History of Science and Engineering Annotation << Back Aircraft «Ilya Muromets»: Import Substitution Against Import Lyssakov N.D., Lyssakova E.N. The article analyzes the historical aspects of organizing the engineering and operating of «Ilya Muromets» aircraft, taking into account the diffi culties of import substitution in the realities of the First World War. Research methods: study of bibliographic sources and documents of the Russian State Military Historical Archive. The text of the article contains historical information about orders of various materials abroad, quotes from the memoirs of direct participants in the described events, dating mainly to 1916. It was concluded that faced with various diffi culties in purchasing, delivering, repairing foreign components for «Ilya Muromets» aircraft, creating opportunities for import substitution with incredible efforts, defending fundamentally new ideas in aircraft engineering, Russian aviation received a hard-won historical lesson and unique historical experience. Consequently, in modern conditions, all state initiatives to support the aviation industry, the accelerated transition of civil aviation to homegrown technologies are historically correct, since aviation is a unifi ed defense and transport system that provides complex safety. Keywords: Aircraft «Ilya Muromets», military aviation, First World War. Pp. 27-33.