Ilyushin Il-96-300PU of Rossiya at Vnukovo International Airport in late April 2015.
Ilyushin Il-96-300PU landing at Vnukovo International Airport in June 2008.

The Russian presidential aircraft are aircraft of the Russian presidential fleet used by the President of Russia and other government officials. The presidential fleet is operated by Rossiya Airlines.

The main presidential aircraft is the four-engined, long-range, widebody Ilyushin Il-96-300PU, a highly modified Il-96, with the two last letters standing for "Command Point" in Russian. Five modified Il-96s have been used as presidential aircraft, the first one was used by the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. In 2005, the second PUM aircraft was used by President Vladimir Putin. In 2010, the third president, Dmitry Medvedev, announced that he wanted to expand the presidential fleet with two more PUM1 aircraft, manufactured by the Voronezh Aircraft Plant. The aircraft were delivered in 2012 and 2014. Previously the president had used Ilyushin Il-62, Tupolev Tu-154, and Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft. One more PUM1 (registration number RA-96022)[1] was delivered in July 2016.

Description

The aircraft is a highly customized version of the standard Il-96, with extensive modifications for luxury and safety, including advanced communications systems and laser anti-missile protection.

Exterior and interior designs

The presidential aircraft formerly used the same color scheme as standard Rossiya aircraft, until Rossiya changed its mainline colors in April 2016. The presidential aircraft use the coat of arms of Russia or the Presidential Standard on the empennage instead of the standard flag of Russia.

The interiors of the aircraft are inspired by Russian art. It was reported that Vladimir Putin had personally inspected the ongoing work at the Voronezh plant while he was the Prime Minister.

Replacement aircraft

In May 2010, it was reported that the first new Russian airliner, the Sukhoi Superjet 100, could be used as the Russian presidential airplane in the future. However, the actual impact of these reports is unknown, and as of June 7, 2023, the president continues using the Il-96 aircraft.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Vahtla, Aili, ed. (17 July 2018). "Two Russian aircraft violate Estonian airspace near Vaindloo island (1)". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Postiimees pointed out that the aircraft registration number of the IL-96 which brought Putin to Helsinki for the Monday's summit was RA-96022, which matched that of the aircraft which real-time flight radar websites showed violating Estonian airspace.
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