The Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) are armed with about a dozen A-50 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. However, they are not always equally effective in detecting a large number of drones flying from afar, according to Sergey Bendin, head of the Moscow branch of the Commission on Aeronautics of the Russian Geographical Society.
He noted that the surveillance radar station (radar) on board is capable of surveying a huge space from a height of up to 10 km, "catching" any moving objects in the sky.
Such complexes are considered the most effective for coordinating fighter aircraft and other strike platforms, because the onboard "Shmel" radar has a range of up to 400 km.
But there is also a significant disadvantage — after a six-hour duty in the air, the AEW&C aircraft platform must be taken to the airfield for refueling and crew change. Drones use such "windows" at the first opportunity to carry out destructive raids.
For this reason, most of Russia's ground-based air defense systems operate by receiving targeting from radars mounted on high multi-meter masts, Bendin added.
The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has again postponed the decision on the serial production of new A-50 aircraft, stated Sergey Korotkov, General Designer and Deputy General Director of UAC.
Earlier www1.ru reported that a Mi-8T helicopter is being sold in Russia for the price of a Lada Vesta.