The Russian Government has arrested a man suspected of having stolen 39 radio equipment and 5 electronic boards from one of the Ilyushin Il-80s of the Russian Air Force. The aircraft known as the "Plane of the End of the World" is used as an air command center, so that heads of state and commanders of the Armed Forces of Russia can communicate with their units in the event of a nuclear attack.
In December last year it was revealed that one of the Doomsday Planes had radio and electronic equipment stolen while undergoing maintenance at Taganrog-Yuzhny Airport in the Rostov region of Russia. The theft was discovered after an external inspection revealed signs of a hatch breaking in.
The suspect's lawyer, Olga Boyarkina, said her client was in custody until March 4, although the court's arrest decision was appealed. According to a Russian reserve colonel, the theft was planned by people who worked on the aircraft at the facility, and that the Air Force's Il-80 was not a "target of opportunity".
The Russian Air Force has deployed at least three Ilyushin Il-80 aircraft since the 90s with the 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division, based at Chkalovsky Airport near Moscow. Designated Maxdome by NATO, the Il-80 is similar to the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch, the US Air Force's Doomsday Plane.
With The Aviationist e Tass
