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Hi-Tech Turns Fly-Tech: Russia Developing Hypersonic Flying Lab

© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankIl-76 military transport plane
Il-76 military transport plane - Sputnik International
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Russia’s giant Ilyushin IL-76MD military transport plane will soon become a hypersonic flying lab, the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta wrote, citing information the Gromov Flight Research Institute posted on its website on Monday.

An Ilyushin 76 aircraft during the final rehearsal of the opening of the MAKS 2015 International Aviation and Space Salon. - Sputnik International
Russian Il-76 ‘Gravity Defying’ Aircraft Outperforms Competitors
The plane’s overhaul is estimated at just over 198 million rubles ($2,605 million), the announcement said. It gave no further details.

The possible purpose of the planned modernization remains anyone’s guess, as all related research will definitely be kept under wraps, the newspaper wrote.

The Il-76MD transport plane was earlier selected as the base aircraft for the Beriev A-60 airborne laser laboratory.

In the 1970s a special aviation complex was established at Taganrog machine-building factory to develop airborne laser technology for the Soviet military.

The A-60 carries a Skif-D laser gun capable of destroying enemy missiles and spy satellites.

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