The Ilyushin Il-80 (

NATO reporting name NATO reporting names are code names for military equipment from Russia, China, and historically, the Eastern Bloc (Soviet Union and other nations of the Warsaw Pact). They provide unambiguous and easily understood English words in a uniform manne ...

: Maxdome) is a Russian airborne

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or e ...

aircraft modified from the

Ilyushin Il-86 The Ilyushin Il-86 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-86; NATO reporting name: Camber) is a short- to medium- range wide-body jet airliner that served as the USSR's first wide-bodied aircraft. Designed and tested by the Ilyushin design bureau in t ...

airliner.

Development

The Ilyushin Il-80 has the NATO reporting name Maxdome (though some sources claim it uses the reporting name Camber, like the Il-86 passenger jet). The Russian reporting name for the aircraft is ''Aimak'', or ''Eimak'' (Mongolian for "clan"). The aircraft is believed to have first flown in the summer of 1985, with the first post-modification flight taking place on March 5, 1987, and deliveries starting later that year. In all, four aircraft are known to have been converted from Il-86s. They were registered CCCP-86146 through 86149, and were first observed by western photographers in 1992. Heavily modified from the

, the Il-80 (also referred to as the Il-86VKP) is meant to be used as an airborne command center for Russian officials, including the President, in the event of

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...

. The role of the Ilyushin Il-80 is similar to that of the

Boeing E-4B The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current "Nightwatch" aircraft, is a strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from the Boeing ...

. The Il-80 has no external windows (save those in the cockpit), to shield it from a nuclear blast and

nuclear electromagnetic pulse A nuclear electromagnetic pulse (nuclear EMP or NEMP) is a burst of electromagnetic radiation created by a nuclear explosion. The resulting rapidly varying electric and magnetic fields may couple with electrical and electronic systems to produc ...

.Taylor, Michael J.H. ''Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999-2000'', 2000. , pg. 156. Only the upper deck forward door on the left and the aft door on the right remain from the standard design. There is only one

airstair An airstair is a set of steps built into an aircraft so that passengers may board and alight the aircraft. The stairs are often built into a clamshell-style door on the aircraft. Airstairs eliminate the need for passengers to use a mobile st ...

door, instead of three. An unusual baffle blocks the aft cockpit windows. This may serve to block EMP or RF pulses. Unlike the standard Il-86 airliner, the Il-80 has two electrical generator pods mounted inboard of the engine

nacelle A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

s. Each pod is approximately 9.5 metres (32 feet) long and 1.3 metres (4 feet) in diameter. Both pods include landing lights. Like the E-4B, the aircraft has a dorsal SATCOM canoe, believed to house advanced

satellite communications A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

equipment, and a trailing wire antenna mounted in the lower aft fuselage for

very low frequency Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave as ...

(VLF) radio transmission and reception (likely for communication with

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN � ...

s).

Replacement

When the present upgrades have reached the end of their life, it is expected that a new airborne command post, based on the Ilyushin Il-96-400M commercial aircraft and delivered as the so-called

Doomsday plane Doomsday planeInside the President's Doomsday planes

, will replace them.

Operation

Upon completion, all four Il-80s were delivered to the 8th Special Purposes Aviation Division at the Chkalovsky Airbase near Moscow. As of 2011 three Il-80s remain in service. They are painted in the current livery of

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

, the Russian state airline; and carry international civilian registrations RA-86147, RA-86148, and RA-86149. The first Il-80, registration RA-86146, has been photographed without engines and is apparently out of service. As of 2011 the Il-80s remain based at Chkalovsky Airbase, located northeast of Moscow. The aircraft are rarely observed in operation, though at least one was seen at an

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show ...

. In December 2020, Russian media reported that radio communication equipment had been stolen from one of the Il-80s while it was undergoing maintenance.

Operators

; *

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

- 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division,

Chkalovsky Airport Chkalovsky is a military air base near Shchyolkovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located 31 km northeast of Moscow. In 1932-35, the state flight testing institute was relocated here from Khodynka, the Central Airfield. A reorganisation in ...

Similar aircraft

Boeing E-4 The Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post (AACP), the current "Nightwatch" aircraft, is a strategic command and control military aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The E-4 series are specially modified from the Boein ...

Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a United States Air Force airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, co ...

TACAMO TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) is a United States military system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear warfare to maintain communications between the decision-makers (the National Command Authority) and the tr ...

* Tu-214PU

References

External links

Il-80 (Il-86VKP) images - www.airliners.net
{{Ilyushin aircraft Il-080 1980s Soviet command and control aircraft Quadjets Aircraft first flown in 1987