Russians have announced that they would resume production of the A-50
1 March, 2024 A-50 A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft. Photo credits: Russian Aerospace Forces Russia plans to resume production of the ?-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft due to the loss of two planes.
The head of the State Corporation "Rostec", Sergey Chemezov announced this. According to him, the resumption of production is due to the need for these aircraft by the Russian Aerospace Forces, as well as the interest of foreign countries. He noted that production would definitely be resumed, as the companies have the appropriate capacity to produce both the radar station and the aircraft themselves.
A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft of Russian Aerospace Forces during takeoff.
Photo from the network
The A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft was created in the 1970s to improve the air defense of the USSR. It was developed on the basis of the Il-76 military transport aircraft, which was equipped with the Shmel radio system. The radar is capable of detecting both airborne targets at a range of up to 700 km and surface targets at a range of up to 300 km.
As of today, according to open source information, Russian Aerospace Forces had five A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, of which only four could be used. In addition, some of them are currently being upgraded to the A-50U version that should improve their capabilities in detecting air and ground targets.
A-50 AEW&C aircraft of the Russian Federation with the registration number RF-93966. Photo from the network
The issue of resuming production was raised after Russian Aerospace Forces lost two A-50 aircraft that were destroyed by the Ukrainian Air Force.
They were lost in the first two months of 2024. Both fell near the Sea of Azov. The first lost aircraft was an A-50U with tail number RF-50601, which was shot down by Ukrainian Air Defense Forces over the Sea of Azov on January 15, 2024.
The second A-50 was shot down over the Krasnodar Krai on February 23, 2024.
The aircraft's tail number and modification were not reported.