The news that the A-50 AWACS aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces suffered successive losses is alarming. According to reports, Sergei Chemezov, General Director of Rostec, announced that Russia plans to resume production of the A-50 AWACS aircraft. This decision was made not only because of the urgent needs of the army, but also because of the needs of the export market.
Despite the fact that many countries are armed with similar large AWACS aircraft, the Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft has its own peculiarities. It is not just a simple modification of the Il-76 transport aircraft, but has been specially designed and optimized to have a more advanced electronic reconnaissance system and communications equipment. There is no record of exports of this large Russian-made AWACS aircraft, and there are no public reports showing which countries are interested in it, so Sergei Chemezov's reference to export needs needs to be further verified.
However, it is undeniable that the Russian Aerospace Forces have recently suffered heavy losses from A-50 AWACS aircraft. Although the Russian Ministry of Defense did not admit it, it is widely believed that in recent times, the Russian Aerospace Forces have lost a number of A-50 AWACS aircraft. Among them, an A-50 AWACS aircraft hit by Ukraine ** with a multi-rotor UAV in Belarus at the beginning of last year, if it is not repaired, then the losses of the Russian Aerospace Forces in relation to A-50 AWACS aircraft have already reached 3.
This is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Russian Aerospace Forces. Before the start of the war, they had not many A-50 AWACS aircraft on hand, only 9, and there was no guarantee that all of them would be available. In addition, the continuous sorties of the Ukrainian army have caused problems in Russia's front-line air intelligence capabilities, and the Russian army's ability to obtain front-line air intelligence has been challenged.
It is worth mentioning that the Russian Aerospace Forces have stopped involving A-50 AWACS aircraft in combat and have switched to drones to perform related tasks. However, the performance of Russian-made UAVs is worrying, and it is difficult to replace the work of the A-50 AWACS aircraft. The performance of the Ukrainian army is also impressive, not only shooting down a number of Russian warplanes, but also showing great strength and strong will.
Faced with this situation, Russia plans to resume the production of A-50 AWACS aircraft in order to make up for losses and enhance the ability to obtain air intelligence. However, the war is far from over, and the future remains uncertain. But in any case, the struggle between the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Ukrainian army will continue, and their actions will determine the course of the future.