North Korea unveils homegrown airborne warning aircraft
North Korea has its own airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. The machine, based on the Russian transport aircraft Ilyushin Il-76 Candid, is undergoing air tests, and recently Kim Jong Un conducted an inspection during a visit to Pyongyang's international airport. On this occasion, North Korean media published the first photos of the aircraft.
North Korea officially unveiled its airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft along with an upgraded version of the unmanned aerial system (UAS) Saetbyol-4. Previously, photos of these machines were available only through satellite images.
Koreans with their own warning and control aircraft
The War Zone service points out that the North Korean AEW&C, built based on the Russian Ilyushin Il-76 Candid transport aircraft, resembles another Russian machine in appearance—often called the eyes and ears of Putin’s army—the A-50 Mainstay. It also indicates similarities to the Chinese early warning aircraft KJ-2000 Mainring. These machines are similar, among other characteristics, because of the distinctive radar dome mounted on the fuselage's back.
According to experts, this suggests potential cooperation or technological support from China or Russia during the aircraft's construction. It is worth recalling that work on adapting the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft (it was one of the three Ilyushin Il-76s previously used by North Korean airline Air Koryo on cargo routes) began in the autumn of 2023 at facilities located near Pyongyang-Sunan airport, and North Korea has not yet disclosed information regarding the exact technical parameters of the aircraft.
38 North, a service dedicated to North Korean-related topics, reports that work on the airborne early warning and control aircraft continued throughout 2024, and in November 2024, the aircraft—without radar cover—was moved to another hangar at Pyongyang-Sunan airport. The machine remained there until the end of February 2025, when it appeared outside the hangar with the radar cover installed. The aircraft was then spotted in satellite images.
The introduction of this machine into service would significantly enhance North Korea's capabilities in monitoring airspace and detecting and tracking aerial and maritime targets. The country's current radar capabilities have been limited to ground-based systems, whose effectiveness is reduced by the mountainous terrain of the Korean Peninsula. It would also be a significant step in modernising North Korean air forces, which have relied on outdated technologies for years.
In the case of North Korea, doubts arise not only about the number of early warning and control aircraft but also about their future operational effectiveness. This is related to the aforementioned lack of information on the capabilities or technical data of the aircraft.
