Antonov Company (part of Ukroboronprom concern) has announced a plan to boost programme to develop and build new airborne early warning and control aircraft for Ukrainian Air Force and Export.

The concept design for the new airborne early warning and control aircraft for the Ukrainian Air Force was unveiled for the Ukrainian defence minister and head of the National Security and Defense Council.

The new Ukraine’s An-148DRLV is an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft; a variant of the An-148 aircraft.

The fixed dual sided electronically scanned antenna array of  An-148DRLV is installed in a rectangular housing, dorsally mounted above the fuselage.

The An-148DRLV radar has an instrumental range more of 400km and detection range of 350km against a fighter aircraft sized target in dense hostile electronic warfare environments and at low target altitudes. The system is capable of tracking multiple air and sea target over the horizon and provides above 25km altitude coverage, 360° coverage and has sea surveillance capability. The radar incorporates an identification friend or foe interrogator.

The standard configuration of An-148 has a maximum range of 2,100–4,400 km and is able to carry 68–85 passengers, depending on the configuration. The maximum cruise and patrol speed of the aircraft are 850km/h and 450km/h respectively. The range is 4,400km. The take-off run of the aircraft is 1,560m and the maximum endurance is 8-10 hours. The aircraft weighs around 9,000kg and its maximum take-off weight is 41,500kg.