In service since the early 1990s, the Ilyushin Il-80 is intended to be a flying command post for the head of the Russian armed forces in the event of a nuclear war. To fulfill this mission, it has several specific features.
“Doomsday plane”, “flying Kremlin”, “apocalypse plane”… the Ilyushin Il-80 has no shortage of nicknames. Nor does it lack any particularities compared to a conventional airliner. And for good reason, the aircraft is intended to be a command post for the head of the Russian armed forces in the event of a nuclear war. In such a situation, Vladimir Putin would board and have all the means of communication necessary to coordinate his armed forces from the air.
Necessarily classified as top secret, few technical specifications have leaked about the aircraft. This modified version of the Il-86 airliner has been in service since the early 1990s. Of the four built, three are still operational. The hump above the fuselage is said to house satellite communication and radio link equipment. In the rear hold, a 4 km long antenna can be deployed in flight. This very low frequency radio system would allow communication with Russian nuclear submarines.
Four copies of the Ilyushin Il-80 were built. Three are still operational. Evegny Volkov
No porthole but a folding staircase
Another feature of the plane that does not go unnoticed is that it has no windows. This voluntary absence prevents its occupants from being exposed to the flashes generated by a nuclear explosion. All of the plane’s circuits and systems are also equipped with reinforced protection to prevent them from being damaged by electromagnetic pulses. And to avoid any equipment failure, the aircraft has two auxiliary electrical generators under each of its wings.
The plane has no windows to prevent its occupants from being exposed to the flashes generated by a nuclear explosion. Dmitry Terekhov
The Ilyushin Il-80 also has only three conventional doors and a folding staircase located in a low position at the front left. The latter allows for rapid boarding and disembarkation, without the need for traditional airport jetways. Equipped with four reactors (Kuznetsov NK-86), the aircraft has a range of 5,000 km. It can nevertheless remain in flight for several dozen hours thanks to its refueling boom located on the left under the cockpit. Not being equipped with weapons, the aircraft is systematically escorted in flight by several Russian fighter planes which ensure its protection.
The Russian bunker plane is equipped with a central landing gear to better distribute the loads during landing. DR
With a maximum take-off weight of 215 tonnes, the Russian bunker plane is equipped, in addition to the main landing gear, with a central landing gear in order to better distribute the loads on landing. A specificity shared by the different versions of the Airbus A340. Apart from Russia, only the United States, with its Boeing E-4B, has an aircraft equivalent to the Il-80.
