During the Cold War, the Ilyushin Il-76 'Candid' was one of the Soviet Union's principal transport aircraft, designed to replace the older An-12. The Il-76 was very similar in size and performance as the US C-141 but had various characteristics which were actually superior to its rival. Due to the extreme nature of Russian climate and geography, the Il-76 has STOL capability as an important requirement, in the event it had excellent performance both in the cold Siberian conditions as in the hot-and-high environment of the Middle East. Although built also as a civil aircraft, a variety of military applications were soon to follow. Besides the transport variant, these include an in-flight refuelling tanker design designated Il-78 'Midas' and a Beriev-modified AEW aircraft, the A-50 which is described separately. The Il-76 has been heavily exported with customers including Iraq, Iran, India, North Korea, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Cuba, Algeria and the old Warsaw Pact nations while civil versions also served in a number of airlines from former Soviet client states. Large numbers of Il-76s were frequently seen in action in the Afghanistan War and production continues in Uzbekistan today.

The Il-76's maiden flight was on 25 March 1971, it entered service as the Il-76 'Candid-A' with an unarmed civilian conversion designated Il-76T 'Candid-A' (later improved in the Il-76TD). A follow up military transport was known as the Il-76M 'Candid-B' with troop and paratroop carrying capacity, equipped with the same improvements as the latest civilian version, it was designated Il-76MD. A stretched variant with new PS-90AN turbofans is the Il-76MF, this had most performance figures increased as well as the aircraft dimensions, it's civilian counterpart is known as the Il-76TF. Other variants included a number of applications for the Soviet space program as well as an airborne command post known as the Il-76VPK. Finally, the Il-78 'Midas' is a dedicated tanker with three refueling drogues, it is believed these are mainly for use in conjunction with the A-50 AEW aircraft.