Russia’s latest Ilyushin il-112 military transport plane prototype will take to the skies for the second time in April, Head of the Ilyushin Aviation Company Yuri Grudinin said on Monday.

“We are going to certify Il-76, Il-114-300 and Il-112 planes, the production of which is being planned. In April, we will fly the first Il-112 plane at the Voronezh enterprise and will organize the serial production of il-112s at the Voronezh factory,” the chief executive said.

The Il-112V is the first military transport plane developed in Russia from scratch in the post-Soviet period. The work on the plane’s development has been going on since 2014. The Il-112V is designed to carry up to 5 tonnes of cargoes and transport personnel. Russia is developing the plane to replace An-26 and An-24 turbo-prop planes.

Ilyushin Aircraft Company reported in March 2019, the debut flight of the Il-112V plane was successful.