I guess the question "why wouldn't they just build the A-100 instead?" has about the same answer as "why don't they just build thousands of T-14 tanks?". They can't. Partly perhaps because it needs Western electronics, which are difficult to obtain.
That aside, restarting production of a large and complex aeroplane is going to take years.
That aside, restarting production of a large and complex aeroplane is going to take years.
It's built on an Il-76 base, which is still in production. So my guess is that the base plane isn't probably that bad.
Plus, there are gonna be existing Il-76 planes that I assume that they could convert.
The A-50 hasn't been produced in over 30 years, though. So this isn't gonna be just rehiring some people who have been doing something else for a few years. This is restarting Soviet-era production.
Saying it hasn't been built in 30 years is a bit misleading. Although the base Il-76 airframes may be that old, the latest substantial avionics upgrade (designated A-50U) is less than 15 years old or so (first delivery in 2011), which isn't too bad for military and aircraft systems. A lot of the E-3 equipment is older. That is not to say it is more capable than the E-3, it probably isn't, but I'd say a fully functioning A-50U should not be underestimated. It's even got toilets! Then again, it is also not clear to me that any "U" models are currently airworthy.
But the point is they can't use the 2011 blueprints if it needs a lot of modern electronics.
I'd bet they really end up cobbling together a couple more from the scrap heaps they parked years ago. At one point they had a couple dozen. But it seems only a few were operational.
Nothing about this is "necessary"
That's an extremely ungenerous interpretation of the headline, and it's wrong.
They are necessary for the Russian war effort, because sanctions are preventing the manufacturing of a modern replacement, which is what the headline is in reference to.
Now, you may feel the war is unnecessary, and I would go further by saying it's prosecutors and planners should be hanged from the neck, until dead.
But again, that's not relevant here.
Woosh
Necesarry to hide putins lies
Also, for some comedic relief, there is a "Combat Approved" episode about the A-50. "Combat approved" is a youtube channel making unbelievably (though unintentionally) funny parodies of documentaries. Everything Russian is the absolute best, the old Russian stuff is decades ahead of anything the west is currently developing, etc. The impressive thing that they can say all this with a straight face. They have lots more of these hilarious episodes, plus dozens of short clips of aircraft landing and taking off, and some live-firing exercises.
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