A video shot by a vacationer in North Korea has supplied a close-up view of an Air Koryo Ilyushin IL-76 that may very well be the nation’s first Airborne Early Warning (AEW) plane.
The IL-76 was captured in footage taken aboard an Air Koryo flight departing from Pyongyang’s Sunan Worldwide Airport in October. The plane, which had been a part of Air Koryo’s cargo fleet, has been in a upkeep facility on the airport for a little bit over a yr. Business satellite tv for pc imagery since October 2023 has revealed work on high of the fuselage that’s per a radar pedestal.

The brand new video reveals the plane from the facet, with the construction seen on high of the fuselage. It was shot from roughly 0.5 kilometers away, that means positive particulars of the construction are troublesome to make out.
Nevertheless, the construction on the airplane does seem much like a radar pedestal. A fence can also be seen across the plane, which serves to each maintain personnel from the airplane and conceal supplies from view.
For the reason that video was taken, business satellite tv for pc imagery signifies the plane has been moved from its place adjoining to the upkeep hangar. Sadly, obtainable imagery just isn’t sufficiently detailed to find out if the radome has been added and the conversion is full.