In Voronezh, work has begun on the creation of a new so-called “Doomsday aircraft” – an aircraft that is a mobile command center for command and control in the event of a nuclear war and is capable of staying in the sky for several days. Such an aircraft is being developed on the basis of the wide-body Il-96-400M.
A source in the military-industrial complex told reporters about this, specifying that the Aerospace Forces (VKS) of Russia will receive two such aircraft, and in the future an order for a third is not ruled out. The project received the working title “Link – 3C”.
“The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two air command posts based on the Il-96-400M. One is in production, ”a source told RIA Novosti.
The interlocutor of the agency added that the new Doomsday planes will replace those currently at the disposal of the Russian army – the Il-80, built on the basis of the Il-86 passenger airliners.
He also noted that the flight range of the Il-96-400M will be twice as large as that of its predecessors, and the newest radio complex of the aircraft being developed will allow delivering orders to troops, including strategic aviation, mobile and silo launchers, submarines carrying strategic nuclear weapons within a radius of six thousand kilometers.
