The Ilyushin Il-80 (NATO reporting name: Maxdome) is a Russian airborne command and control aircraft modified from the Ilyushin Il-86 airliner.
The Ilyushin Il-80 has the NATO reporting name Maxdome[1] (though some sources claim it uses the reporting name Camber, like the Il-86 passenger jet).[1] The Russian reporting name for the aircraft is Aimak, or Eimak (Mongolian for "clan").[1] The aircraft is believed to have first flown in the summer of 1985, with the first post-modification flight taking place on March 5, 1987, and deliveries starting later that year.[1] In all, four aircraft are known to have been converted from Il-86s.[1] They were registered CCCP-86146 through 86149, and were first observed by western photographers in 1992.
Heavily modified from the Ilyushin Il-86, the Il-80 (also referred to as the Il-86VKP) is meant to be used as an airborne command center for Russian officials, including the President, in the event of nuclear war.[1] The role of the Ilyushin Il-80 is similar to that of the Boeing E-4B.[2] The Il-80 has no external windows (save those in the cockpit), to shield it from a nuclear blast and nuclear electromagnetic pulse.[3] Only the upper deck forward door on the left and the aft door on the right remain from the standard design.[1] There is only one airstair door, instead of three. An unusual baffle blocks the aft cockpit windows. This may serve to block EMP or RF pulses.[1]
Unlike the standard Il-86 airliner, the Il-80 has two electrical generator pods mounted inboard of the engine nacelles.[1] Each pod is approximately 9.5 metres (32 feet) long and 1.3 metres (4 feet) in diameter.[1] Both pods include landing lights.[1]
Like the E-4B, the aircraft has a dorsal SATCOM canoe, believed to house advanced satellite communications equipment,[1] [3] and a trailing wire antenna mounted in the lower aft fuselage for very low frequency (VLF) radio transmission and reception (likely for communication with ballistic missile submarines).[1] [3]
When the present upgrades have reached the end of their life, it is expected that a new airborne command post, based on the Ilyushin Il-96-400M commercial aircraft and delivered as the so-called Doomsday plane, will replace them.[4]
Upon completion, all four Il-80s were delivered to the 8th Special Purposes Aviation Division at the Chkalovsky Airbase near Moscow.[1]
As of 2011 three Il-80s remain in service.[1] They are painted in the current livery of Aeroflot, the Russian state airline; and carry international civilian registrations RA-86147, RA-86148, and RA-86149.[1] The first Il-80, registration RA-86146, has been photographed without engines and is apparently out of service.[1] As of 2011 the Il-80s remain based at Chkalovsky Airbase, located 30km (20miles) northeast of Moscow.[1] The aircraft are rarely observed in operation, though at least one was seen at an air show.[1]
In December 2020, Russian media reported that radio communication equipment had been stolen from one of the Il-80s while it was undergoing maintenance.[5]