Politics

Russia to boost military transport aviation for Ukraine war

Moscow, Oct 11 (EFE).- Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday that the country would ramp up the production of military transport aircraft to meet the growing demand for such planes in special operations, including those conducted by the Russian military in Ukraine.

During his visit to the state corporation’s aircraft manufacturing plant in Ulyanovsk, Shoigu emphasized that the expansion would primarily target the development of heavy transport aircraft models.

“We will discuss today extremely important issues… and increasing the capabilities of military transport aviation,” Shoigu said in a press statement. “Taking into account the special military operation (in Ukraine), the working capacity of military transport aviation has actually increased several times.”

The defense chief noted that Russia has already more than doubled the utilization of military transport aviation when compared to the most challenging periods of the Soviet Union.

Shoigu inspected the production of the Il-76MD-90A aircraft and oversaw the repair and maintenance of the An-124-100 aircraft, both of which are part of the state defense order for Russian military aviation.

“Firstly, we need to maintain the current fleet that we have. Secondly, we need to increase this fleet by issuing new vehicles, specifically the latest modification of the Il-76,” he added.

Shoigu insisted that although these planes have demonstrated excellent combat capabilities, they still need improvements in terms of range and carrying capacity.

He said the military would also double the production of the heavy cargo aircraft An-125 by 2025. EFE

mos/bks/ssk

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