Trumpeter 03903 Soviet transport plane Ilyushin A-50 Mainstay

The A-50 or - less frequently - Il-50 aircraft (NATO code: Mainstay) was created in cooperation with the Beriev and Iljuszyn plants. It is a Soviet, and later Russian, all-metal high-wing four-engine early warning jet aircraft. The drive was provided by four Soloviev D-30KP engines with a thrust of 118 kN each. The flight of the prototype took place in 1982, and serial production until 1992, ending with the production of about 40 examples of this aircraft. The A-50 was created as an aircraft for patrolling the airspace, but also as a flying command center or a machine used to improve communication in a given airspace. The basic version of the A-50 has a radar with a detection range of 650 km for air targets and 300 km for land targets. In terms of construction, it was based on the Il-76 aircraft, but the upper part of the fuselage was significantly strengthened in order to be able to install a rotating radar antenna on it. In the course of serial production, several development versions were created, the most important of which are the A-50M and A-50U, which have more modern avionics. At present (2017), the A-50 remains in service with the Russian and Indian air forces.