IL-76 Special-Mission Modifications

Tons of kalibrs in service. Khinzal will be limited due to number of existing MiG-31K's. Maybe end up with at best a couple hundred. Khinzal though may be used on other platforms in the future so who is to say? Zircon isn't out yet and still being tested (very different than Kinzhal and more related to Kalibr but faster (significantly) and probably significantly more expensive so will be limited to more strategic assets. Kh-59 is entirely different and used for Airforce to hit targets the Khinzal won't be targeting.

Use these containers to protect the weapon.

Nice images, but not the real thing sadly...

Note the pointed tips of the actual Club missiles means these are the two stage subsonic cruise missile and supersonic rocket powered terminal attack anti ship missiles... rather nice looking weapons...

An IL-76 as a bomber: 

Nice footage of the 23mm guns being fired at ground targets.

Remember the Il-76 has two twin barrel 23mm cannon each firing at about 3,500rpm... so these two guns firing together will be firing about 120 rounds a second....

The gun is the same as that fitted to the newest Hinds with the chin mounted turret with the twin barrel 23mm cannon.

GarryB wrote:Nice footage of the 23mm guns being fired at ground targets.

Remember the Il-76 has two twin barrel 23mm cannon each firing at about 3,500rpm....

And is completely useless in any possible scenario which is why it's removed on all newly built airframes

PapaDragon wrote:

GarryB wrote:Nice footage of the 23mm guns being fired at ground targets.

Remember the Il-76 has two twin barrel 23mm cannon each firing at about 3,500rpm....

And is completely useless in any possible scenario which is why it's removed on all newly built airframes

Incorrect by all measures. It's main purpose is to fire special chaff and flare shells, which can create giant clouds of obscuring chaff dipoles and large clusters of flare decoys in mere seconds, and is said to be extremely effective. The only reason why we're seeing them replaced on Backfires is that the ECM suites developed outranges the dual 23 mm cannons by far, and the ECM radiation travels at the speed of light thus being able to defeat missiles quicker.

In modern warfare a single chaff cloud or single flare is not enough to be effective... modern IR and IIR guided missiles target patterns rather than hotspots... it is much easier to load up a few thousand rounds of 23 x 115mm cannon shells than fixed frames holding Chaff and Flare grenades.

The guns also have much better velocity and can be directed to position a chaff and/or flare cloud in a specific place relative to the incoming round.

At the very worst the two 23mm cannon have HE shells much more powerful than the shell fired by the US Navy Phalanx system at a fraction of the weight and almost double the rate of fire.

The rate of fire advantage is magnified because the weight of 6 x 20mm cannon barrels takes half a second to wind up to full speed so it does not fire bursts at the rated 4,500rpm... probably closer to half that, whereas the gas powered twin barrel 23mm gun fire at their full rate almost immediately and don't require a large heavy electric motor to fire.

The current models are getting DIRCMS added to protect from MANPADS, but to protect from small arms with armour would dramatically reduce the aircrafts range and payload performance... having a gun and self defence capacity and ability to bomb just makes it more versatile.

They should not have removed the rear guns from the new models of the Il-76. Recall Afghanistan and insurgents trying to
bring down transport planes. This sort of ground strafing ability is actually worthwhile against various sorts of militants even
if they are equipped with MANPADS.

The chances or Russia getting involved in some regional proxy war are not exactly zero.