To date, a large share of domestic aviation is still Soviet-made aircraft. However, this does not mean at all that the Russian aircraft industry has stopped and is not engaged in the modernization of its potential, but on the contrary - there are constantly reports of the beginning of the development or testing of new machines that keep pace with the times. A striking example of such a project is the A-100 "Premier", which has already been dubbed the "flying radar" by the masses. And although there is not much information about it yet, the data that already exists seems to be very promising.
Each aircraft in service with the Air Force plays its own role in ensuring the combat capability and victory of the army in the skies. In this case, the value of some types of machines is defined as key. Among the latter, one can single out the so-called airborne radio detection and guidance systems, which are often referred to in the literature under the abbreviation AWACS, which stands for "early warning and control system". The purpose of this electronic system, installed on aircraft, is to detect air, water and ground targets of the enemy at long distances, aiming a means of destruction or interception at a target, and also with its help, the actions of allied forces are coordinated.
In the eighties, the A-50 aircraft already appeared, which for several decades remained the main aircraft of this type. It has been actively operated for the fourth decade, and not only by the USSR and Russia - according to the Novate.ru editorial office, one device was rented to the Indian and Syrian Air Forces at different times. In addition, the A-50 takes an active part in various exercises, and the average person can see it during the parades on May 9 in Moscow.
However, for all its efficiency, this machine at some point became obsolete. Therefore, in the early 2010s, the development of a project under the working title "Premier-476" was started, the purpose of which was to create a multifunctional aircraft for aerial surveillance. In 2014, for the embodiment of the machine in a material form, the Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after V. I. G. M. Beriev. the first Il-76MD-90A aircraft was handed over to be converted into an AWACS type aircraft. And the radio engineering concern "Vega" is engaged in the production of the on-board radio engineering complex.
In addition to the aforementioned prototype, one A-100 flying laboratory was also created, which already made its first flight on November 18, 2017. Among the advantages of the new aircraft in comparison with its Soviet predecessors, one can single out the ability to transmit target data in a fully automatic mode, that is, without the use of voice communication, and also the A-100 is equipped with the latest dual-band radar with a phased antenna array: it has not only improved range detection, distinguishes targets more effectively, including the so-called stealth - that is, aircraft and cruise missiles "invisible" to most conventional radars.
After the A-100 flying laboratory first took to the air in 2017, development on it continued, and in February 2019, tests of a full range of aircraft equipment were launched, and at the moment aircraft designers continue the process of fine-tuning the equipment. Although the initial completion date for the assembly of the first prototype was set for 2016, the deadline was constantly pushed back. To date, the end of the tests is scheduled for 2024.
Considering the strategic importance of the new aircraft, as well as the innovative technologies that will potentially be embodied in it, there is not much information about the A-100 "Premier" in the public domain. In addition, in different sources, you can observe differences in the coverage of certain aspects of project development. Perhaps the events of the pandemic have somewhat suspended the pace of work on the machine. The last notable news about the A-100 was last year's announcement that they were going to start building a second "flying radar" for the Russian military space forces, but the exact timing of the launch and completion of the assembly of the new instance has not yet been established.
At the same time, the prospect of the project makes it possible to assume that it will not be frozen halfway through, and soon modern Russian cars will take off into the sky, not inferior and even superior in performance to their predecessors and foreign counterparts.
Want to know more about special flying machines? Then read: Aviation for special missions: aircraft with special functions