Aircraft manufacturers in Voronezh, Russia have begun the creation of a new type of command and control aircraft to be used in the event of a nuclear war, a military industry source has told Sputnik.

“The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two airborne command posts based on the Il-96-400M. One is being built,” the source said. A third aircraft may be ordered in the future, according to the source.

The new aircraft class is called the Zveno-3C, and the planes are expected to eventually replace the Ilyushin Il-80 airborne command and control aircraft, informally dubbed ‘Doomsday’ planes, which currently serve in the Russian air forces. Those planes were developed in the late 1980s on the basis of the Ilyushin Il-86 airliner and introduced into service with the military in 1992. Three of the four Il-80s built remain in service, and they are based at the Chkalovsky Airbase outside Moscow.

As is necessary for planes of its class, project Zveno-3C planes will be able to refuel in the air with the help of tanker aircraft, and will feature advanced radio systems enabling them to deliver orders to strategic aviation, road-mobile and silo-based nuclear forces and nuclear submarines in a radius of up to 6,000 km, in the event that conventional communications systems are knocked out. It’s also assumed that like their predecessors, the planes will have onboard air defences to enable them to hold their own against air and missile attack.