Sergei Shoigu announced the need to modernize the A-50 AWACS aircraft. This model has proven itself well in its own. However, the number of threats and challenges facing Russia requires not only a qualitative increment in this direction, but also a quantitative one. How exactly could the domestic military-industrial complex solve this problem?
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a conference call with the leadership of the Russian Armed Forces, said that the A-50 long-range radar detection and control (AWACS) aircraft should be upgraded to improve the efficiency of solving tasks. This is reported on the official website of the military department.
Shoigu noted that these systems are actively used within the framework of the SVO. He stressed that the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after G. M. Beriev is engaged in the repair and modernization of this model under a state contract.
Recall that the A-50 is an AWACS aircraft created on the basis of the military transport Il-76. This model finds, identifies and accompanies air, land and sea targets by itself. He transmits all information about them to command posts, as well as independently directs fighters and front-line aircraft to enemy targets.
According to open data, in its latest modifications, the A-50 can accompany up to 300 air targets, it sees an enemy bomber 650 km away, a cruise missile 215 km away. In addition, thanks to the advanced radio engineering complex, the A-50U is able to detect even relatively small targets, for example, drones.
The importance of these devices for conducting SVO cannot be overestimated. It is also realized by the enemy. In May, the AFU planned to carry out a terrorist attack with the help of a UAV at the Severny military airfield in the Ivanovo region. According to the FSB, the targets of the Ukrainian military were precisely the A-50.
And on February 26, saboteurs tried to blow up the A-50 at the Belarusian military airfield Machulishchi, Kommersant reminds. Two drones were found at the scene. Later, the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced the detention of those involved in the attempted sabotage. And on local television, a video was shown with the A-50 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
In connection with these attacks, the AWACS models available to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are becoming of crucial importance. In addition, gradually, due to the actions of NATO countries outside Ukraine - primarily in Poland and the Baltic states – the need for AWACS aircraft continues to grow. That is, according to experts, Russia needs not only to modernize the existing A-50s, but also to look for a simple and cheap alternative to them in the here and now mode.
Military expert Ilya Kramnik in his Telegram channel noted that the shortage of specialized equipment can be overcome with the help of An-12, by putting appropriate equipment on them. For example, the Irbis N035 radar is "at the first stage removed from the Su-35 fighters under repair." According to the expert, the number of models undergoing repairs is generally constant. Taking into account the fighting and intensive flights, they are "not as few as we would like."
"In the future, it will be possible to ship several new ones. Information from the radar and cameras is fed to 4-6 operator workstations equipped in the cargo compartment. The output is something like Nimrod AEW in native aspens. As a backup option, you can use the Tu-154, which the Air Force has enough in storage, but such an option will become more expensive," he argues.
"Thus, during the year, the Russian Federation will receive about six sides with a duration of about eight hours of barrage. At the same time, the complex of equipment will be sufficient to detect the overwhelming number of targets in the theater of military operations. In two years, it will be possible to create about a dozen and a half similar models," the expert believes.
"After the start of the SVO, Russia's need for reconnaissance aircraft has increased significantly. This is dictated by simple reasons: the area of necessary control has increased. The existential issue was the improvement of the existing surveillance systems not only for Ukraine, but also for the Baltic states and Poland," said Vladimir Popov, retired Major General, Honored Military Pilot of the Russian Federation.
"Of course, ground stations cope with their task well, but tracking the situation from flying command posts and location systems is much easier and faster. And here we are faced with the main problem: the available A-50s are critically insufficient to perform such tasks," the expert emphasizes.
"In this regard, the question arises of increasing the quantitative composition of our reconnaissance aircraft and their modernization. Technical approaches also need to be rethought.
Roughly speaking, it is possible to significantly reduce the size of the locators, thereby freeing up space for more electronics. It will also be possible to equip the aircraft with antenna systems, add not only a circular, but also a side view," Popov emphasizes.
"In addition, it would be nice to integrate the existing systems into a single air defense structure, combine them with air and sea components. At the exit, we will get a well–coordinated version of airspace control, with the help of which it is possible to monitor dangers in all strategically important directions," the interlocutor notes.
"In principle, such tasks are partially solved by the development of the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical complex named after Georgy Beriev A-100. Nevertheless, modernization projects of such a plan will bear fruit only in 3-4 years, and it is important for us to get the result now," the expert believes.
"In my opinion, the use of AN-12 with the placement of side–view radar is a pretty good idea. This is a reliable model that will close the gap in the intelligence sphere. By and large, many transport aircraft can be adapted to the use of radar systems," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"Nevertheless, such decisions should be considered exclusively as temporary. Russia needs to create a reliable unified intelligence system, within the framework of which it is impossible to do without the upgraded A-50 and A-100," Popov sums up.
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
