In the late 90s, in order to ensure effective opposition to NATO submarines, Russian designers began work on the modernization of the Il-38 aircraft. The new modified aircraft model received the designation Il-38N.
The modernized aircraft entered service with the Russian Navy in the 2000s and was rightly called the "submarine killer" by the Americans. The article provides a description of the anti-submarine aircraft, its technical characteristics and weapons.
Getting Started
In the 1990s, aviation designers received an order from the Russian Ministry of Defense to re-equip combatant Il-38s with new radio-electronic equipment. The developers were given the task of creating an aircraft that, like its predecessor, would be used to destroy enemy submarines, but would be more effective.
Developer
The IL-38N project was carried out at the Design Bureau of S. V. Ilyushin. The essence of the work was to modernize the existing Il-38.
This aircraft was once created at the Ilyushin Design Bureau on the basis of the passenger Il-18V as part of the project"Tuna". The release of this model was carried out from 1967 to 1972. During this time, 65 such aircraft were assembled. IL-38 has been in service for almost 50 years. This is considered a considerable service life of an aviation unit. In this regard, some military experts suggested that after such a long operation, the IL-38 would be cut into scrap metal or handed over as an exhibit to a museum. However, the aircraft uses a very high-quality "stuffing" and a reliable airframe. For all the years of service with the Il-38, there were only two flight accidents, the cause of which was the human factor. Now the designers have decided to improve the Il-38 as much as possible by equipping it with a new search and aiming system and extending its service life by 15 years. Simultaneously with the modernization of the aircraft intended for the Russian Navy, the Ilyushin Design Bureau was designing a similar aircraft model for the Indian Navy: Il-38 SD. Russian specialists have upgraded six basic models of the Il-38. The aircraft were re-equipped and handed over to the customer in 2010. At the moment, four IL-38 SD are already serving in the Indian Navy.
Tests
For the first time Il-38N with a red tail number was tested in April 2001. The aircraft was controlled by the crew commander V. M. Irinarkhov and assistant commander, Honored Test Pilot of Russia V. I. Butov. A few years later, an anti-submarine aircraft with a yellow tail number was sent for re-testing. The tests were finally completed in 2012. The upgraded Il-38 was transferred to the needs of the Northern Fleet of Russia. To date, information aboutuse of this aviation unit is not provided for free access.
About the system from OAO Leninets
The improved Il-38N differs from previous models by the presence of a new search and aiming system, which gives it significantly expanded capabilities. The basis for this system was the export model Sea Dragon ("Sea Serpent"), which was launched by American aircraft designers back in 1962. The Russian version is listed as the Novella-P-38 system. Upon receiving an order from the Ministry of Defense, Russian designers decided to equip the old Il-38 with this search and sighting system. Thanks to the introduction of this system, it became possible for the Il-38N aircraft to detect air targets at a distance of up to 90,000 meters. In addition, the upgraded Il-38 is capable of tracking 50 surface targets within a radius of no more than 32,000 meters. Target position does not affect tracking performance.
Cab device
The search and sighting system is controlled from the Il-38N cockpit with the participation of two operators. The cabin is equipped with two workstations.
Operators are provided with two liquid crystal color multi-functional screens, a control panel and a keyboard. The screens display the tactical situation and a digital navigation map.
System Components
Installation "Novella-P-38" is a navigation sighting and search complex. The system consists of the followingcomponents:
- High resolution radar system.
- The Lanner-A thermal imaging system with laser, television and thermal imaging channels, for which gyroscopic stabilization is provided.
- Radiohydroacoustic system.
- Magnetometric system.
- Command tactical.
- System responsible for electronic intelligence.
Characteristics of IL-38N
The aircraft is equipped with four AI-20M engines. The power of each is 4250 liters. with. The aircraft, having reached a height of 6 km, is capable of reaching a maximum speed of up to 650 km/h. Il-38N has a cruising speed of 465 km/h. Different aviation versions have their own practical ceiling, which varies between 8-10 km. The upgraded IL-38 is capable of transporting cargo weighing up to 8400-9000 kg.
Composition of the aircraft
The crew consists of seven people:
- Two pilots. Of these, one serves as the commander of the ship, and the second - his assistant.
- Navigator-navigator.
- Navigator-operator of the radar station.
- SIDS (Aircraft Receiving Display Device) Operator.
- Flight engineer.
- Flight radio operator.
Exterior design
The fuselage of the modernized IL-38 is dark gray. The tail number of the aircraft is indicated in yellow numbers. The IL-38N is equipped with new attachments, which is an RTR system that performs electronic intelligence.
The location of attachments was a special container above the fuselage. There is an assumption that the RTR system will be used in the future to maintain communication with the Liana marine space reconnaissance and target designation system. However, the accuracy of this information, which became known to the media, has not yet been verified.
The place for the location of the survey and search system is the forward part of the fuselage. A special spherical container has been developed for the system.
About weapons
For the combat version of the modified IL-38, the following are provided:
- Anti-submarine depth charges.
- Radio-acoustic buoys of different types. The total number of buoys does not exceed 150 units.
- Torpedoes AT-1 or AT-2 and APR-2.
- Lighting aerial bombs.
- Naval mines.
Additionally improved Il-38 can be equipped with Kalibr-A air-launched missiles with a flight range of 5,000 km. The payload for which the anti-submarine aircraft is designed is no more than nine tons.
About purpose
At one time, the IL-38 independently or jointly with ships performed the following tasks:
- Search and destroy enemy submarines.
- Performed maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue operations.
- Minefields were installed with the involvement of IL-38.
According to experts, the appearance of the Il-38 off the coast, even at a great distance, has a tangible psychological impact on a potential enemy. For thisit is sufficient to carry out scheduled flights without violating the rules for the use of airspace. A striking example of this is the disruption of the US-Japanese exercises in 2010. Both sides feared that a Russian Il-38, tuned to their radar frequency, would be able to intercept top-secret information. For this reason, US and Japanese military maneuvers have been curtailed.
As a result of the modernization (see above), the combat capabilities of this anti-submarine aircraft were increased four times. Thanks to the introduction of components of the new search and sighting system, it became possible to use the improved Il-38 to solve various military tasks, including the detection of underwater and surface targets, as well as the rapid destruction of submarines using depth charges. Depending on the combat mission, the composition of the equipment may vary. The aircraft is capable of patrolling the area assigned to it for a long time. Having received the necessary information about the target, the Il-38N commander can transmit the received information to other aircraft or ships, as well as successfully attack the enemy on his own.
The use of aircraft is not limited to fighting enemy submarines. This aircraft model is used to solve various national economic problems. Due to the presence of special sensors that can detect any gravity anomalies, the upgraded Il-38 is in great demand in oceanology, ecology, geological exploration, ice exploration, etc.
Today, with the help of IL-38, equippedsystem "Novella-P-38", magnetic and gravity maps of the Arctic Ocean are compiled.
