Ilyushin Il-20M

Ilyushin · Soviet Union · first flew 1968 · reconnaissance aircraft

The Ilyushin Il-20M is a Soviet four-turboprop signals-intelligence and reconnaissance aircraft, a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 airliner. NATO gave it the reporting name Coot-A.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	4 × turboprop, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Cigar-shaped radar housing slung under the fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Four turboprop engines on a low-set wing, as on the airliner it was developed from
Cigar-shaped radar housing slung under the fuselage
Large camera housing on the side of the fuselage, and two large satellite-communication antennas on top of it

Look for an Il-18-type airframe with four turboprops, a long under-fuselage radar fairing, a camera housing on the fuselage side and a number of antennas along the fuselage.

Specifications

The Ilyushin Il-20M has a length of 35.9 m (118 ft).
It has a wingspan of 37.42 m (123 ft).
Its maximum speed is 675 km/h (419 mph).
Typical crew: 13.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The first flight took place on 21 March 1968 and the test cycle was completed in 1969. It was built at the Moscow State Aircraft Plant No. 30 until 1974, developed from the Il-18D.

Variants

The aircraft is the Il-20M version of the Il-20 family. Some surviving aircraft were later converted to carry passengers and cargo as the reconnaissance equipment aged.

Where you'll see it

Il-20s were attached directly to the headquarters of a fleet or district rather than to air units. Il-20Ms were frequently observed over European waters during the Cold War and have flown along the Turkish Black Sea coast and in Syria from 2015.

Related aircraft

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