Russian air forces have put into service the third upgraded A-50U AWACS aircraft, ITAR-TASS reports with reference to the official representative of the air forces, Colonel Igor Klimov.

"A-50U aircraft was handed over to the customer at the airfield of Beriev Aircraft Company (Taganrog). Beriev Aircraft Company is the part of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). The aircraft has been inspected by the crew and it will perform ferry flight from Taganrog to its home base soon", - he said.

Representative of the air forces also noted that besides a tail number this vehicle also got its own name – “Sergey Atayants” (the aircraft was named after the aircraft designer, who led the development of A-50).

A-50U is intended for detection of air and surface targets, transmission of targeting data to fighters, transmission of radar signals (detection of air targets, including helicopters, cruising missiles, supersonic aircraft) to ground control stations. The most important component of A-50U is advanced and powerful radar system. A-50 is one of the world’s best AWACS aircraft in terms of radio electronic equipment and power-supply systems.