August 29, 2007:
Venezuela is
trying to buy 98 Ilyushin-114 aircraft from Russia. The Ilyushin-114 is a twin
engine, turboprop aircraft with a max take-off weight of 25 tons. It can carry
up to 64 passengers, or 6.5 tons of cargo. Cruising speed is 500 kilometers an
hour, and it can stay in the air up to three hours, carrying a full load. With
a lighter load, it can be used for maritime reconnaissance, and stay aloft for
over five hours per sortie. The Ilyushin-114 was developed in the late 1990s,
to replace the 40 year old Yak-40 (a tri-jet aircraft that was much less
efficient, and costlier to operate). The Ilyushin-114 is much better suited to
military uses, as it can land on shorter air fields, and operate in harsher
conditions. Russia has officially denied the sale, indicating that negotiations
are still underway. Such a deal would be worth over $2 billion to Russian
manufacturers.