Il-96
ICAO IL96Russia's four-engine widebody, and the aircraft that carries its president. Live Il-96 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No Il-96 is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Ilyushin
- Role
- Government transport
- Class
- L4J — Landplane, 4 jet engines
- Crew
- 3
- First flight
- 28 September 1988
- In service
- 1993
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the Il-96
The Il-96 is the last Soviet-designed widebody, and its most significant role now is as the Russian presidential aircraft. The special flight detachment that carries senior officials operates a small fleet, and their movements are watched for the same reasons the American E-4B and C-32 are.
Commercially it was a failure — a handful were built, Aeroflot retired its passenger examples, and only Cubana kept flying them. But state operation has kept the line barely alive, and Russia has periodically announced revivals.
It is a rare aircraft, so this page will usually be empty. When it is not, it is likely to be a government flight.
Callsign prefixes
- RSD
- Rossiya Special Flight Detachment
- RFF
- Russian Federation Air Force
How to recognise it
- —A four-engine widebody with winglets — the only Russian aircraft of that description.
- —A long fuselage on a swept wing, superficially similar to an Il-86 but with winglets and different engines.
- —Government aircraft wear a white and blue scheme with a Russian flag on the tail.
Common questions
+ Is the Il-96 the Russian Air Force One?
The presidential aircraft is an Il-96-300PU operated by the Rossiya special flight detachment. It performs the same role for Russia that the VC-25 does for the United States.
+ Why were so few Il-96s built?
It arrived just as the Soviet Union collapsed, competing against far more efficient Western widebodies with better support. Airlines chose Boeing and Airbus, and only state operators kept ordering.
+ Is it still in production?
Barely. A small number have been completed for government use, and Russia has repeatedly announced plans to restart production, so far without a commercial line.