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Russia Falls Short of Military Goals With Only 7 New Il‑76 Aircraft Built in 2025
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russia produced seven new Il-76MD-90A military transport aircraft in 2025—its highest annual output for the model to date—but the total remains far short of what would be required to fulfill the Defense Ministry’s goal of establishing four new aviation regiments.
According to Defense Express, citing data from Russia’s Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), this brings the total number of new Il-76MD-90A aircraft delivered since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine to 24.
The report notes that annual production has gradually increased: five aircraft were delivered in 2022, six each in 2023 and 2024, and seven in 2025.
The Russian government first announced plans to expand its military transport aviation (MTA) forces in 2021, aiming to create four new regiments over a 10-year period. Each regiment was expected to consist of three squadrons, with nine aircraft per squadron—totaling 108 aircraft.
At the time, Russian state media reported that the regiments would be equipped with a mix of An-26, Il-76, and possibly Mi-26 aircraft. However, the expansion strategy has been consistently hampered by manufacturing delays.
According to Defense Express, a 2012 contract called for 39 Il-76MD-90A aircraft to be delivered by 2018. Only four were actually delivered in that period. A revised plan targeting 13 deliveries by 2021 also fell short, with only three delivered in 2020 and two in 2021.
As of early 2026, Russia is believed to have approximately 110 Il-76 aircraft in service, including older Il-76MDs and newer MD-90A variants. Three regiments are reportedly equipped solely with Il-76 aircraft, while two more operate a mix of Il-76 and An-124-100 transports.
Despite the stated goal of forming four new Il-76 regiments, only one—the 600th Military Transport Aviation Regiment—has been publicly reported as forming. It is assigned to Russia’s 18th Military Transport Aviation Division, but there are no confirmed reports of the unit becoming fully operational.
In addition, the 235th MTA Regiment, formed in 2017, continues to receive new Il-76MD-90A aircraft.
Beyond aircraft availability, Russia appears to face significant limitations in training and personnel. According to Defense Express, it was not until 2024 that Russia restarted operations at the Ulyanovsk Higher Military Aviation School, which had previously served as a key training center for MTA crews.
The outlet notes that without accelerated training of aircrews and support personnel, aircraft production alone will be insufficient to scale the MTA fleet.
By comparison, the Soviet Union operated 385 Il-76 aircraft at the end of the 1980s. Current Russian efforts fall far short of those Cold War-era capacities.
Open-source Russian data cited by Defense Express suggests that from early 2022 to September 2023, Russia’s military transport fleet conducted approximately 8,000 sorties in support of operations in Ukraine. These flights transported an estimated 132,000 tons of cargo and 376,000 troops—primarily using Il-76 and An-124 aircraft.
Earlier on November 29, Ukrainian forces launched a coordinated drone and missile strike on Russia’s Taganrog aviation plant, damaging a key facility used to service Tu‑95MS strategic bombers and A‑50 early warning aircraft, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
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