Why do multinationals prefer the An-124 for airlifting anti-epidemic supplies? It's not just big.
A Russian Air Force An-124 transport plane landed in New York to deliver aid from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to the United States, and IL-76 transport planes have also been involved in many anti-epidemic supplies and personnel transportation missions. This has made the An-124 and Il-76 transport aircraft widely publicized. So, to carry out similar emergency transportation tasks, whether it is better to use civilian or military aircraft, whether to use the An-124 or slightly smaller Il-76 transport aircraft? There are both political considerations and technical factors involved.
Consolidated Russian media reports indicate that Russian military and civilian aircraft have been involved in the transportation of medical aid and personnel on many occasions. In addition to delivering medical supplies to the United States, the An-124 transport aircraft has also carried out the transportation of anti-epidemic supplies from China to France, the delivery of medical supplies from Guangzhou, China, to Belgrade, Serbia, as well as the delivery of personal protective equipment from China to Chekalovsky Airport in Russia's Moscow Region.
The Russian Air Force has also sent 10 Il-76 transport planes on missions to deliver aid and personnel to Italy, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations' Il-76TD and the Air Force's Il-76MD have delivered aid to China. The Czech Republic has also chartered Ukrainian cargo airline An-124 transport planes to transport emergency medical supplies from China.
From the above operations, it is clear that transportation missions between third countries, often flown by the airline's An-124s and financed by the purchaser, are purely commercial. In addition to the An-124, some countries also use cargo planes converted from passenger aircraft for transportation missions.
An-124, which was originally designed for military transportation, has the advantage of a very large cargo door and very low racks for quick loading and unloading of cargo compared to a freighter converted from a passenger plane. Of course, it is much larger than most passenger-to-freighter aircraft. Also, it may be cheaper to charter a Russian or Ukrainian aircraft for the same transportation task.
Russia's transportation tasks involving its own side tend to be handled by the military, especially when it comes to the transportation of military materiel and equipment and personnel. This is mainly considered the convenience and economy of use, after all, this is the sphere of responsibility of the military and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and has the ability to do so. Secondly, the effect of demonstrating strength will also be considered. In particular, the delivery of aid and personnel to a NATO country such as Italy is a powerful demonstration of Russia's strength and determination.
When it comes to the use of military aircraft, there is also a choice between the IL-76 and the AN-124, which is mainly a technical consideration. The An-124 used by the Russian Air Force and civil aviation is mainly the An-124-100 transport aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of 392 tons and a maximum payload of 120 tons. It has a range of over 11,000 kilometers when carrying 40 tons of cargo. In contrast, the IL-76MD has a maximum range of only 3,800 kilometers when fully loaded, requiring more stops for refueling when carrying intercontinental transport.
Overall, the An-124 has a more spacious cargo hold, a larger payload, and a longer range, but it also has higher requirements for airport runway lengths, and Russia has fewer of its own. The Il-76 has less cargo capacity and a smaller cargo hold, and many European and American airports have restrictions on its takeoff and landing due to its noisy engines.
Of course, this is only the Russian side of the transport practice, countries are different, in the end the use of their own military transport aircraft, civilian transport aircraft or leased foreign transport, need to take into account a variety of factors.