Our Best Look At North Korea's New Early-Warning Radar Plane

Yahoo

14-03-2025

New imagery shows the progress made on North Korea's shadowy airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, based on an Ilyushin Il-76 Candid airlifter; you can read more about it in our analysis of when it first broke cover. Since the start of this year the aircraft now had its rotodome fitted, putting to bed any suggestion that it's intended for a role other than AEW&C.
Satellite images obtained by TWZ from Maxar Technologies show how work on the aircraft has continued at Pyongyang International Airport over recent months. Throughout, the aircraft has remained in a new sectioned-off compound next to a maintenance hangar at the airport. As we reported in the past, the construction of this cordoned-off area seems to have begun in late September or October of 2023.
When the AEW&C was first revealed, there was work being undertaken on the top of its fuselage, just aft of the wing, where the radome would eventually be mounted.
By mid-December 2023, it seems that the radome mounting had been attached, with the shadow cast by it also visible.
In early August of 2024, the upper surfaces of the aircraft were draped with some kind of covering, although it's unclear if this was intended to provide protection to the aircraft while work was being done or if it was intended to shield the aircraft from prying eyes.
A month later, that shroud had been removed, with imagery now clearly showing the twin struts associated with the radome mounting, as well as the clamshell fairings on the engine nacelles open for access. By September 8, 2024, there was a large tent erected at the rear of the aircraft and a slightly smaller one at the front, as well as screens alongside the rear fuselage, in an apparent effort to conceal whatever work was happening.
Reportedly, as of November 2024, the aircraft had been moved into a hangar adjacent to the compound and remained there until late February 2025, when it appeared outside the hangar with the radome mounted.
Imagery from earlier this month clearly shows the radome itself mounted on top of the struts and the aircraft. Meanwhile, the aircraft has been towed onto a taxiway, its tail pointing toward one of the airport's runways. These developments were first reported last week by 38 North, a website specializing in North Korea studies.
Immediately noticeable is the distinctive triangle design on top of the radome, similar to that seen on certain Chinese AEW&C platforms, but not on Russian ones. In Chinese applications, these kinds of radomes house three non-rotating phased array radars, which provide full 360-degree coverage. It could be that the North Korean design is inspired by this, or it could be that China provided technology or assistance. It's also possible that the radome houses a different antenna array entirely.
As well as possible Chinese assistance, we have speculated in the past about whether Russia might be helping North Korea build its AEW&C jet. After all, the burgeoning military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang could provide an opportunity for some kind of technology transfer. Some of the technologies from Russia's A-50 Mainstay, or even the more advanced A-50U, could perhaps be supplied to North Korea in exchange for weapons and ammunition to be used by Russia in Ukraine.
At this point, we simply don't know whether China, Russia, or both might be involved in North Korea's AEW&C aircraft. However, the Il-76 is a well-established platform for this type of application. As well as the A-50 and China's KJ-2000 Mainring, AEW&C versions of the Candid are used by India and have, in the past, also been operated by Iraq and Iran.
Overall, however, an AEW&C aircraft may be a surprising addition to North Korea's veteran air force, but it's one that could make a good deal of sense, as TWZ has explained in the past:
'While it's questionable to what degree more complex battle management and command and control functions could be mastered by North Korea, and hosted aboard an AEW&C aircraft, the ability to extend airborne radar coverage over considerable distances would be a great advantage, either providing prior warning of a potential attack from South Korea and/or tracking incoming aircraft and missiles during at least the opening moments of a conflict. The data it collects could also be shared with surface-to-air missile operators to help provide extra warning to enhance their operations. More importantly, it would provide a new tool for daily surveillance of North Korean and South Korean airspace and an avenue to learn to better perfect AEW&C capabilities.'
In particular, an aircraft of this type would provide a useful surveillance platform to detect low-flying cruise missiles launched from South Korea. With indications that Seoul may be considering fielding nuclear weapons, an adequate means of detecting incoming cruise missiles would become even more important for North Korea. Another low-flying threat is provided by drones launched from South Korea, examples of which have, in the recent past, been spotted flying over Pyongyang.
Ultimately, an airborne radar, as found in an AEW&C aircraft, provides a 'look down' capability that can spot aircraft, cruise missiles, or drones among the ground clutter and is far less restricted by high terrain compared to ground-based radars. No such radar was previously available to North Korea.
On the other hand, there are no signs that North Korea is converting more than a single Il-76 for the AEW&C mission, which means this kind of coverage would be necessarily limited.
The aircraft would also be a prime target for South Korea and the United States in a time of conflict with the North. With that in mind, its wartime role might be strictly limited and likely very short-lived. Instead, perhaps, it might have greater value for more routine operations, keeping tabs on movements over the border and providing valuable intelligence and day-to-day surveillance.
All in all, the emergence of North Korea's AEW&C system raises some interesting questions. With questions about the ability of North Korea's military-industrial complex to develop a fully functioning system of this kind, it's again not surprising that observers are wondering whether China and/or Russia might also be involved.
For the time being, the program remains very much in the shadows and has not been disclosed by North Korea's state-run media. Nevertheless, the recent imagery does at least provide some insight into the progress that's now being made on North Korea's AEW&C aircraft.
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