ℹ️ ➖➖➖ The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" (NATO reporting name: May) is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport. The Il-38 is an adaptation of the four-engined turboprop Ilyushin Il-18 for use as a maritime patrol aircraft for the Soviet Navy. It met a requirement to counter American ballistic missile submarines. The Communist Party Central Committee and the Council of Ministers issued a joint directive on 18 June 1960, calling for a prototype to be ready for trials by the second quarter of 1962. The fuselage, wing, tail unit and engine nacelles were the same as the Il-18 and it had the same powerplant and flight deck. An aerodynamic prototype of the Il-38 first flew on 28 September 1961,[2] with the first production aircraft following in September 1967. Production continued until 1972 when the longer-range and more versatile Tupolev Tu-142 derivative of the Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bomber had entered service.
📑 ➖➖➖ Some Western sources state that 58 were produced; the commander of the ASW squadron at Ostrov has stated that Soviet Naval Aviation received 35, of which about thirty remain in service with Russian Naval Aviation. Five were passed to India in 1977/8. In the mid-1990s it seems the Tu-204/Tu-214 airliner won a competition against the Beriev A-40/Be-42 amphibious plane to replace the Il-38 in Russian service, but a lack of funds crippled the project. More recently an A-40 variant seems to be under development to replace the Il-38. India received three ex-Soviet Naval Aviation Il-38s in 1977, with two more arriving in 1983. Indian modifications included fitting pylons to the fuselage side to carry the Sea Eagle anti-ship missile. The Il-38s of the Indian Navy has been sent back to Russia for upgrades. They will incorporate the new Sea Dragon avionic suite, incorporating a new radar, a Forward-looking infrared turret under the nose and an electronic intelligence system housed in a box-like structure mounted on struts above the forward fuselage. Three upgraded aircraft, designated Il-38 SD, have been delivered to the Indian Navy.

▪️🛠 Design Ilyushin
Introduction 1967
▪️👤 Crew: seven-eight
▪️📏 Length: 40.185 m (131 ft 10 in)
▪️↔️ Wingspan: 37.4 m (122 ft 8 in)
▪️↕️ Height: 10.17 m (33 ft 4 in)
▪️↔️ Wing area: 140 m2 (1,500 sq ft)
▪️⬇️ Empty weight: 35,500 kg (78,264 lb)
▪️↗️ Max takeoff weight: 66,000kg (145,505 lb)
▪️⚙️ Powerplant: 4 × Ivchencko/Progress AI-20M turboprop engines, 3,151 kW (4,225hp) each
▪️⏭ Maximum speed: 645 km/h (401 mph, 348 kn)
▪️🛢 Ferry range: 7,500 km (4,700 mi, 4,000 nmi)
Endurance: 13 hours
▪️⬆️ Service ceiling: 11,000m (36,000 ft)
▪️⏫ Rate of climb: 5.33 m/s (1,049 ft/min)
Armament
20,000 lb (9,000 kg) of disposable stores, including depth charges, mines, torpedoes and bombs.