Tupolev TU-126 Moss
Throughout the Cold War the USSR remained behind its western enemies in electronic warfare equipment. The Soviets introduced the Tupolev Tu-126 Moss (NATO Designation) in the late 1960s for airborne early warning missions. The Tupolev TU-126 placed a large rotodome on a modified Aeroflot TU-114 Airliner, itself developed from the TU-95 (TU-20) Bear turboprop bomber first flown in the 1950s. The Tupolev Bear and derivatives have the distinction of being the fastest propeller driven aircraft in the world.
First identified in 1968, the Moss is believed to have entered service in 1971, the exact number used by Soviet Forces being unknown. US sources estimated that only about a dozen of this aircraft were operational throughout the 1980s and the performance of its radar was regarded as inferior to American equivalents. The TU-126 has been assessed by Western sources as being of only limited capability, being unable to detect cruise missiles or small aircraft at low level. The Soviet Air Force relied heavily on ground based direction and radar stations and arrival of the Tu-126 did not alter this. The only point in its favor was its powerful jamming equipment.
Early 1980s the Beriev A-50 Mainstay began development to replace the TU-126 in service. The Tu-126 was replaced by the A-50 Mainstay during the last years of the USSR. Commencing in the With greater capability than the Moss, operational examples began being fielded in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
