The DPRK has begun assembling its A-50 airborne drones based on the Il-76.
There is no doubt that the DPRK has received all the necessary components from Russia, and the A-50 aircraft will allow Pyongyang to strengthen its air defense capabilities.
Satellite images of an air base in the DPRK showed an Il-76 being converted into a long-range radar detection aircraft. In particular, we are talking about the installation of the antenna, which, most likely, in the absence of a suitable boathouse, is carried out in the open air.
Planet Labs drew attention to the photo and came to this conclusion in The Drive, noting that work in this direction is the most likely compared to all other options related to the conversion of the Il-76. In particular, as of December 12, the aircraft has already been fitted with a structure similar to the Russian A-50 or Chinese KJ-2000, on which the radar antenna itself is to be mounted.
These robots were first spotted on satellite images on November 30 by Decker Eveleth, a research fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.
Given that these works are carried out on one of the three Il-76MD aircraft at the disposal of the DPRK. In other words, the redesign of such scarce military transport vehicles is possible only in order to obtain completely new capabilities that the DRLV aircraft can provide.
At the same time, the answer to the question of where the DPRK was able to get quite rare components to create such an aircraft is quite obvious – Russia. This is especially true in the context of the barter exchange between Moscow and Pyongyang for missiles, where the actual transfer of A-50 components is obviously only one of the items.
It is also possible that we are talking about a slightly greater functionality of this machine, which can also receive the functions of the Il-976 SKIP, a similar machine to the A-50, but designed for telemetry control during missile testing. The DPRK may also be most interested in the latter.
And in any case, Pyongyang’s acquisition of a surface-to-air missile adds additional capabilities to the DPRK’s air defense, especially in detecting low-altitude targets such as cruise missiles. In the end, the situation is quite similar to the strengthening of the Russian Federation’s defense by the transfer of Su-35 fighter jets, which allow Tehran to more reliably cover its nuclear facilities. And finally, against the backdrop of the DPRK’s own airborne missile system, it is quite expected that Russian aircraft and SAMs will appear in this country.
