TSAMTO, July 26. The creation of a military control aircraft in the event of a nuclear war began in Voronezh on the basis of a wide-body Il-96-400M, in total, the troops will receive two such air command posts, RIA Novosti reports, citing a source in the defense industry.
"The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two air command posts based on the Il-96-400M. One is in production, " the agency's interlocutor said.
According to him, in the future, the order of the third air control point is not excluded.
The project is called "Link-3C", he said.
The radio complex of the aircraft will allow to deliver orders to the troops, including the crews of strategic aviation, calculations of mobile and mine launchers, crews of submarines-carriers of strategic nuclear weapons within a radius of 6 thousand km.
These "Doomsday" aircraft will replace the existing Il-80, built on the basis of passenger Il-86. The flight range of the new Il-96-400M will double compared to its predecessor.
Such aircraft are designed to evacuate the country's top leadership and control troops in the event of the destruction of ground and satellite infrastructure. The aircraft have the ability to refuel in the air and are accompanied by fighters in flight.
The United States also has flying command posts based on the Boeing 747, the agency notes.