The A-50 (NATO code Mainstay) was developed by the G.M. Beriev Taganrog Complex based on the Il-76 military cargo plane, to replace the aging Tu-126 reconnaissance aircraft. Equipped with the giant Shmel radar system, it forms an efficient system for radar warning and guidance. It was accepted for service in 1989. The A-50 can be used to detect and track air and surface targets, in order to report their locations to army command posts with automated control systems for deployment of various air and surface weaponry. They may also be used to guide fighter and strike aircraft to air, land and sea targets, as well as serve as an air command post.