Equipment / Aircraft / A-50U Mainstay

A-50U Mainstay

Transport Aircraftconfirmed

A-50U Mainstay

The A-50U Mainstay is a heavily modernized airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Il-76MD transport airframe. It features updated avionics, a new digital computing complex, and an improved Shmel-M radar system, significantly enhancing its ability to detect and track airborne and surface targets.

Specifications

TypeTransport Aircraft
OriginRussia
ManufacturerBeriev
Introduced2011
StatusIn service
Speed830 km/h
Range7,500 km
Crew15
Weight190 t

History

Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126 "Moss", the A-50 first flew in 1978 and entered service in 1985.

Operators

CountryQuantityConfidence
Russia7confirmed
India3confirmed

Text adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo from Wikimedia Commons; see the Wikipedia article for author and license.

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