Quick Take: Video Shows More of Suspected Airborne Early Warning Aircraft

A video shot by a tourist in North Korea has provided a close-up view of an Air Koryo Ilyushin IL-76 that could be the country’s first Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft. 

The IL-76 was captured in footage taken aboard an Air Koryo flight departing from Pyongyang’s Sunan International Airport in October. The aircraft, which had been part of Air Koryo’s cargo fleet, has been in a maintenance facility at the airport for a little over a year. Commercial satellite imagery since October 2023 has revealed work on top of the fuselage that is consistent with a radar pedestal.

The new video shows the aircraft from the side, with the structure visible on top of the fuselage. It was shot from approximately 0.5 kilometers away, meaning fine details of the structure are difficult to make out.  

However, the structure on the plane does appear similar to a radar pedestal. A fence is also visible around the aircraft, which serves to both keep personnel from the plane and hide materials from view. 

Since the video was taken, commercial satellite imagery indicates the aircraft has been moved from its position adjacent to the maintenance hangar. Unfortunately, available imagery is not sufficiently detailed to determine if the radome has been added and the conversion is complete.