First flight of Il-78M-90A tanker

UAC THE FIRST new Il-78M-90A aerial refuelling tanker for the VKS, c/n 02-01, completed its maiden flight on January 25. The 35-minute flight took place from the Aviastar-SP production facility in Ulyanovsk. The Il-78M-90A (izdeliye 478) has been developed from the Il-76MD-90A (izdeliye 476) transport under a contract signed by the defence ministry in December 2012; the prototype was originally planned to fly in 2014. The programme was approved by the VKS in July 2013 and production of the first