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Air ForcesRussia

A-50 (Mainstay)

Airborne early warning and control aircraftFielded 1987Pending verification
Air ForcesRUS
Identification silhouette. Not drawn to scale between entries.
Fact cardConfidence · Source
System
TypeAirborne early warning and control aircraft
Date of introduction1987
ProliferationAt least 2 countries
Crew5Med[1]
Armament and payload
Performance: ceiling15500.0 mMed[1]
Performance: power plant/engineEngines 26,455 lbs. thrust Soloview D-30KP turbofans (4 ea.)Med[1]
Performance: speed, cruising775.0 km/hMed[1]
Performance: speed, maximum, at altitude850.0 km/hMed[1]
Performance: takeoff run850.0 mMed[1]
Performance: landing roll450.0 mMed[1]
Variants
A-50MVARIANT HAS SHMEL-2 RADAR, RESISTS MOST CM, SIMILAR TO US AN/APY-1/-2.[1]
A-50E: HAS BEEN EXPORTED. AN ISRAELI MODIFIED VARIANT WITH NEW ENGINES AND PHALCON RADAR WILL BE EXPORTED TO INDIA.[1]
Summary

The Beriev A-50 (NATO reporting name: Mainstay) is a Soviet airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport. The existence of the A-50 was revealed to the Western Bloc in 1980 by Adolf Tolkachev.

Draft entry. Values come from the cited public sources and are awaiting editor verification.
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Operators
IndiaRussia
Sources
  1. A-50 (Mainstay) Russian Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Aircraft, U.S. Army TRADOC G-2 Worldwide Equipment Guide (ODIN)
    Published/updated 2026-03-20 · Tier 1 · checked 2026-10-10
Change log
  • 2026-10-10 Entry created from the Worldwide Equipment Guide (ODIN), bulk import