Work continues at Pyongyang Airport to create an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Russian Il-76. This is confirmed by satellite images from Maxar Technologies, writes TWZ.
Judging by the photo, in November 2024, the aircraft was probably in a hangar. The Il-76 remained there until the end of February 2025. In March, it was rolled out with the radar antenna fairing already installed. Later, the AEW&C aircraft was towed to the taxiway.
TWZ author Thomas Newdick suggested that North Korea received technical support from China and Russia.
Russia may have given North Korea access to some of the technologies of the A-50 AEW&C aircraft and the more advanced A-50U in exchange for weapons and ammunition.
A-50U characteristics:
- Length — 48.27 m
- Wingspan — 50.5 m
- Maximum fuselage diameter — 4.8 m
- Normal take-off weight of the aircraft — 190,000 kg
- Engine — D-30KP
- Cruising speed — 800 km/h
- Service ceiling — 12,000 m
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