Beriev/Ilyushin A-50 Mainstay

General

From Waypoint 4 by Dimitris Dranadis

Users: USSR/Russia, India(?)

Roles & Missions: The Soviet National Air-Defence command (PVO) had first entered the field of airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) operations in the mid-60s with the Tu-126 Moss, a conservative adaptation of the Tu-114 Camel airliner (itself a modification of the Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber). While adequate for the requirements of its time (and reportedly quite effective in directing intercepts of Pakistani aircraft under Indian service in the 1971 war), the Tu-126 was clearly facing obsolescence in light of the new hardware and tactics being adopted by the US Strategic Air Command (SAC) throughout the
seventies. SAC was very clearly beginning to emphasize low-level penetration tactics with its existing B-52 & FB-111 fleet, and weapon systems optimised for such an attack profile (the B-1B bomber and the AGM-86B cruise missile) would soon begin to roll of the production line, posing a severe problem for the PVO. A thorough modernisation of PVO equipment & tactics was therefore in need. Hardware-wise, the upgrade program revolved around the acquisition & operation of three main systems: The A-50 AEW&C aircraft, the MiG-31 interceptor and the S-300P (SA-10) SAM system. Of the three, the A-50 was
arguably the most critical node and the one that presented the greatest technical challenges.
The A-50 airframe was directly based on a stretched Ilyushin IL-76 transport, an aircraft in widespread service with the Soviet/Russian military transport aviation (VTA). The first prototype made its first flight in 1980, but protracted problems with the electronics suite did not allow operational deliveries to commence until 1984/85. It was estimated that at least 12 were in service by 1990, with an annual production rate of five machines per year and about 40 produced by 1992. The original Il-76 airframe was also used by other air forces as the carrier for their own indigenous AEW platforms. Iraq had an ambitious AEW&C development program based on the same aircraft. The first result of its R&D efforts was a standard Il-76 with a Thomson-CSF Tigre-G radar fitted on the ramp door, facing aft, and made its debut at 1989. The aircraft did not have a true fighter-control capability and thus was only an
airborne radar picket, data-linking its information back to ground-based air-defence HQs. This aircraft was designated Baghdad-1. The second Iraqi attempt was more fruitful: “Adnan-1” was a true AEW&C platform and
quite similar in appearance to A-50, with a fixed saucer dome housing two back-to-back radar (Tigre-G again?) antennas. Flight trials were accelerated by the PGW-II crisis and commenced by mid-December 1990. Three such aircraft were built between 1989 and 1991.

Strengths: There is little doubt that the A-50 represents an enormous leap in
Soviet/Russian AEW&C capabilities over the Tu-126. Low-level target
detection (particularly against low-RCS targets such as cruise missiles) and
ECCM capability is significantly improved, as is the multi-target tracking ability. The aircraft can reportedly stay aloft without refuelling for four to six hours and can remain airborne for another four hours with mid-air refuelling. A maximum range of 1,800 kilometers has been quoted, while the radar (originally an evolutionary version of the Tu- 126’s “Flat Jack” system, but subsequently significantly modernised) is quoted to have a maximum detection range of up to 600-800 kilometers for high-altitude targets and 200-400km at low altitude fighter-sized targets. An important feature of the aircraft (and a legacy from the Il-76 airframe) is the ability to use semi-prepared airstrips in wartime operations. This adds significantly to the operational deployment flexibility of the aircraft.

Weaknesses: Even in its latest A-50U version, the Mainstay is probably inferior to its E-3C Sentry sibling, particularly the RSIP-upgraded version. Maximum detection range is shorter, as is the ECCM and low-RCS detection capability. This is largely a result of the inferior state of Russian electronics, although the existing gap has been significantly narrow ed down in the last decade. The AEW&C system’s multitarget handling ability is also lower (150 targets simultaneously), partially because there are fewer console operators on
board (This deficiency is not currently modeled in any version of computer Harpoon.).

Employment & Scenario Use: Contrary to its predecessor (Tu-126) and particularly to its Western equivalent (E-3), the A-50 has had a relatively uneventful career so far, in 2 decades of service with the PVO & VVS. Most of the aircraft were typically based in Pechora in northern Russia, executing patrols over the entire Arctic border (in concert with Tu-128s, MiG-31s and Su-27s) and in particular over the highly valuable Kola Peninsula region. Detachments of 2-4 aircraft were occasionally employed in other regions. For example, such a detachment was observed operating in the GDR region from 1986/87 onwards, in cooperation with MiG-31 interceptors. Another detachment operated over the Black Sea in 1991 during operation Desert Storm, reportedly monitoring the collation air offensive and in particular the employment of stealth aircraft and cruise missiles.
It is unclear if the Baghdad-1 aircraft was used operationally by Iraq or remained a testbed. Of the three Adnan-1 aircraft, one was destroyed on the ground by Allied air attacks and the other two fled to Iran, together with the majority of the Iraqi air force.
In 1994 NATO proposed modifying the operational A-50 aircraft with NATO-compatible communications & IFF equipment, in order to enable
Russia to provide AEW&C support to future United Nations or coalition
operations. The Russian response has not been clarified.
In early April 2000, the Russian government reached a preliminary agreement to lease two A-50 aircraft to the Indian Air Force, to step up its aerial surveillance on the border with Pakistan. India conducted trials of the A-50 in July 2000, and the results were reportedly as “satisfactory”. In February 2004 India and Israel signed an agreement for IAI to fit three Il-76 aircarft with the Phalcon system. This deal still needs to be aproved by the United States and a similar previous proposal was rejected. In September 2000 it was reported that Rosvoorouzhenie, Russia’s arms-exporting company, had entered negotiations with China to lease a pair of A-50 aircraft, as a replacement for the Israeli Phalcon. Eventually however the deal was dropped.

Equipment: A-50 Mainstay-A (1984) - DB2000 v6.4.1

Radar

Electronic Warfare

Versions (H3-DB2000)

A-50 Mainstay-A (1984): As described
A-50 Mainstay-B (1989): New Schmel-2 radar (300nm max)

Current Service
All available A-50s are currently operating from Ivanov airbase, west of Moscow. Given the current air operations in Iraq, it is not unlikely that a detachment may be operating in the southern Russian regions to monitor UK/US air activity.

DB2000 Entries: