In the fifties of the XX century there was a technological breakthrough in world electronics. Semiconductor devices began to replace the lamps familiar to everyone, the size of the equipment was rapidly decreasing, and the capabilities of the equipment were expanding. In military affairs, these processes are also reflected. Signalers received light and compact technical means, new encryption options appeared. Intelligence also did not doze off. Soon, the American Orion took to the skies, which, without violating state borders, could provide the NATO command with large amounts of information. Our answer was the Il-20M aircraft.
Basic Prototype
In the second half of the fifties, the Il-18 was the symbol of Soviet passenger aviation. Of course, by that time there were already other liners, the Tupolev Tu-104 and Tu-114, but, built on the basis of bombers, they did not always have high efficiency, reliability and comfort. The Il-18 was often flown by First Secretary Khrushchev, he liked this plane. When the question arose of an adequate response to the non-American electronic intelligence program, the choice was a foregone conclusion. The main criteria for the militaryspecialists were the two "trump aces" of the Ilyushin purely peaceful airliner: a large internal volume that allows you to place a lot of equipment in the cabin, and efficiency. No, the Soviet Army did not experience a shortage of aviation kerosene. The ability of the complex of technical means to stay in the air for up to half a day non-stop was of great importance. So the Il-20M, a scout, appeared in service. The photo of this aircraft even reveals an external resemblance to the American "colleague".
The main rule is not to arouse suspicion
An illegal spy should look like an ordinary citizen, and a reconnaissance aircraft should look like a passenger airliner. So decided in the General Staff of the USSR.
In general, this aircraft had few differences from the basic Il-18D, the latest and most advanced passenger modification, the feature of which was an increased flight range (6400 versus 4850 km for the previously produced Il-18V). Since 1965, this liner has been mass-produced by the Moscow Znamya Truda aircraft plant, and the Il-20M also began to be built here in 1968. For reasons of state secrets, the color (aircraft builders call it a livery) he received the usual Aeroflot one. The inscription “IL-18” remained on its nose, in general, it did not differ externally from the civilian side, and only specialists who received secret access could know what exactly was inside it. And there were instruments in the cabin that made it possible to judge the degree of military activity of the armies of foreign states by the intensity and nature of the radio signals.
Tasks
During exercises or in preparation for aggression, the armed forces of any state especially need the coherence that signal troops provide. In the ideal case, the neighboring party wants to know the entire amount of transmitted information, but a lot can be understood from the intensity of the radio exchange. In the cabin of the IL-20M there is a high-class military linguist-translator who constantly listens to open communication channels. He is fluent in the language of the neighboring state, knows the dialects and jargon used by the military personnel of the army of a potential enemy. Oddly enough, a very large part of the useful information is obtained in this simple way. Chatterbox is not only a godsend for a spy.
But Il-20M (scout) can not only eavesdrop, but also peep. Photos taken by a high-quality A-87P device, many kilometers away, will help draw conclusions about military activity, and for this you do not need to cross the state border. And, of course, it won't hurt to track down foreign radars either.
Airplane
As mentioned above, the IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft is identical to the Il-18D passenger liner in terms of its flight characteristics and general layout. It is an all-metal monoplane with a round section monocoque fuselage. Four AI-20M turbine propeller engines have a capacity of 4,250 hp each. with. everyone. The length of the fuselage is 35.9 meters, the height of the keel above the ground is 10170 mm, the span of the bearing surface is 17.4 m, its area is 140 square meters. m. Takeoff weight is 64 metric tons. Speed - 640-680 km / h. Ceiling - 10 thousand.
Of course, the passenger seats in the cabin of the IL-20M are completely redundant, leaving only seats for personnel servicing complex electronic equipment. The seats (there are eight of them) are also special, designed for laying parachutes, after all, a military aircraft. Since the flights are long, there are conditions for rest (buffet, toilet and cloakroom). In case of emergency, the crew can leave the board by using the shaft leading to the expanded cargo (in the passenger version) hatch. In addition to electronic intelligence officers, of course, the aircraft also has an air crew of five people (2 pilots, a radio operator, a flight engineer and a navigator).
The equipment with him
The IL-20M reconnaissance aircraft is equipped with a complex of electronic and optical means of obtaining information. It includes stations "Romb-4", "Kvadrat-2", intercepting device of the ultra-short-wave range "Cherry", radar station "Igla-1" side-view and optical equipment. In total, two dozen copies of the Il-20M were produced. Photos of these aircraft are almost identical, in most cases there is not even a regular number on board. Each of them has a specific configuration and is designed to perform a specific range of tasks, so secrecy measures have been taken.
The lenses of aerial photography cameras are covered in flight with special curtains, the phased array radar is enclosed in a long (almost 8 m) radio-transparent ventral gondola container. The optics are located in the side fairings, inthe back of which are also the antennas of the "Rhombus", which is responsible for detecting the radar.
Further destiny
The IL-20M can be called a celestial veteran. For world aviation, such phenomena are not uncommon, but in each of the cases it can be stated that only a real masterpiece of technical thought flies for a long time. Electronic equipment becomes obsolete, but this is not a problem, it can be replaced and installed with a new one.
The Ilyushin plane turned out to be very successful, durable, reliable, easy to operate and economical. Currently, there is simply nothing to replace it. Of all the possible options, only the reactive Tu-214 can fulfill the role of an aviation electronic reconnaissance, and then only after a thorough and serious reconfiguration, which is a matter of a distant future. In the meantime, maintaining Ilov in working order has become the concern of the War Ministry. A program for their deep modernization has been developed.
IL-20M is now painted in the usual gray color for military aviation. The civilian livery will no longer mislead anyone. When this plane approaches the border, the air forces of neighboring countries usually issue an alert…
