A photograph surfaced online showing the cockpit of the Russian "flying radar," a modern version of the early warning and control aircraft model "A-50U." The image displayed "golden windows" on the cockpit's upper and side glass. This led some internet users to wonder why certain areas of the glass are coated with a thin layer of gold.
According to the Russian website Fighterbomber, these gilded layers represent the most expensive coating used in the Russian aerospace forces, designed to protect the aircraft's crew from the effects of the electromagnetic wave fields emitted by the large lateral detection radar installed on the aircraft's body.
It is noteworthy that the "A-50U" is a modernized version of the Soviet flying radar and is equipped with a new radar capable of detecting and tracking up to 300 aerial targets at a range of 800 kilometers and directing 30 fighter jets towards them. The new Russian flying radar, which is considered one of the most expensive aircraft in the Russian aerospace forces, was designed and manufactured based on the Russian military transport aircraft "Il-76MD" at the Beriev Aircraft Company in Taganrog, southern Russia.
