The Russian military is interested in the Il-114-300 turboprop aircraft. Andrey Yelchaninov, the first deputy chairman of the board of the Military-Industrial Commission, spoke about this in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

The Il-114-300 turboprop aircraft has a flight duration of over eight hours and a low cruising speed with minimal fuel consumption. It aroused interest among the military, because it can be operated as a reconnaissance aircraft, a promising patrol aircraft, an electronic warfare aircraft, etc. It is not yet known whether this interest will entail the creation of a new series of aircraft based on the Il-114-300 for the military.

Interest on the part of the military can be explained by the unique flight characteristics of this aircraft, says Yelchaninov.

At present, the Il-114-300 is undergoing a test stage, for the first time it was taken into the air in December last year, for the second time in January this year. The aircraft should be certified in 2022, and its serial deliveries will begin in 2023.

Note that interest in the Il-114 from the Ministry of Defense was observed long before that. In 2015, Ilyushin proposed to develop a patrol aircraft based on the Il-114 as soon as possible. There have already been developments in this direction, even the Il-114PL flying laboratory was created, but it did not work out with the patrol aircraft.

The second time the question was raised in 2018, when Ilyushin told about the possibility of upgrading Il-114 aircraft to special military versions. On its basis, it was supposed to design an electronic warfare aircraft.