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Ilyushin Il 102

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Top speed
  
950 km/h

Wingspan
  
17 m

Cruise speed
  
850 km/h

First flight
  
1982

Range
  
3,000 km

Length
  
18 m

Engine type
  
Klimov RD-33

Ilyushin Il-102 Meet The Ilyushin IL102 The Most Gorgeously Ugly Combat Jet Ever

Ilyushin il 102


The Ilyushin Il-102 was an experimental jet-powered ground-attack aircraft designed by Ilyushin. This aircraft was never chosen for production, being surpassed by the Su-25, and only a few development prototypes were built.

Contents

Ilyushin Il-102 The Il102 Ilyushin39s failed answer to the A10 Warthog It lost

Design and development

Ilyushin Il-102 Ilyushin Il102 Photo and video Characteristics History

In 1967, the Soviet Air Forces drew up a specification for a jet-powered shturmovik or armoured ground attack aircraft. While Sukhoi designed an all-new single seat aircraft, the Su-25, Ilyushin proposed a modified version of their Il-40 of 1953 under the designation Il-42, which, unlike the Sukhoi, was a two-seat aircraft with a remotely-controlled rear gun turret. The design was rejected by the Soviet Air Forces, but Ilyushin decided to continue development as a private venture, renaming the programme Il-102.

Ilyushin Il-102 httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

The Il-102 first prototype flew on 25 September 1982, with a second airframe built for static tests, and carried out 250 test flights until it was grounded in 1984 when the engine life expired.

Ilyushin Il-102 Ilyushin Il102

The Il-102 was a low-winged monoplane with moderately swept (30 degrees) wings, powered by two Klimov RD-33I turbofans (non-afterburning versions of the engines that power the Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter). It was highly unusual for its time in having a rear gun turret, something not seen in ground-attack aircraft since the World War II Il-2 Shturmovik and Il-10, the Il-102's spiritual ancestors, controlled remotely by a gunner sitting in a cockpit above the trailing edge of the wing. The crew cockpits, engines and fuel tanks were armoured to protect against ground fire.

Ilyushin Il-102 172 scale Ilyushin Il102 Ground attacker competed with Su25

Although development was abandoned in 1984, the prototype Il-102 was publicly unveiled at the 1992 Mosaeroshow air show at Zhukovsky, being claimed to be available for export. As of 2005, the prototype was mounted on a pedestal and placed on display at the Gromov Flight Research Institute.

Specifications

Data from The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995

General characteristics

  • Crew: two
  • Length: 17.5 m (58 ft 2⅞ in)
  • Wingspan: 16.9 m (55 ft 5⅜ in)
  • Height: 5.08 m (16 ft 8 in)
  • Wing area: 63.5 m² (683.5 ft²)
  • Empty weight: 13,000 kg (28,000 lb)
  • Loaded weight: 18,000 kg (39,683 lb)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 22,000 kg (48,500 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Klimov RD-33I turbofan, 51 kN (11,465 lbf) each

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 950 km/h (513 kn, 590 mph)
  • Combat radius: 400–500 km (300–378 nmi, 345–435 mi)
  • Ferry range: 3,000 km (1,621 nmi, 1,864 mi)
  • Wing loading: 283 kg/m² (58.1 lb/ft²)
  • Thrust/weight: 0.58

    • Armament

  • Guns:
  • 1 × 30mm GSh-30-2 cannon externally mounted under fuselage
  • 1 × 23 mm GSh-23L cannon in remotely controlled tail turret
  • Bombs: 7,200 kg (15,873 lb) external stores in six wing bomb bays and eight external pylons (six under wing and two under fuselage)

    • References

    Ilyushin Il-102 Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA