The Ilyushin IL-78 air-to-air refuelling tanker aircraft is a four-engine tanker principally used for in-flight refuelling. it was designed and developed on the idea of a similar predecessor, the IL-76, and has the Nato reporting name Midas. The maiden flight of IL-78 passed on 26 June 1983 and the aircraft entered into service in 1984. about 53 aircraft are currently operational worldwide.The IL-78 aircraft can refuel a most of four planes simultaneously on the ground. It also can be used as a military transport aircraft for air drop and air landing of cargo and crew.
The IL-78 is powered by four Aviadvigatel D-30 KP turbofan engines. every engine will turn out a maximum take-off thrust of 118kN. it's a two-shaft, low-bypass turbofan engine equipped with two spool compressor and mixed flow.
The D-30 KP turbofan engine is primarily used for short-haul airplanes for passenger transportation. The length and fan tip diameter of the engine are 3.98m and 1.05m respectively.
