When President Vladimir V. Putin travels abroad, as he did this week to North Korea and Vietnam to shore up alliances and foster security ties amid Russia's war in Ukraine, he typically rides in a Soviet-designed Ilyushin Il-96 series jet.
Because Putin's recent visit came so soon after two world leaders were killed in plane crashes – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Malawi's Vice President Saulos Chilima – a Kremlin spokesman recently said he felt the need to reassure Russians that Putin's planes were “very reliable.”
Although Russian airlines have been abandoning the Ilyushin planes in favor of newer Western models (neither of Russia's two major airlines, Aeroflot or Rossiya, currently has any Ilyushins in their commercial fleets), Putin appears undeterred.
In 2023, Putin flew a whirlwind day trip in an Il-96 accompanied by fighter jets to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Earlier that year, other planes from the government's Il-96 fleet were tracked stopping at airports in Washington and New York to rescue Russian diplomats who had been ordered out of the United States.
In 2018, Putin flew an Il-96 to Finland for a summit with former U.S. President Donald J. Trump and was accused of briefly violating NATO airspace.
Little is known about Russia's Special Aviation Squadron (also known as the 235th Separate Air Detachment), which is responsible for the Kremlin's aircraft, including Il-96 and Tu-214 aircraft and Mi-38 helicopters. Russian state media reports that the unit employs 2,500 personnel.
While the use of outdated aircraft may be disconcerting to outsiders, Putin may be trying to demonstrate Russia's resilience and strength by using Soviet-designed planes.
“The idea of being able to take to the skies at your own will with whatever equipment you want is an imperial idea,” said Adam Teich-Craft, a former Defense Intelligence Agency intelligence strategist and now a national security consultant.
