Aero A.100

The Aero A.100 was a biplane light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft built in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. It was the final step in a design lineage that extended back to the Aero A.11 a decade earlier. A.100s remained in service throughout World War II and for a few years postwar.

Design and development

Development of the A.100 was in response to a Czechoslovak Air Force requirement of 1932 for a uniform replacement for the A.11s, Aero Ap.32s, and Letov Š.16s then in service. Work began with a revision of the Aero A.430 that quickly became quite a different aircraft. Of standard biplane configuration, the A.100 was a somewhat ungainly-looking aircraft and somewhat obsolescent by the time of its first flight in 1933, a member of the final generation of biplane military aircraft to be designed in Europe.

Operational history

Nevertheless, since the only other competitor for the air force contract, the Praga E.36 had not flown by the close of tenders, the A.100 was ordered for production. A total of 44 were built, in two batches.

A100

A100, A.100 or A-100 may refer to:

Beriev A-100

The Beriev A-100 is a Russian-built airborne early warning and control (AWACS) aircraft based on the Il-76MD-90A (Il-476) transport aircraft. This aircraft is developed to replace the Beriev A-50 "Mainstay" in Russian Air Force service. Avionics and configuration will be similar to the A-50U, but with a new Vega Premier Active Phased Array Radar.

Design and development

The A-100 is designated as the izdeliye PM, a project meant to develop a replacement for the A-50 AWACS aircraft. The aircraft is based on the improved Il-476, which has new PS-90A-76 turbofans that are 15% more powerful than the D-30KP used by the Il-76. The external shape of the A-100 will be similar to the A-50, with the main radar array housed in a rotating dome mounted on two struts above the fuselage. The new Vega Premier AESA radar in the dome will have electronic steering in elevation while azimuth is control by the rotation of the dome. The array will rotate once every 5 seconds, thus improving the radar's ability to track fast moving targets.