The A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft was developed and manufactured by the Beriev Aircraft Research and Engineering Complex Joint Stock Company based at Taganrog in the Rostov Region of Russia. The A-50 aircraft was developed from the llyushin Il-76MD military transport aircraft manufactured by the Ilyushin Aviation Complex Joint Stock Company based in Moscow, of which Russia operates about 250 aircraft.
The aircraft is known in the west by the NATO codename Mainstay. Beriev aircraft normally carry the Russian designation Be- followed by the number, however, the A-50 aircraft retained the well known A-designation which Beriev allocated to the original prototype. The A-50 entered service with the Russian Air Force in 1984. The latest version, the A-50U was shown in 1995.

MISSION:The A-50 aircraft is intended to detect and identify airborne objects, determine their co-ordinates and flight path data and transfer the information to command posts. The A-50 also acts as control centre in guiding  fighter-interceptors and tactical air forces aircraft to combat areas in order to attack ground targets at low altitudes. The role of the A-50 is comparable to that of the United States E-3 Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning system developed by Boeing.

PERFORMANCE: The high flight performance of A-50 is ensured by state-of-the-art aerodynamic configuration of the Il-76 MD, its base version.
The A-50 carries out patrol missions at an altitude of 5,000 to 10,000 metres. The patrol service ceiling (which provides a measurement of the altitude above which the maximum rate of climb has fallen to an impractically low value) is 10 kilometres. The maximum flight range of the aircraft is 5,000 kilometres and the flight endurance is 7 hours 40 minutes. At a range of 2,000 kilometres the A--50 can remain on patrol for up to 1 hour 25 minutes. The aircraft is manned by five flight crew and 10 mission crew.

The radar and guidance systems have the capacity to track 50 to 60 targets simultaneously and to guide 10 to 12 fighter aircraft simultaneously

The A-50U airborne radar warning and guidance system is the Schnel-M produced by Vega. It consists of: 

radar station

data reduction system<

interrogator-responder and signal transmission system

digital computer complex

dentification friend or foe (IFF) equipment

command radio link to guide fighters

encoding communication system

radio communication equipment

encoding communication system

telemetry/code equipment

registering equipment

FLIGHT CONTROL AND NAVIGATION  The aircraft is fitted with the NPK-T flight control and navigation system used to ensure air navigation during all flight stages in all-weather day and night and all-year operations performed at all geographical latitudes. The system also provides flight control and navigation data intended for mission specific systems and equipment. 

SELF DEFENCE The A-50 is fitted with a self-defence system when flying en-route and over patrol zones. The self- defense system ensures protection from guided and unguided weapons of the enemy's fighters attacking the aircraft from its front and rear hemispheres. The self-defense system includes an electronic countermeasures system.
The aircraft can also be protected from the enemy's fighter aircraft via guidance of friendly fighters. The aircraft radio and electronics systems are robust against hostile jamming and provide good combat performance in dense electronic countermeasures environments.

Characteristics

Crew: 7
Length: 49.59m (152 ft 8 in)
Wingspan : 50.50 m (165 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 300 m² (3,228 ft²)
Empty weight: 75,000 kg (374,000 lb)
Max takeoff weight : 170,000 kg (374,000 lb)
Powerplant: 4× Aviadvigatel PS-90 A turbofan, 157 kN (35,200 lbf) each
Maximum speed : 800 km/h (500 mph)
Range : 6,400 km (4,000 miles)
Service ceiling : 12,000 m (39,360 ft)

More Links for this aircraft:

Mainstay at FAS

Mainstay at SpyFlight

Mainstay at Airforce Technology

Photos at Globalsecurity

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