A-50 Maintstay of the Soviet Air Force

The A-50 Mainstay is the modern AWACs of the Russian Air Force. It has been in service since 1984 and flew over Afghanistan, the Black Sea during Operation Desert Storm, during the opening of the Chechan wars, and in support of various other Russian military events. Most Western Observes consider it on par to what the USAF and NATO use in the inital E-3A Sentry system. It is capable of datalinking to the Su-27 and MiG-31 aircraft. It is also in service with the People's Republic of China and with the Republic of India.