'Doomsday plane' was robbed in Russia: why is it called that and what was stolen

The police confirmed that unknown persons opened the hatches of one of Russia's most secret military aircraft, which is undergoing repairs in Taganrog. The media reported that electronic equipment was stolen from the Il-80, which experts nicknamed the “Doomsday Plane,” (this has not yet been officially confirmed). Writes about this Air force.

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What the media learned

On the afternoon of Monday, December 7, the website of the REN TV channel reported that in Taganrog, during a scheduled repair of the Il-80, which experts nicknamed the “Doomsday Plane,” important parts were stolen.

According to the TV channel, on Friday, December 4, the head of the aviation security service of the joint-stock company Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex named after. Beriev." He allegedly said that during an inspection of the Il-80, traces of opening the cargo hatch were found, and 39 radio units and five more circuit boards from the dismantled units disappeared from the aircraft compartments.

“All on-board instruments were in place at the time of acceptance of the aircraft. After the work was completed, the main entrance, the cargo compartment hatch, and three emergency exits were sealed,” a REN TV source said.

The police found fingerprints of the alleged perpetrators, as well as traces of their shoes.

An Interfax source also spoke about the theft of electronic equipment from one of the most secret Russian military aircraft Il-80.

A TASS source said that at the plant in Taganrog, the lubricant on the rods of the shock absorber struts of the chassis was being replaced. The aircraft has been undergoing routine maintenance since the beginning of 2019, the Interfax source said.

“Unidentified persons opened the cargo hatch of the Il-80 aircraft,” he said. “39 radio stations disappeared from the plane’s compartments.”

The United Aircraft Corporation (part of Rostec) refused to comment on media reports.

The theft of equipment from the Il-80 air control center of the Russian Armed Forces could lead to the leakage of secret and top secret information, says Gazeta.Ru military observer Mikhail Khodarenok.

“Hypothetically, it may be possible to find out how technically the transfer of instructions for the leadership of the country and the armed forces is carried out in the event of a potential conflict,” the expert believes.

What the police said

On Monday evening, December 7, the press service of the transport department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District confirmed that the police had received a statement in this regard.

“A representative of TANTK named after. contacted the duty department of the Taganrog linear transport department. Beriev with a statement that during the inspection of one of the aircraft, an opening of the cargo hatch was discovered. An investigation into this fact is currently underway,” the press service said.

The question of initiating a criminal case is being resolved, an Interfax source said. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not comment on this issue.

What kind of plane is this and what does Judgment Day have to do with it?

Il-80 (Il-86VzPU, according to NATO classification - Maxdome) is an air command post developed in the late 1980s by the Design Bureau named after. Ilyushin.

Interfax calls it one of the most classified aircraft of the Russian Defense Ministry. The Il-80 made its first flight in May 1985.

The airborne command posts were called "Doomsday planes" in the United States. It was assumed that they would be used in the event of a nuclear war if ground control structures were destroyed. (Doomsday is the figurative end of the world, the last day of the world’s existence.)

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The most famous models of such aircraft are the American E-4B based on the Boeing 747 and the Russian Il-80, developed on the basis of the passenger Il-86.

On May 9, 2010, the Il-80 took part in the air part of the parade in honor of the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War.

In May 2019, Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko said that research and development work on the modernization of air command posts based on the Il-80 and Il-82 aircraft had been completed in Russia and work had begun on the re-equipment of existing aircraft.

In October of this year, TASS, citing its source in the aircraft industry, reported that the air command and control points were planned to be transferred from the Il-80 to the Il-96-400M.

According to data from open sources, a total of four Il-80s were put into service in Russia.

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