Russia Is Testing Its Giant Il-96 Again, PD-35 Engine Development Advances

Video from the channel Altitude Addicts about Ilyushin Il-96, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:12. Language: English. Video type: News.

Two Ilyushin experimental aircraft, the upgraded Il-96-400M and an Il-96-300, made a ferry flight to Khabarovsk airport, in Russia's Far East, for a flight-test campaign. According to the authorities of Khabarovsk Krai, specialists will evaluate the new avionics, navigation equipment and upgraded onboard systems, and will be able to compare the behaviour of the old and updated systems on similar flight profiles.

The Il-96-400M, whose prototype first flew in 2023, is the family's deepest modernisation: a fuselage stretched about 9.35 m relative to the Il-96-300, capacity for about 370 passengers in single class, four PS-90A1 turbofans and Russian-made avionics, the result of import substitution imposed by Western sanctions. In parallel, the PD-35 engine is moving forward: Aviadvigatel, the design bureau of United Engine Corporation, recorded a net loss of about 663 million roubles in 2025 due to the temporary suspension of programme funding, with revenue down to about 16.6 billion. Work has resumed; more than 2,300 components have been manufactured by additive manufacturing and the demonstrator has logged more than 50 test-stand runs.

The PD-35's gas generator will form the basis of an engine family, including the lower-thrust PD-26. Since a new wide-body aircraft built around the PD-35 could take up to a decade, the Il-96-400M is emerging as a platform for a possible future re-engining.