The A-50 AWACS is a behemoth with the IL-76 as its platform. Its wingspan reaches 50.50 meters, length 46.59 meters, height 14.76 meters, wing area of 300 square meters. Empty 119 tons, the maximum takeoff weight of 190 tons.
Overall, the A-50 was a rough flying machine. It used four D-30KP turbofan engines, each with 117.7 kN of thrust. Its maximum level flight speed was 785 km/h, and it usually flew at an altitude of 10,500 meters, with a takeoff glide distance of 850 meters and a landing glide distance of 450 meters. Fuel capacity reaches 70,000 kilograms, air retention time of 4 hours (without refueling, maximum weight takeoff, under the condition of 1,000 kilometers from the base), a refueling can be extended for about 4 hours, the range of more than 5,500 kilometers.
In the implementation of the mission, the A-50 is usually a long time circling flight in the 10,000 meters high altitude of the patrol track, each circling track from the center of the circle between the distance of about 100 kilometers. When refueling in the air, its flight performance becomes extremely poor. In addition, the amenities on the A-50 are extremely unfavorable for long flights. First of all, it is extremely noisy, which seems to be a common problem for Russian planes; secondly, there are actually no simple toilets, and it lacks the necessary rest and cooking facilities.
About 20 modified A-50M/U AWACS aircraft are stationed at Russia's Ivanovo airbase, 16 of which are still capable of flying missions. They are used by the Russian Air Force to guide and direct MiG-29s, MiG-31s and Su-27s for aerial interceptions. India once leased an A-50 for pre-purchase testing and comparison.
The A-50 (known to NATO as the "Medium-A") airborne early warning and control system is based on the Ilyushin Design Bureau's IL-76-MD transport aircraft, and therefore has similarities in aircraft structure and performance. radio communicator) and 10 operators (three to monitor the radar screen, four aircraft guides and three operators of electronic and communications equipment).
The rotating radome on the dorsal side of the aircraft was 2 meters high and 9 meters in diameter, and a weather radar and an aerial refueling tube were also mounted in the nose. Below the nose is a radar for navigation and map mapping. The forward fuselage is equipped with a satellite communications antenna and other specialized antennas for electronic warfare. The exterior of the aircraft's windows are purposely gold-plated to prevent radiation from strong electromagnetic waves from harming operators inside the aircraft.
The core system of the aircraft is the Vega-M Shmel pulse Doppler radar developed by the Moscow Research Institute of Scientific Research and Equipment Engineering, and other electronic equipment includes a color cathode ray tube display for the system operator, which some sources say is capable of displaying the target while classifying it as "friendly" or "enemy". Some sources state that this display can show the target while classifying it as "friendly", "enemy" and "unrecognized", as well as displaying the target's speed, altitude, direction and remaining fuel (limited to friendly aircraft).
In December 2000, the A-50Eh (Eh for export), a new variant of the A-50 early warning and control aircraft, was officially floated.
The "I" in A-50I stands for Israel, and since the late 1990s, the A-50M AWACS aircraft, production number 0093486579 and Russian military designation RA-78740, has been modified by the Beit Riyev Design Bureau. Beriev Design Bureau, was offered to Israel as a new platform for the A-50I. The modifications made to the aircraft by the BDO allowed the 100-ton monster to be fitted with the EL/W-2085 FELCON airborne early warning and control system developed by IAI's Elta Electronics subsidiary.
The modifications gave the A-50I (now known as the "4X-AGI") a new, compact fuselage structure, and significant modifications to the aircraft's vertical and horizontal tail. together,*** with an electronically scanned phased array radar designated EL/M-2075. Thus, three sets of scanning antennas are placed in the A-50I's radome*** to provide full 360-degree coverage.
By the time the program was suspended in July 2000, the A-50I had completed installation of the EL/M-2085 system. The aircraft was delivered to India for use after a purchase by an Asian country was blocked by outside forces.
Appearing at the Moscow Airshow in 1995, it was essentially similar to the A-50. But it replaced the earlier Shmel radar and the improved Liana radar with the Shmel-2 radar. This model has a passive mode for detecting hostile electronic signals, a fully computer-controlled three-coordinate pulse Doppler radar, and a digital system for detecting all airborne maneuvering targets (including their altitude).
The A-50U has the same operational capability as the E-3C and is seen by the US as a competitor to the E-3C. The radar is capable of detecting targets similar in size to the MiG-21 (with a radar reflective cross-sectional area of 3 square meters) within 230 kilometers and warships within 400 kilometers. 10 system operators can track the trajectory of 50 targets and direct their own Su-27s and MiG-29s to attack 10 of them. Limited by the fuel in the aircraft, the A-50U has a maximum lag time of four hours (1,000 kilometers from base).