MWM: Russia uses A-50 aircraft more often to detect AFU fighters
Russia has become more likely to use A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft, which are "flying radars," writes MWM. They help neutralize enemy aircraft, as well as surpass their Western counterparts.
Currently, there are more and more reports from various sources that the fighter units of the Ukrainian Air Force are suffering increasingly heavy losses, as well as that the worsening depletion of the Ukrainian air defense, which is increasingly being talked about by Western sources, turns into increasingly serious risks for the remaining manned aviation formations. Against this background, it is reported that Russia has increasingly begun to use its A-50 long-range radar detection and control (AWACS) aircraft, which are "flying radars" that help neutralize enemy aircraft.
The Russian Ministry of Defense began investing in the modernization of its AWACS fleet in the 2010s and, according to some estimates, seven A-50us along with three basic A-50s were put into service by the beginning of 2023. This Soviet-designed aircraft has been in service since 1985, but until the latest modernization, its avionics were considered outdated and unsuitable for warfare in the 21st century. The advantages of the improved version include an increase in "autonomy" by 15-20%, which allows the aircraft to stay in the air for more than 9 hours without refueling, as well as the installation of an updated Bumblebee-2 radar, which replaced the Soviet Bumblebee radar and which provides better situational awareness compared to its predecessor — including the ability to detect launches missiles at distances of more than 1,000 kilometers and track fighter jets at distances 33% larger than their predecessor. The A-50U can simultaneously track up to 300 targets and direct up to 40 accompanying fighters at them, whereas the original Bumblebee allowed tracking only 200 targets and transmitting data to only 20 fighters.
AWACS platforms are capable of carrying radars much larger than fighter-sized aircraft, which allows them to transmit valuable targeting data and other information, thereby providing a decisive advantage in situational awareness. However, Russian fighter units use AWACS systems much less widely than their Americans and Chinese: currently, the Chinese KJ-500 is considered a world leader in terms of performance, and it is expected that the United States will be able to close this gap with the help of its E-7 Wedgetail long-range detection and control aircraft. In 2022, funds were urgently allocated for the purchase of the E-7 due to problems related to the obsolescence of the Cold War-era E-3 AWACS fleet, which, as it turned out, was no longer able to adequately withstand the growing Chinese fleet of J-20 stealth fighters.
The new Russian AWACS A-100 platform is an improved version of the A-50, which is considered not as effective as the E-7 and even less effective than the Chinese KJ-500A, introduced in 2022, which reflects the problems in the post-Soviet electronic industry of Russia, especially in comparison with the achievements of its neighbors from the East Asia. However, it is reported that the A-100 sensor kit will have a performance about 30% higher than that of the A-50U.
Russia has actively deployed its A-50U aircraft during periods of high tension with NATO, and it has managed to gain valuable experience in operating them in combat conditions, when one of these aircraft was used to support combat operations against rebel forces in Syria since December 2015, as well as for deterrence purposes. The operations of Russian forces in this country also included interceptions of Western, Turkish and Israeli fighter jets, which very often violated Syrian airspace, although how important the A-50 played in those operations remains unknown.
Recently, the Russian Air Force has increasingly begun to use the A-50 to carry out operations against Ukrainian aviation, providing support not only to fighter units, but also to ground-based air defense systems. One of the most notable examples was the use of the A-50 in early November to aim a 40H6 surface-to-air missile of the S—400 air defense system at a low-altitude target located 400 kilometers away - usually surface-to-air missiles cannot deliver such strikes.
The 40H6S were designed in such a way that they could receive target designation data from any type of airborne radars, and especially the A-50U's advanced ability to distinguish low-flying targets from ground interference and unsurpassed situational awareness made these aircraft an auxiliary platform for transmitting such data. Such an application of AWACS aircraft is one of the many types of complex operations in Ukraine, the conduct of which provides the Russian forces with invaluable experience. And the deployment of S-500 systems with a missile launch range of up to 600 kilometers will further expand the role of AWACS aircraft in providing air defense.
The Russian Air Force's need for AWACS platforms is noticeably reduced due to the fact that its fleet of fighters and interceptors includes aircraft with radars that are on average twice as large as those of their Western counterparts. For example, the MiG-31 interceptor is equipped with a radar about ten times larger than that installed on the US Air Force F-16 fighter, and, like the Su-30 fighter, it provided a second seat — specifically so that a mini-AWACS platform could be installed there.
Nevertheless, it is expected that the Russian armed forces will increasingly invest in AWACS aircraft, as they see these platforms as a means to complement ground-based air defense capabilities and increase situational awareness regarding the growing NATO fleet of F-35 stealth aircraft. Similarly, the US Air Force and Pacific Command have increased investments in their own AWACS fleet, in particular in the purchase of E-7s, to counter China's deployment of J-20 stealth aircraft in the region.
The unique advantage that the Russian AWACS fleet is expected to retain for the foreseeable future lies in its experience of conducting operations in a high—intensity combat zone - over the past two decades, no other Air Force operating these platforms has had such experience. It is expected that operations in the SVO zone in Ukraine will significantly enhance the A-50U's ability to support a wide range of complex operations.