According to U.S. federal government sources, the official date of the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and the end of the undeclared Cold War, was December 1991. But even before that, in December 1990, the United States had begun distributing taxpayer funded humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union, via the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere).
USAID photo, date and location not given, but you can see by the 1980s Ford pick-up marked with the Marriott Hotel logo that it’s possibly somewhere in the U.S.
Russian Ilyushin Il-76 (NATO reporting name Candid) cargo planes were allowed onto U.S. territory to be loaded with Project HOPE supplies. I assume that the USAID photos seen here are from the December 1990 to December 1991 period, as the planes still carry the flag of the Soviet Union on their tails.
Tail-end of Russian Il-76 filled with Project HOPE supplies. USAID photo.
I discovered that USAID itself does not talk about the deliveries to the USSR during the last year of the Cold War, referring only to the former republics (like Russia), or the ‘former’ Soviet Union, when talking about their taxpayer funded deliveries.
Project HOPE was created during the early years of the Cold War, in 1958, by the United States. Its mission statement was to help poorer countries with healthcare needs.
Soviet II-76 Candid, photo released by NATO in January 1977.
Sometime during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, 1979-89.
Soviet II-76 Candid, photo released by NATO in April 1983.
Il-76, NATO reporting name Candid.
Soviet II-76 Candid, photo released by NATO in January 1988.
Ukrainian Il-76 in United Nations ‘peacekeeping’ service on Moi International Airport, Mombasa, Kenya, November 1992.
From U.S. Army FM 44-80, Visual Aircraft Recognition, July 1993 edition.
A Russian Il-76 delivers humanitarian aid at Goma Airport (then part of Zaire), for the Rwandan refugees, 03AUG1994. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Val Gempis.
Another contracted Il-76 delivers humanitarian aid from Canada on Goma Airport (then part of Zaire), for the Rwandan refugees, 03AUG1994. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Marvin Krause.
Russian Il-76 off-loads NATO-Canadian military equipment on Kigali Airport, Rwanda, 05AUG1994. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Marvin Krause.
Russian Il-76 serving in the United Nations ‘peacekeeping’ operations, Sarajevo Airport, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 09JUN1995. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Michael J. Haggerty.
Russian vehicles roll off an Il-76 onto Tuzla Air Base, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 12JAN1996. USAF photo by Senior Airman Ken Bergmann.
Notice the military versions of the Il-76 have tail guns, while the silly-vilian (civilian) versions do not.
A Russian Il-76TD delivers humanitarian aid on Roberts International Airport, Liberia, under the guard of U.S. Marines. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Nathan E. Eason, 14AUG2003.
A contracted Il-76 delivers supplies to U.S. forces on Mosul, Iraq, 19SEP2003.
A derilict Iraqi Airways Il-76 sits on the tarmac of Baghdad International Airport. After Desert Storm, the U.S./NATO imposed a ‘no-fly’ zone over Iraq, including Iraqi civilian airline traffic, effectively killing Iraqi Airways. That changed in 2006. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Scott Sturkol, 21OCT2003.
The Il-78 (NATO reporting name Midas) is the aerial fueler version of the Il-76.
Indian Air Force Ilyushin IL-78MKI Midas aerial refueler on Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, 29JUL2004. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew Hannen.
Navigator station on the Indian Air Force IL-78 Midas. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew Hannen, 30JUL2004.
Inside the cargo area of the Indian IL-78 Midas. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew Hannen, 30JUL2004.
An Il-76 delivers a Mi-2 crop-duster on Baghdad International Airport, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by First Sergeant Robert Heberling, 03MAY2006.
Contracted Il-76 unloads supplies for U.S. forces in Iraq, 20MAR2008. USAF photo by Sabrina Johnson.
A contracted Il-76TD sits next to USAF C-17s on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 19NOV2009. USAF photo by Senior Airman Felicia Juenke.
South Carolina National Guard personnel arrive on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, 10JUN2012. Behind them, amid the gaggle of V22 Ospreys, is a Russian Il-76. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Caycee Watson.
Ukraine Crisis: February 2014 (NATO backed coup) to present.
In 2015, Russia began using the new Il-76MD-90A.
In May, 2015, the U.S. Agency for International Development used an Il-76 to deliver humanitarian aid to Nepal, following a devastating earthquake. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Melissa B. White, 08MAY2015.
NATO video, NATO-Belgian troops take a ride on a Ukrainian military Il-76MD, 23OCT2015:
Russia uses Il-76MD hospital aircraft called ‘Scalpels’, to return Russian journalists and military personnel who’ve been wounded in the NATO instigated Syrian ‘civil war’.
Candid reports for duty with the USAF in Kuwait, 11MAR2019. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Robert Cloys.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Robert Cloys, 11MAR2019.
USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Robert Cloys, 11MAR2019.
An Il-76 working for the USAF on Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, 09JUL2019. South Carolina Air National Guard photo by Captain Stephen Hudson.
USAF time-lapse video by Technical Sergeant Michael Mason, loading a contracted Il-76 in Kuwait, 09JUL2019:
In August 2019, a Ukrainian Il-76TD was blown up by rebel forces in Libya. The NATO instigated ‘civil war’ is still raging, and believe it or not both Ukraine and Russia support the NATO approved ‘government’ forces!
Russian Defense Ministry video of Il-76 rough-field landing/taking-off, 2019:
In March 2020, Russia sent nine Il-76s to NATO-Italy, carrying medical personnel to help NATO-Italy fight the so-called covid pandemic.
Il-76MD water bomber.
In Summer 2021, Iran sent a waterbombing Il-76TD to NATO-Turkey to help fight wildfires.
In 2021, Russia announced it will overhaul six of India’s Il-78MKI Midas tankers.
Russian Defense Ministry video of Il-76 airborne troop operation, during wargame in Belarus, September 2021:
Palettes of CoViD-19 vaccines were delivered to Yemen, using an Il-76. This included vaccines paid for by U.S. taxpayers through USAID. A previous delivery was made in August 2021. They were delivered by the UN-WHO/Gates Foundation/World Bank’s Gavi Alliance. Photo by Drew Sullivan, 20DEC2021.
Pakistani Il-78s being upgraded to MP standard in Ukraine, photo posted February 2022.
Photo via UARussia (United Aircraft Russia), November 2022.
Russian news report about newest Il-76, the Il-76MD-90A, the video shows the roll-out of the 18th ‘MD-90A’ on 29NOV2022:
The fifth production Il-76MD-90A, of 2022, made its first flight on 04DEC2022. Since 2014, at least 18 of the new Candids have been built.
On 10DEC2022, Russian Aerospace Forces took official possession of two new Il-76 aircraft, one an upgraded Il-76MDM, the other a new build Il-76MD-90A. The ‘MD-90A’ has a new designed wing, strengthened landing gear, more efficient turbines, a ‘glass cockpit’, and an electronic defense system against anti-aircraft missiles.
U.S. Air Force personnel de-ice a Russian Il-76 on McChord Air Force Base, Washington, before its flight to Kansas, 24OCT1995. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow.
Russian troops off-load their gear on McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, 24OCT1995. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow.
Russia’s 27th Guards Motorized Rifle Division troops march on McConnell AFB, Kansas. USAF photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow, 24OCT1995.
In October/November 1995, Russian Ilyushin 76 cargo aircraft landed in Illinois, Kansas and Washington, loaded with Russian troops!
A Russian IL-76 takes off from McChord AFB, Washington, heading for McConnell AFB, Kansas, 25OCT1995. USAF photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow.
A Russian Il-76 sits on Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. USAF photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow, 01NOV1995.
Russian officers try to explain to the local news media in Kansas why they are on U.S. soil. USAF photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow, 01NOV1995.
Russia’s 27th Guards, Motorized Rifle Division board their IL-76 transport at McConnell AFB, Kansas, United States. USAF photo by Senior Airman Tony Jergens, 01NOV1995.
Two Russian IL-76 transports on McChord AFB, Washington. USAF photo by Senior Airman Steve Thurow, 01NOV1995.
Russian troops going home, unload their souvenirs of their ‘invasion’ of the U.S., before boarding the Il-76 waiting to take them back to Russia. USAF photo by Senior Airman Tony Jergens.
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