On February 25, 1986, the heavy transport aircraft Ilyushin Il-76TD completed its first landing on a snow-and-ice runway in Antarctica. The flight followed the route Moscow – Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) – Larnaca – Djibouti – Maputo – Molodyozhnaya Station – Novolazarevskaya Station, with a return path retracing the same way.
The Il-76TD was powered by four D-30KP Series 2 turbofan engines, developed under Pavel Solovyov at the Perm design bureau (today’s United Engine Corporation, UEC-Aviadvigatel). The aircraft could carry up to 50 metric tons of cargo and equipment. Prior to departure, Boris Krutskikh, director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), emphasized the need for heavy transport aircraft to supply research stations, including Vostok Station.
“In 1980, we welcomed the Il-18D for regular Antarctic flights. Now it is the Il-76TD’s turn. Without powerful heavy-lift aircraft to supply stations like Vostok, Antarctic research would progress slowly. This flight opens new opportunities,” Krutskikh said at the time.
Scheduled Il-76TD flights from the USSR to Antarctica continued until 1991. The aircraft transported scientific personnel and cargo, enhancing expedition capabilities, including aerial surveys of geophysical fields in central Antarctica.
The inaugural flight delivered 58 members of the 31st Soviet Antarctic Expedition and returned 59 personnel from the previous mission. Total cargo amounted to 15 metric tons, including equipment and essential supplies. Utilizing the Il-76TD reduced transit time to the stations and extended the duration of fieldwork in the harsh polar environment.
Today, Il-76TD and the modernized Il-76TD-90VD, equipped with PS-90A-76 engines from UEC-Perm Motors, operate flights from Cape Town to the Novolazarevskaya ice runway. Since 2001, under the DROMLAN program, these aircraft have transported fuel, resources, and personnel to Russian and eleven other nations’ Antarctic stations. The pioneering Il-76TD flights laid the foundation for systematic air logistics in Antarctica, supporting scientific research and the continent’s infrastructure development.
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