Paris Air Show on 20 June 2017 that the production site was changed to the MiG production centre at Lukhovitsy, close to Moscow. It is expected that the plant can produce 12–18 Ilyushin Il-114 regional aircraft per year to supply Russian airlines that will need around 60–80 turboprops with 50–60 seats over the next 10 to 15 years, said Slusar.
At the Paris Air Show in June 2017, a memorandum of understanding between Pratt & Whitney Canada and Ilyushin Joint Stock Co. was signed for P&WC to provide two PW127H engines to restart the Ilyushin Il-114-100 regional turboprop aircraft program.
The Il-112V, being developed from the Il-114 airliner, will replace Russia's aging fleet of Antonov An-26s, as the LVTS. The Ilyushin Il-112V tactical airlifter for the Russian air force was forecast to make its maiden flight in the summer of 2017, according to Yuri Slyusar, president of the United Aircraft Corporation, but it was subsequently delayed. On 9 November 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin reiterated that the Ilyushin Il-114 will be produced in the Sokol plant in Nizhny Novgorod.
In July 2017, it was announced that Russia's United Aircraft Corp. had signed a letter of intent with State Transport Leasing Co. for 50 Ilyushin Il-114-300s. Although the delivery schedule was not disclosed, the manufacturer and lessor are expected to sign a preliminary agreement on terms and conditions before the end of 2017.
In 2017, the Kremlin injected ₽9.6 billion into the Il-114-300 and for three years from 2018, UAC plans to invest ₽ billion for the Il-114-300.
From February 2020, an existing Il-114 was modified to Il-114-300 specifications using entirely domestic parts and modern technology. The new variant would carry 68 passengers, with a range of 2000 km. The converted Il-114 made its first flight on 16 December 2020 from Zhukovsky Airfield. The aircraft was fitted with Klimov TV7-117ST-01 engines and Aerosila AV-112-114 propellers, with an improved takeoff power of 3,100 hp. Further improvements include the installation of an Aerosila TA-14-114 auxiliary power unit, and the TsPNK-114M2 digital avionics suite developed by Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies. A second flight took place on 19 January 2021.
In June 2022, the Government of Russia announced an ambitious plan to re-invigorate its commercial aircraft industry, following further western sanctions. The plan aims for 80 percent of the countries commercial aircraft fleet to be domestically built by 2030. Included in these plans was the aim for 70 Ilyushin Il-114-300 aircraft to be produced by the end of the decade.
Engine development delays
Flight tests were paused in 2021 after the crash of a prototype Ilyushin Il-112 on 17 August 2021 at Kubinka, equipped with the same TV7-117 engines. An investigation conducted by the Interstate Aviation Committee and Minpromtorg attributed the cause of the crash to technical issues with the starboard TV7-117ST engine. Other aircraft which use the same engine such as the Mil Mi-38 were also temporarily grounded. As a result, the prototype was prevented from taking part in the "Army-2021" forum.In January 2023, the Federal Air Transport Agency issued the type certificate for the TV7-117ST-01 engine after design issues were reportedly resolved.
Flight testing and certification
In March 2024, flight tests resumed at Tretyakovo. The first new prototype made its maiden flight on 31 March 2024 piloted by Sergei Sukhar, Igor Zinov and Oleg Gryazev. Certification tests would continue throughout 2024.In March 2025, a second prototype took flight from Tretyakovo. In October 2025, certification flights began, with test flights taking place at Gorno-Altaysk Airport, in the Altai Republic. Flights were carried out between Lukhovitsy, Gorno-Altaysk and Baikonur in Kazakhstan. Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov stated that certification was expected to be completed by early 2026, with deliveries to begin in August 2026 On 14 November 2025 the type certificate for the AV-112-114 six-blade propeller developed by Aerosila was issued by the Federal Air Transport Agency.
On 19 November 2025 it was reported that 190 out of 270 test flights had been completed, with certification expected in early 2026. Furthermore, on 3 December 2025, Daniil Brenerman, the managing direction of Ilyushin, stated the aircraft was being prepared for the final stage of testing. A newly developed cabin was also revealed, created by the Russian based Aviation Interiors LLC, a video of which was shared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. In late December 2025, UAC general director Vadim Badekha stated that the aircraft had completed most of its certification flights, with a small number of tests awaiting the end of winter before completion in 2026. By 28 January 2026, certification flights had been completed, pending approval from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency.
Prospective maritime patrol aircraft
From 2005, an Il-114 was converted into a flying testbed by Agat and Radar-MMS. With a capability to loiter for 14 hours, Agat and Radar-MMS have turned it into an advanced-technology maritime patrol aircraft demonstrator. Il-114 RA93001 aircraft demonstrated the transmission of telemetry and targeting data in real time using a wide-band secure datalink using the Kasatka rescue and targeting complex during IMDS’2015 maritime show. This Il-114 has a FLIR under the nose, a magnetometer in the tail section, a semi-automatic sonobuoy dispenser, and two pylons under the fuselage for sensor pods or Kh-35 anti-ship missiles. On the right side of the fuselage, a GSh-2-23 twin-barrel 23-mm rapid fire cannon pod can be installed, with conformal metric-band antennas on both sides. This aircraft has two radars, one working in metric waveband and the other in centimetric waveband. An additional antenna is in an underbelly dome for 360-degree coverage.The Russian naval service chief Maj. Gen. Igor Kozhin announced that the Russian navy is looking for "a modern and suitable universal platform" to replace the aging Il-20/Il-38 MPA fleet. Selection will be made in the period of 2015–16. A Maritime Patrol version of the Il-114 twin-turboprop airliner most likely will be a candidate. According to Georgy Antsev, general director and designer for Morinformsystem-Agat, "In my view, the Il-114 is the best choice for the Russian navy". Companies promoting the Il-114 as an MPA include Agat, Ilyushin, Radar-MMS and others.