China eyes purchasing Il-76 fire-fighting aircraft from Russia

China intends to purchase from Russia two Il-76 aircraft to fight fires, the Emergency Situations Minister of the Russian Federation Aleksandr Kurenkov told Russian journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of emergency departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in New Delhi, Report informs via TASS.

According to Kurenkov, China is also interested in training crews for these aircraft. “Their main proposals to the Russian side are the training of crews in the use of spillways. Russian practice is of great interest to colleagues in the fight against forest fires,” the minister noted. "This is in great demand, not only China, but also Türkiye is interested in this," he added.