Beriev Aircraft Company and the Russian Air Force are working on a successor to the Cold War-era Beriev A-50 "Mainstay" Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) platform (detailed elsewhere on this site). The new entry is set to feature a powerful all-new Active Phased Array radar fit (named "Premier") by Vega Radio Engineering among other modern equipment. Like the A-50 before it, the A-100 will be based on an existing fuselage of the four-engined Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft family.
Equipment for the A-100 is being actively tested on an A-100LL "flying laboratory" which, itself, is built atop the framework of the A-50. The new radar sees the large, rotating radome fitted over the dorsal spine of the aft fuselage, ahead of the tail unit, and allows for tracking of both land and maritime targets, giving it a decided advantage over the battlespace. Externally, the A-100 continues the form and function established by the Il-76 series in that its flightdeck is sat over a short nosecone assembly, the wings are mounted high along the fuselage sides and a "T-style" tail unit is featured. The A-100 has a multi-wheeled undercarriage for ground-running and each wing mainplane is swept rearwards while managing the load of a pair of underslung engine nacelles.
The fuselage is taken from the Il-76MD-90A production model. The powerplant arrangement is 4 x Aviadvigatel PS-90A-76 turbofan engine units, each developing up to 32,000lb of thrust. Official specifications include an overall length of 152.9 feet, a wingspan of 165.7 feet and a height of 48.4 feet. Maximum speed is said to be in the 900 kmh range.
The A-100 is expected to reach the Russian Air Force inventory sometime around 2020. A first-flight is tentatively scheduled before the end of 2017 after which point a lengthy, intensive testing phase will commence to trial the mission equipment in an active manner.
The original A-50, currently (2017) in service with Russia and India, was introduced in 1984 during the latter stages of the Cold War and saw production of some forty aircraft from 1978 until 1992. The A-50 was used to succeed the earlier Tupolev Tu-126 "Moss" series (detailed elsewhere on this site).
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November 2017 - A first-flight of an A-100 aircraft was recorded on November 18th, 2017.
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
✓Special-Mission: Airborne Early Warning (AEW)
Specially-equipped platform providing over-battlefield Command and Control (C2) capability for allied aerial elements.
✓Special-Mission: Electronic Warfare (EW)
Equipped to actively deny adversaries the ElectroMagnetic (EM) spectrum and protect said spectrum for allied forces.
✓Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
✓Special Forces
Serving Special Forces / Special Operations elements and missions.
Length
152.9 ft (46.60 m)
Width/Span
165.7 ft (50.50 m)
Height
48.4 ft (14.75 m)
Empty Wgt
205,030 lb (93,000 kg)
MTOW
429,901 lb (195,000 kg)
Wgt Diff
+224,872 lb (+102,000 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Beriev A-100 (Premiere) production variant)
Installed:
4 x Aviadvigatel PS-90-76 turbofan engines developing 32,000lb of thrust each.
(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Beriev A-100 (Premiere) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
None. Special-mission equipment carried as well as countermeasures suite.
Supported Types
(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
A-100 "Premiere" - Base Series Designation; featuring fuselage of the Ilyushin Il-76MD-90A production transport; Vega radar fit.
A-100LL - Flying laboratory for equipment testing; based on A-50 Mainstay framework.
Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.
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Image from official United Aircraft press release.
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Russia (planned)
