Air command posts. "Doomsday Planes"
It will be able to stay in the air without landing for up to 3 days, and control the country’s nuclear triad from almost anywhere on the planet. What is the Doomsday Plane? - this is what airborne command posts are called.The idea of creating a mobile command post in case of war is not new. The issue of creating the so-called MCP, or mobile command post, began to be worked out almost immediately after the end of World War II. However, the first experiments to create MCPs did not bring any serious results. Basically, the theme of a ground-based control and communications complex consisting of several trucks was considered as a working option.
Later, the idea was rejected: a potential enemy could detect the movement of a convoy of cars using reconnaissance and aviation means. The failed idea of the desire to create mobile ground control posts was picked up and turned into the right direction almost immediately, and in the early 60s, the first samples of aircraft converted to communicate with troops on the ground began to appear.
The beauty of the solution was that the constant presence of such aircraft in the sky excluded any unexpected attack from the enemy, and even the worst scenario in this case did not look hopeless. If, for one reason or another, all ground communications and communication lines could fail, then several aircraft, converted into an air command post, could ensure the transmission of orders and guarantee a retaliatory strike. According to the plan, the CPSU had to provide at least two important conditions. Firstly, to establish a stable channel of communication between the top officials of the state and the troops and the most important government structures, and secondly, to guarantee the inevitability of a strike even in the event of a full-scale nuclear war.
The first Soviet VKP - turboprop Il-22, built on the basis of civilian Il-18 - turned out to be universal. The aircraft was designed and equipped in such a way that with its help it was possible not only to activate the “nuclear flywheel”, but also to control troops in certain areas. The new generation of aircraft - the Il-86VKP - was also created with long flights in mind and was modified to operate in conditions of a full-scale war. A spacious Il-86 passenger aircraft was chosen to accommodate equipment, communications and personnel. Four engines, a length of two-thirds of a football field and a carrying capacity of 42 tons guaranteed the placement of the necessary equipment and comfortable work for special passengers.
Despite its peaceful base, the converted Il-86VKP was significantly different from its civilian counterpart. It will not be difficult to distinguish a special aircraft in the parking lot from civilian airliners, even if the aircraft is poorly lit or approach it in a close quarters does not seem possible. A massive compartment for communications equipment, a kind of “hump” slightly behind above the cockpit, is the calling card of the domestic “Doomsday plane”.
There are several similar containers for electronic equipment that are not intended for installation in civilian ones, but all the main secrets of the flying General Staff are still inside. Despite the fact that access to such aircraft is closed to all outsiders, judging by the level of implementation of the idea, it can be argued that the IL-86VKP, in addition to powerful receiving and transmitting devices, is equipped full complex processing, encryption/decryption of signals, a special communication channel (including satellite) and electronic warfare equipment to protect the aircraft from being hit by aircraft missiles.
Information about the composition of the Il-80 equipment is still classified - an unprecedented case in the history of aircraft manufacturing. And although the design, communication frequencies, number of people on duty at posts and airborne defense equipment are still closed, some of the devices of the air command post are worth talking about separately. Along with the command and control of the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces and other branches of the military, the nuclear triad - nuclear charges placed on land, aviation and sea carriers - is of particular value in the Russian Armed Forces.
To communicate and exchange information with submarines operating covertly in all areas of the World Ocean, the Il-80 is equipped not only with a special communication channel, but also with a unique antenna mounted in the tail section. The length of the antenna deployed to its working position is eight kilometers and allows you to communicate with submarines at long ranges, and the submarines do not need to “move” to the surface position for a radio communication session.
Like any aircraft of strategic importance, the Il-86VKP air command posts have been modernized several times - programs for upgrading and re-equipping the board with modern electronic equipment will allow the air command post to be kept in service until 2025. Looking ahead, it is worth noting that the Il-86VKP was not the only aircraft to provide communications at hour X.
Back in the USSR, the Il-76VKP aircraft was designed and built - a communications and command and control vehicle based on the Il-76 transport aircraft. And although the 76th is much smaller in size compared to its older brothers, in terms of the number of advanced technical solutions, the Il-76VKP is on par with other aircraft. Most of components, assemblies, communication systems and a redesigned fuselage were transferred to the IL-76VKP from the other side special purpose- A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft. As in the case of the “senior comrades,” the Il-76VKP from the 3rd Aviation Squadron differs from the passenger and transport aircraft in the units of equipment for special communications, as well as in a modified and modified fuselage.
The third generation of “Doomsday planes” will differ slightly more than completely from its predecessors. According to a Life source, the Il-96-400T aircraft, a cargo modification of the Il-96-300, is used as the basis for the next generation air command post. The President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, flies on the same plane, Il-96-300PU.
The characteristics of the IL-96-400T already allow developers and manufacturers of radio-electronic equipment to fully use their own developments in the field of communications and secure channels for data transmission. Unlike the modernized Il-86VKP, the “Doomsday Plane”, built on the basis of the Il-96-400T, will be able to carry up to 92 tons of payload. And although the long-range aircraft was developed for commercial use, 92 tons of electronic equipment will ensure stable communications with all headquarters and military districts.
The fuel supply and the design of productive aircraft engines will allow the new “air fortress” to fly at a distance of up to 11 thousand kilometers. The third generation of VzPU, taking into account the solutions already introduced into industrial production, will be head and shoulders more effective than the IL-86VKP. Firstly, such a concept as “limited flight range” will practically disappear: the new special aircraft will be able to fly across the entire country without any problems.
Secondly, compared to the previous VzPU, the new aircraft based on the Il-96-400T is almost ten meters longer, which allows it to be placed on a free section of the fuselage optional equipment or household items for crew members. Thirdly, the modern element base, the production of which has already been established by enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, will make it possible to reduce the size and weight of special equipment for communications and data transmission by several orders of magnitude. Experts claim that in this regard, the new aircraft can be equipped with additional fuel tanks, with the use of which the non-stop flight range of the air command post will significantly increase and amount to 13 thousand kilometers instead of 11. It is also reported that, having absorbed all the experience of domestic science and modern electronics , a new aircraft based on the Il-96-400T in the near future will be able to replace all operating aircraft of this type, writes Sergey Andreev for the portal Life. ru.
The Il-80 is an airborne command post produced by the Ilyushin Design Bureau in the late 1980s based on the Il-86 aircraft.
On May 29, 1985, the aircraft made its first flight from Pridacha airfield. It was flown by experienced test pilot Stanislav Bliznyuk.
In the event of an armed conflict involving the use of nuclear weapons, the aircraft will be at the disposal of the Armed Forces. When creating the model, measures were taken to reduce the impact of a nuclear explosion, for example, a minimum number of hatches and the absence of portholes.
Visually, the aircraft differs from its prototype in the presence of a large overhead compartment located in the forward part of the fuselage, which houses various electronic equipment. The choice of the initial type of aircraft was due to the large internal volumes of the Il-86 passenger cabin, which easily accommodated special equipment. There are no windows in the Il-80, and on the wing there are dopplers with electrical equipment. Some aircraft have a boom for in-flight refueling. The exhaust cable antenna is located in the tail section, its length is about 8 kilometers. It is used to communicate with submarines. Measures have been taken to protect the aircraft from a nuclear strike, as has already been indicated above. Other design features include a reduced number of access hatches in the fuselage.
A total of four such aircraft were produced. All of them are located in the Separate Aviation Relay and Control Squadron of the 8th Aviation Division, and since 1997 they have been transferred to the 3rd Aviation Squadron of military unit 15650.
Aircraft number 93645 (86147) took part in the aerial part of the parade in Moscow in honor of the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.
IL-80 video
Il-80 took part in the passage over Zhukovsk on August 12, 2012 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force.
A huge humpback whale swimming through the sky with a strong roar can cause an adrenaline rush in anyone lucky enough to watch its flight. The appearance of this machine is the calling card of the Chkalovsky airfield. As for the insides, we can say that they keep a real state secret; many mysteries still remain unsolved. Airborne command posts - 4 Il-86VKP aircraft - are based on a civilian model and in our time remain one of the closed models of domestic aircraft.
The model was based on an Il-86 in 144th scale from Zvezda.
Despite the external similarity of all four Il-86VKP, they cannot be called twins. In addition to the absence or presence of a refueling boom, they differ in the number, shape and location of various antennas.
As already mentioned, the model does not have windows. Since the prototype lacks 5 of the 8 doors and a cargo hatch, the designers also removed them. But a hump appeared that was made of epoxy resin. At the rear, stegosaurus antenna plates, characteristic of 86147, were added. They were cut from a plastic travel card. The gargrot type antenna extending from the keel consists of a sprue ground down to half. Two similar antennas, created from resin, are in turn located on the lower part of the aircraft's fuselage, behind the middle landing gear.
Creation suspended gondolas turbogenerators are the most difficult stage of assembling a model aircraft. To create them, a search was carried out for a geometric basis, which ended with a complex of deep plastic operations of external fuel lines from the KC-97A Stratofreighter. The pylons are based on fragments of tracks from the Su-27 model.
The refueling rod, other tubes and PVD antennas consist of drawn sprues of various diameters and shapes. The model was painted with Revell enamel: all white surfaces were blown out with it. The rest was painted with acrylic. Blue stripes were hand-painted along the side using masks. The “Aeroflot” inscription and numbers are made with homemade decals.
As a result, the production of the model took a little more than a year of work, which was regularly interrupted by the construction of other models.
IL-80 characteristics:
| Modification | |
| Wingspan, m | 48.06 |
| Aircraft length, m | 59.54 |
| Aircraft height, m | 15.81 |
| Wing area, m2 | 320.0 |
| Weight, kg | |
| normal takeoff | 208000 |
| engine's type | 4 TVD Kuznetsov NK-86 |
| Thrust, kgf | 4 x 13000 |
| Maximum cruising speed, km/h | 850 |
| Practical range, km | 3600 |
| Crew, people | 5 |
No country has questioned the power of the modern Russian army since the start of the operation in Syria. At the same time, the military has a plan that will ensure the protection of the state even in the event of the death of the commander-in-chief.
ON THIS TOPIC
In a critical situation on help will come The “doomsday plane” that horrified the American military was the Il-80. The crew of this air command post, which is equipped with last word technology, can give orders to all types of troops and even launch nuclear missiles. Communication for the aircraft is provided by a unique satellite system, as well as a retractable antenna about eight kilometers long. “From this plane, all the silos where our nuclear missiles are located - “Rubezh”, “Topol”, “Satan”, “Yars”, “Bulava” - receive a command to launch, to retaliate against the scoundrel who hit ours. country,” expert Andrei Karaulov told the publication Arguments and Facts.
However, no aircraft can be 100% protected from attacks, but in this case the Russian military has a backup plan. “And what will happen, I ask you, if suddenly the Il-80 was shot down? Well, they killed the president, they killed the Minister of Defense, they killed the Chief of the General Staff, and suddenly they also shoot down the plane. What will happen then?! Then Hitchcock will generally rest! In the air a new rocket takes off and flies along a broken trajectory (by the way, like the Rubezh rocket - the greatest creation of Academician Solomonov). And from this rocket, from space, a command is sent to all our nuclear installations to retaliate", noted Karaulov.
According to the specialist, in last years Russia managed to overtake the United States in military development by decades. “Each rocket is hand-assembled. Everyone can understand: if the IL-80 automatically sends a command to launch to all rocket launchers in the country - what kind of technology is this! And we didn’t buy all this from the Americans, just as we didn’t buy composite materials, that’s all our production, our developments,” he added.
A more than strange solitaire game of airplanes has taken place at the Kazan International Airport. Among the usual Boeings and Airbuses you can also see rarer cars. Here is the IL-62, on which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew to Moscow last winter in an atmosphere of secrecy. Nearby is a giant An-124 “Ruslan” parked for a long time. Nearby are two military transport Il-76M. But the most unexpected plane is the Il-80 - the “Doomsday Plane”! Only four of these were produced, and, according to the Kazan Reporter, not one of them had been in Kazan before, especially at a civilian airport. All these planes are standing next to each other. The Kazan Reporter tried to find out what brought all these aircraft to the civil airport of the capital of Tatarstan. What adds to the piquancy of the situation is that this time the secret planes were, as if by chance, demonstrated to the press. True, it seems that only a few people noticed the bait.
The photo shoot at the airport, the official stated purpose of which was “to attract students from the Republic of Tatarstan into the field of aviation photojournalism,” left a whole scattering of intriguing questions. It looks like it’s time to compare the minor details of life and plunge headlong into discussions on the topic of “Conspiracy Theories.”
Events at sensitive facilities such as airports are rare in our difficult times. Especially if they are not associated with the arrival of any VIPs, sports teams that have won cups, or world-famous pop stars. However international Airport"Kazan" Sometimes it organizes such holidays for aviation and photography lovers.
When inviting people to the “aviation holiday,” airport workers initially pointed out that there were some special features in the program. The day turned out well for the guys with expensive cameras, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, including iron ones. A striking refrain of the photographers’ encounter with technology was the photo spots near the giant AN-124 “Ruslan”, which was parked for a long time at the airport. The world's largest production cargo aircraft truly makes a lasting impression on the public.
However, for most photographers, contact with the “highlights” happened already in a cozy editorial office, at the stage of processing photographs and studying the side numbers of the captured equipment. For example, in pictures from the Kazan airport, journalists from the Kazan Reporter discovered an Il-62M. The fact that the plane is special is indicated by the characteristic “hump” of government special communications. Judging by the tail number (RA-86539), it took part in the special operation to deliver the “unbreakable” President of Syria Bashar al-Assad from fire-torn Damascus to Moscow last winter. This flight was tracked by aviation enthusiasts.
Two extraordinary Il-76 military transport aircraft were identified nearby. Aviation historians will remember that the same one landed in Kazan on the night of August 18-19, 1996. Then Vladimir Sharpatov And Gazinur Khairullin were able to organize an escape from Taliban captivity and bring the car to their home harbor.
However, for some reason, the so-called “Doomsday Plane” that appeared in the pictures can be fully considered the pearl of the photo collection. Il-80 is a secret strategic control air station built on the basis of Il-86. That is why the name of the base model is emblazoned on the plane. A total of 4 of these were produced, but this one, apparently, is the best. This is the first and probably the only aircraft of the second generation that has undergone modernization and is equipped with a complex of second-generation technical equipment “Link 2”. In December last year, United Instrument-Making Corporation JSC transferred the Il-80 RF-93645 to the Russian Ministry of Defense. It is this plane that is now at the Kazan airport. However, what one of the most secret aircraft in the world is doing in a civilian harbor is unclear.
Aircraft This specialization is available to only two countries in the world: Russia and the USA. The Il-80 flying complex is primarily designed to maintain communication between different regions country, control of strike weapons to the maximum extreme conditions and the movement of the top leadership of the state, that is, the plane will become the headquarters in the most extreme case, if ground communication points are destroyed. In addition to the huge “hump,” what is especially striking is lack of portholes. This was done in order to reduce the impact of the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. At hour X, the plane is ready to receive the president of the country and the highest military command. Another striking detail of the exterior is the fuel rod. Thanks to an autonomous in-flight refueling system, the vehicle can stay in flight for three days.
The second generation of air command posts is characterized by increased survivability, functionality, reliability, improved weight and size characteristics and lower energy consumption.
“This is a complex unique in its characteristics, providing strategic management of all types and branches of the military,” quotes the deputy general director of the United Instrument-Making Corporation. Sergei Skokov official website of the corporation. “Besides Russia, aviation equipment of this level is produced only in the United States - the American military has a similar complex called the Doomsday aircraft.”
What is the “Doomsday Plane” doing in Kazan and for what reasons was it demonstrated to the media - these are the main questions that the Kazan Reporter correspondent asked himself during the preparation of this material.
The first call is to Kazan Airport, to the head of the press service Adel Gataullin. Gatalullin called such a set of aircraft on the territory of the airport “a coincidence for which nothing was expected”; Besides, official airport“does not know the owner and purpose of the IL-80” and does not give any detailed comments on this issue. But the reaction to the Il-62 (Bashar Assad’s plane) was more open: “About Bashar Assad, you opened my eyes with your call, I didn’t know anything about it, now I’m interested.”
The second logical call is to the very strict press service of the Kazan Aviation Production Association named after S.P. Gorbunov. The answer is short: “The plant does not deal with these aircraft.” The company's media contacts even warned us against sending a written request, insisting that the whole story was not to their liking.
A series of calls into the void. Aviation experts, officials and aviation historians shrug their shoulders. Moreover, they are being scammed in such a way that you won’t understand what is more in it – fear, truth or dedication to the cause.
The most patient and open interlocutor from the collected micro-pool of aviation interests turned out to be Anton Bortyakov, Chairman of the primary trade union organization "KAPO-Avia".
According to an aviation specialist, some of the planes caught in photographic lenses at least undergo a maintenance procedure in Kazan. “There is nothing extraordinary about the presence of the aircraft you specified at the Kazan civil airport. “Ruslan” arrives once a month and picks up Mi-8 helicopters for customers. Other aircraft are undergoing routine maintenance. The KAPO-Avia company has its own laboratory at the airport, rents concrete sites, and the company has an aviation technical base. The aircraft being serviced may include, among other things, invited specialized specialists from other regions of Russia. Systems are being tested. This happens... On arrival V.V.Putin the whole story lined up at the airport civil aviation».
However, despite the openness to the press, even Bortyakov referred to the confidentiality of information on certain issues. So, for example, the aviator responded to the topic of modernizing the Il-80, which, according to rumors, was carried out with the participation of Kazan aircraft manufacturers.
The modernization itself, by the way, is not secret. A press release about its passage by the Il-80 aircraft is posted on the official website of the United Instrument-Making Corporation. In particular, it states that work on the first on-board technical equipment complex (BKTS) is being carried out by the Nizhny Novgorod NPP Polet. The side numbers of the car from the Rostec website and the Kazan airport match.
Another source in the aviation industry, on condition of anonymity, said that the plane arrived in Kazan for maintenance, which is under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Kazan specialists will be allowed to do this work only after appropriate verification by the special services, so for now the IL-80 is waiting in the wings. This version looks very plausible, but there are others. In conditions of limited information, one can build the most daring hypotheses:
– Kazan participated in the project and wants to demonstrate it;
– Kazan in some way claims to participate in the project to develop a third-generation airborne strategic control point. It has already been officially announced that it will happen;
– Kazan (specialists and technical complex) are fine-tuning the car based on the complaints that arose after undergoing modernization.
It should be understood that with the collapse of the USSR, the aviation complex, which at one time had a clear division into companies named after legendary designers, actually ceased to exist. Equipment and personnel are aging, shifts to factories and design bureaus are carried out on a residual basis. The country's first aviation specialists will soon retire, having never taken part in the creation of new types of aircraft in their lives.
In these conditions, the remnants of the former guard are being gathered together for major projects across the country. Against this background, visits to Kazan by unexpected types of aircraft in need of maintenance and modernization do not look strange and inappropriate.
Anton Glukhov, Anton Reichshtat.
At the end of last year, the modernized strategic air command post (VKP) of the second generation Il-80, created on the basis of civil aircraft IL-86. 25 February CEO NPP Polet, which produces communication equipment, Alexey Komyakov reported that the Ministry of Defense has ordered a second command post. Unofficially, this machine is called the “Doomsday Plane.” Only two states in the world own these unique aircraft intended for use during a nuclear war. Their number is limited - 4 in Russia and 4 in the USA.
Russia
The strategic air command post is intended to control the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, Navy and nuclear missile forces in the event that ground control posts, nodes and communication lines are disabled as a result of a massive missile attack.
In the USA, such an aircraft appeared in the early 60s. In the Soviet Union, the first generation VKP was created on the basis of the Il-18 turboprop airliner, receiving the name Il-22. It was put into service in 1974, transferring two aircraft to the Air Force. Subsequently, the aircraft was modernized, not only by strengthening the hardware, but also by partially changing the fuselage. In total, about thirty Il-22 and Il-22M were produced. They were supposed to be used not only as a global CPSU, but also to control various types of troops. However, these machines were inferior to the American Boeing E-4B. First of all, in terms of carrying capacity and flight duration. Therefore, at the end of the 70s, it was decided to create the second generation VKP.
The Il-80 (in some sources designated as Il-86VKP) was developed at the Ilyushin Design Bureau at the end of the Cold War. It made its first flight on May 29, 1985. After which it began to be equipped with the equipment necessary to carry out its main function - receiving and transmitting command information to ground stations. The on-board technical equipment complex, developed by NTP Polet, was created and tested by the end of 1991. The aircraft was put into service in 1992. 4 aircraft were built with registration numbers USSR-86146, USSR-86147, USSR-86148 and USSR-86149. In 1993 the numbers were changed to RA-86146, RA-86147, RA-86148 and RA-86149.
The aircraft was strictly classified at the stage of its manufacture and testing. In connection with this, his photographs appeared in the public domain only in 1992. In accordance with the requirements for ensuring secrecy, the aircraft were painted according to the scheme adopted for civil aviation aircraft. Like most special aircraft, the Il-80 is unarmed.
All four aircraft were assigned to the Independent Aviation Control and Relay Squadron of the 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division. In 1997, they were transferred to the formed 3rd Aviation Squadron of military unit 22737, based at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow at the State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
When creating the Il-80, the wide-body Il-86 airliner was chosen as the base aircraft, which, according to experts, is still the most reliable civil aircraft in the world. Of the 106 aircraft produced, only 4 were lost. Not a single passenger was killed. In addition, the plane is quite roomy and can carry up to 350 passengers.
In the event of a real threat of the enemy using nuclear weapons, the Il-80 takes off, taking on board the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, his accompanying persons, as well as the combat crew of the air control center, consisting of an operational group of the General Staff headed by the general on duty and a technical group responsible for the uninterrupted operation of the aircraft’s special equipment.
The aircraft is maximally protected from the damaging effects of nuclear weapons, which can be partially determined by its appearance- due to the absence of portholes. Due to secrecy, there are no photographs of the interior and instrument compartments. But it can be assumed that the fuselage is protected from penetrating radiation.
All on-board instrument systems are protected from electromagnetic pulses arising from an explosion nuclear charge. An electronic warfare system has also been introduced. All channels for receiving and transmitting information are protected, thereby preventing interception and suppression of information.
The on-board automation system is designed to collect, store, process, display and transmit information circulating in the combat control networks of the General Staff. It consists of the Argon-50 computer, automated workstations, data transmission equipment and special equipment that allows the transmission of combat control commands to the launch control posts of intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear missile submarines and strategic aircraft.
The on-board communication center provides multi-channel telegraph and telephone communications, as well as data transmission via ultra-short-wave, short-wave, ultra-long-wave radio channels and space channels.
Ultra-long-wave (VLF) communication is carried out using an extendable cable antenna having a length of about 4 kilometers. It allows commands to be transmitted on board strategic missile submarines in a submerged position. Because only ultra-long radio waves are capable of penetrating water layers of several hundred meters. VSD also has one more positive property: it does not depend on the state of the earth’s ionosphere, which experiences significant electromagnetic disturbances due to multiple nuclear explosions.
In 2015, one of the IL-80s was equipped with new equipment developed at NPP Polet, which allows for more efficient implementation of command functions in emergency circumstances. It is planned to modernize three other aircraft.
It should be said that the Il-80s are part of the Zveno system along with two Il-82 repeater aircraft. The repeaters are based on the military transport Il-76MD.
The VKP aircraft also includes the Il-96−300PU, intended for presidential flights. It contains equipment that allows you to control the armed forces in the event of a nuclear conflict. There is also an optoelectronic jamming station for missile homing heads.
NPP Polet reports that in currently The third generation VCP is being developed. It will be created on the basis of the Il-96−400 airliner.
The Americans commissioned their first VKP in 1962, modernizing the KS-135A tanker, which in turn was a modernized Boeing-707 airliner. At the same time, repeaters were built. And also based on a fuel tanker. A total of 11 vehicles were built, designated EC-135.
When the wide-body Boeing 747−200 appeared, 4 Boeing E4A VKPs were built on its basis. A generational change in the “Doomsday Planes” occurred in 1975.
The E-4A's passenger cabin is divided into six compartments: a senior military office, two meeting rooms, a task force room, a communications center and a rest room. The flight crew's rest room was equipped on the upper deck of the aircraft.
In 1985, the aircraft were modernized, called E-4 B. A fuel receiver boom was installed in them, due to which the flight duration with in-flight refueling was increased to 72 hours. The transmitting and receiving equipment was also updated. A significant innovation was the appearance of an ultra-long-wave communication channel, when a cable antenna about 8 kilometers long was installed on the aircraft. The communication equipment is similar to that installed on the Il-80.
The E-4B can have a crew of up to 114 people, including a crew of operators, flight crew, maintenance, communications and security teams. E-4s are equipped with protection against various damaging factors of nuclear weapons, including electromagnetic pulse. There is a filtration system for radioactive dust in the outside air intake and air conditioning systems for ventilation of the cabin and compartments.
In addition to the VKP, the US Joint Strategic Command also has 16 E-6B repeater aircraft, converted from Boeing-707-320C. They use equipment removed from decommissioned EC-135s.
In the context of the article, one cannot fail to mention the American aircraft number one, the C-32, created on the basis of the Boeing 757-200. In 1998-1999, 4 such aircraft were produced, designed to transport VIPs, including the president and his entourage. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base.
The aircraft is equipped with the latest radio communications equipment, which can also be used for the team to carry out functions in emergency situations.
In 2006, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced his intention to replace the entire fleet of E-4Bs with Presidential C-32s upgraded to VKP level in case of nuclear war. So far these plans have not been implemented. However, in January 2015, the chief financier of the US Department of Defense Mike McCord submitted an application to Congress to reprogram and modify the communications equipment of the presidential aircraft in order to bring it to the level of requirements imposed on the VKP.
