Russian Air Force

History

The Russian Air Force, officially established on 12 August 1912, as part of the Imperial Russian Air Service, has a long and complex history. It began as one of the earliest military aviation units globally, although its early years saw slow development due to the constraints of World War I. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the air service was reorganised under the Soviet regime, evolving into the Red Air Fleet in 1918, which later became part of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS).

Early development and Soviet era

After the war, the Soviet Air Force focused on modernising its fleet, developing jet fighters like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, which became famous during the Korean War. Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Air Force was a pivotal part of the USSR’s military strategy, with long-range bombers like the Tu-95 and advanced fighters such as the MiG-21 and Su-27 becoming iconic symbols of Soviet air power.

1991–2000

In 1993, Pyotr Deynekin announced that a Frontal Aviation Command (Moscow, under General-lieutenant of Aviation Nikolay Antoshkin) and a Reserves and Cadres Training Command (Samara, under Colonel-General Leonid Stepanyuk) were to be established, but little more was heard of these commands.

During the 1990s, the financial stringency that was felt throughout the armed forces made its mark on the VVS as well. Pilots and other personnel could sometimes not get their wages for months, and on occasion resorted to desperate measures: four MiG-31 pilots at Yelizovo in the Far East went on hunger strike in 1996 to demand back pay which was several months overdue, and the problem was only resolved by diverting unit money intended for other tasks.

The former Soviet Air Defence Forces remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997. During 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded, 134 reorganised, and over 600 were given a new jurisdiction.

The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185,000 from the former combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1,000 colonel positions. The resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. On 29 December 1998 Colonel General Anatoly Kornukov, a former Air Defence Forces officer and new commander-in-chief of the merged force succeeding Deynekin, reported to the Russian defense minister that the task had 'in principle been achieved'.

2001–2010

In December 2003 the aviation assets of the Russian Ground Forces—mostly helicopters—were transferred to the VVS, following the shooting down of a Mi-26 helicopter in Chechnya on 19 August 2002 that claimed 19 lives. The former Army Aviation was in its previous form intended for the direct support of the Ground Forces, by providing their tactical air support, conducting tactical aerial reconnaissance, transporting airborne troops, providing fire support of their actions, electronic warfare, setting of minefield barriers and other tasks. The former Army Aviation (Army Aviation of the Russian Federation) was subsequently managed by the Chief of the Department of Army Aviation. In 2010, it was announced that the 2003 decision to transfer Army Aviation to the Air Force was reversed, with the transfer back to the Ground Forces to occur sometime in 2015 or 2016.

During the 2000s, the Air Force continued to suffer from a lack of resources for pilot training. In the 1990s Russian pilots achieved approximately 10% of the flight hours of the United States Air Force. The 2007 edition of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Military Balance listed pilots of tactical aviation flying 20–25 hours a year, 61st Air Army pilots (former Military Transport Aviation), 60 hours a year, and Army Aviation under VVS control 55 hours a year.

In 2007 the VVS resumed the Soviet-era practice of deploying its strategic bomber aircraft on long-range patrols. This ended a 15-year unilateral suspension due to fuel costs and other economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Patrols towards the North Pole, the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean were reinstated, bringing the planes often close to NATO territory, including in one instance flying over the Irish Sea between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

During the 2008 South Ossetian War, the VVS suffered losses of between four and seven aircraft due to Georgian anti-aircraft fire. The 2008 Russian military reforms were promptly announced following the war, which according to Western experts were intended to address many inadequacies discovered as a result. The reforms commenced in early 2009, in which air armies were succeeded by commands, and most air regiments became air bases. Aviation Week & Space Technology confirmed that the reorganization would be completed by December 2009 and would see a 40 percent reduction in aircrew numbers.

In February 2009, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that 200 of the 291 MiG-29s currently in service across all Russian air arms were unsafe and would have to be permanently grounded. This action would remove from service about a third of Russia's total fighter force, some 650 aircraft. On 5 June 2009, the Chief of the General Staff, Nikolai Makarov said of the VVS that "They can run bombing missions only in the daytime with the sun shining, but they miss their targets anyway". Maj. Gen. Pavel Androsov said that Russia's long-range bombers would be upgraded in 2009 to be able to hit within 20 meters of their targets.

2011–2020

According to the instructions of the General Staff of the Armed Forces on 1 September 2011, the unmanned aircraft of the VVS and the personnel operating them moved under the command structure of the Russian Ground Forces.

As of 2012, the VVS operated a total of 61 air bases, including 26 air bases with tactical aircraft, of which 14 are equipped with fighter aircraft. In terms of flight hours, pilots in the Western Military District averaged 125 hours over the 2012 training year. Pilots from the Kursk air base achieved an average of 150 hours, with transport aviation averaging 170 hours.

In February 2014, during the early periods of Russia's annexation of Crimea, the assets of the VVS in the Southern Military District were activated and flown to the peninsula for supporting the rest of the operations.

On 1 August 2015, the Russian Air Force, along with the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces and the Air Defense Troops, were merged into a new branch of the armed forces, now officially called the Russian Aerospace Forces.

On 30 September 2015, the VVS launched a military intervention in Syria, in Syria's Homs region. On 24 November 2015, during a bombing mission, a Turkish Air Force F-16 shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 that Turkey claimed had violated its airspace.

In March 2020, the indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets by the VVS in Syria has been described as "amounting to war crime" by a United Nations Human Rights Council report.

On 9 November 2020, a Russian Mil Mi-24 attack helicopter was shot down mistakenly by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war killing 2 crew members and injuring 1 more. Days later, after the signing of the ceasefire agreement, Russian peacekeepers were deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh with aviation to patrol its borders.

2021–present

Modernization programs initiated during the 2010s continue under Russia’s State Armament Programme for 2018–2027, although their implementation has been affected by economic constraints, Western sanctions, and the demands of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Aerospace Forces continue to receive upgraded variants of Soviet-era aircraft, including the Sukhoi Su-30SM2, Su-34M, and Su-35S, while limited numbers of fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighters have entered service. At the same time, Russia has expanded its use of unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare systems, and precision-guided munitions.

Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Russian Air Force conducted large-scale strike operations against Ukrainian military infrastructure but has not achieved sustained air superiority over Ukraine. Ukrainian air defenses, including Soviet-era systems and later Western-provided systems such as Patriot and NASAMS, have forced Russian aircraft to operate at greater distances from the front line. As a result, the VKS increasingly relies on long-range missile strikes, stand-off weapons, and glide bombs equipped with Unified Gliding and Correction Modules (UMPK), which allow Soviet-era FAB-series bombs to be converted into guided weapons.

Since 2023, Russian aviation has increasingly relied on glide bombs, particularly those deployed by Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft. These weapons have become a major component of Russian close air support operations, allowing aircraft to strike Ukrainian positions while remaining outside the effective range of many Ukrainian air-defense systems.

The war has resulted in significant losses among Russian aviation assets. Several high-value aircraft have been destroyed or damaged, including A-50 airborne early-warning aircraft, Su-34 fighter-bombers, Su-35 fighters, and Ka-52 attack helicopters. In June 2025, Ukraine conducted Operation Spider’s Web, a long-range drone attack against Russian air bases targeting strategic aviation assets, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers. Ukrainian officials claimed dozens of aircraft were destroyed or damaged, while independent assessments estimated lower but still significant losses.

On 24 February 2022, the VVS was deployed in support of the invasion of Ukraine. The VVS had reportedly deployed about 300 combat aircraft within range of Ukraine. On 25 February 2022, Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed several aircraft and set a Russian airbase on fire in the Millerovo air base attack. By March 2022, it was claimed that the VVS had carried out at least 1403 airstrikes on Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.

Leadership

Previously the highest military office until 1 August 2015.

Since the merger between the VVS and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces on 1 August 2015, the commander of the VVS as part of the new Russian Aerospace Forces is titled Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Commander of the VVS. Lieutenant General Andrey Yudin became the first holder of the position until he was succeeded by Lieutenant General Sergey Dronov in August 2019.

Structure

In 2009 the structure of the VVS was completely changed to a command-air base structure from the previous structure of air army-air division or corps-air regiment. The VVS was divided into four operational commands, the Aerospace Defense Operational Strategic Command (seemingly primarily made up of the former Special Purpose Command), the Military Transport Aviation Command, and the Long-Range Aviation Command. This listing is a composite; the available new information covers frontline forces, and the forces of central subordination are as of approximately August 2008. Warfare.ru maintains what appears to be a reasonably up-to-date listing, and Combat Aircraft magazine in June 2010 listed their organization's estimate of the new order of battle.

This listing appears to be as of June 2009:

Regional air armies

Russian Air Force flights often use a callsign beginning with RFF: For example RFF1234.

1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defense Army (Moscow Military District)

4th Aerospace Defense Brigade (Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow Oblast)

5th Aerospace Defense Brigade (Petrovskoe, Moscow Oblast)

6th Aerospace Defense Brigade (Rzhev, Tver Oblast) (former 32nd Corps of PVO?)

6963rd aviation base (Kursk Vostochny Airport) (Su-30, MiG-29SMT/UBT)

6968th fighter aviation base (Borisovsky Khotilovo, Tver Oblast) (Su-27, MiG-31B, MiG-31BM, Su-24)

6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (Voronezh) (Leningrad Military District)

1st Aerospace Defense Brigade (Severomorsk)

2nd Aerospace Defense Brigade (St. Petersburg)

6961st aviation base (Petrozavodsk Airport) (Su-27)

6964th aviation base (Monchegorsk Air Base, Murmansk Oblast) (Su-24M, Su-24MR)

6965th aviation base (Vyazma Airport, Smolensk Oblast) (Mi-8TM, Mi-24V, Mi-28N)

7000th aviation base (Voronezh Malshevo Air Base) (Su-24M, Su-24MR, Su-34)

14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (Yekaterinburg) (Central Military District)

Military Transport Aviation Command

Headquarters: Moscow

6955th Aviation Base (Migalovo (Tver)) (Il-76MD)

6956th Aviation Base (Orenburg) (Il-76MD)

6958th Aviation Base (Taganrog, Rostov Oblast) (Il-76MD)

6985th Aviation Base (Pskov Airport) (Il-76MF)

Long-Range Aviation

Headquarters Moscow

6950th Aviation Base (Engels-2, Saratov Oblast) (Tu-22 M3, Tu-95 MS6, Tu-160) former 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division

6952nd Aviation Base (Ukrainka Air Base, Amur Oblast) (Tu-95 MS16)

6953rd Aviation Base (Belaya Air Base, located at Sredni, Irkutsk Oblast) (Tu-22 M3)

Forces of Central Subordination

132nd Central Communications Center, Balashikha, Zarya airport, Moscow Oblast

1st Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment – Su-24 – Lebyazhye – absorbed by 6970th Aviation Base, 1 September 2009

764th Fighter Aviation Regiment – MiG-31, MiG-25PU – Bolshoye Savino Airport (Sokol)

8th Special Purpose Aviation Division (Chkalovsky Airport)

353rd Special Purpose Aviation Regiment— Chkalovsky Airport — Il-18, Il-76, An-12, An-72, Tu-134, Tu-154.

354th Special Purpose Aviation Regiment— Chkalovsky Airport — Il-18, Il-76, An-12, An-72, Tu-134, Tu-154.

206th Special Purpose Aviation Base — Chkalovsky Airport — Mi-8 helicopters.

223rd Flight Unit – commercial transport – Chkalovsky Airport – Il-62M, Il-76MD, Tu-134A-3, Tupolev Tu-154B-2

2457th Air Base of Long Range Radiolocation Detection Aircraft – A-50, A-50М – Ivanovo Severny

929th State Flight Test Centre named for V. P. Chkalov (Akhtubinsk)

1338th Test Centre – Chkalovsky Airport – Ilyushin Il-22, Ilyushin Il-80, and Il-82

High-altitude mountain Center for Air Materiel and Weapons Research – Nalchik

368th Detached Composite Aviation Squadron (An-12)

Warehouses, Storage and Maintenance Depots, Aircraft Repair Plants

(Russian: List of Aircraft Factories in Russia)

Central Aviation Base of Rocket Armament and Ammunition, Sergiyev Posad, Moscow Oblast

Aviation Warehouse of Rocket Armament and Ammunition, Yoshkar-Ola

Supply and Storage Depot of Air Defense Rocket Armament, Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast

Storage and Maintenance Depot of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Yaroslavl (Tunoshna)

502nd Military Equipment Maintenance Plant, Fryazevo (Noginsk-5)

1015th Military Equipment Maintenance Plant, Nizhniye Sergi-3, Sverdlovsk Oblast

1019th Military Equipment Maintenance Plant, Onokhoy-2, Buryat Republic

1253rd Central Radar Armament Maintenance Base, Samara-28

2227th Armament Maintenance and Storage Base, Trudovaya, Moscow Oblast

2503rd Central Base of Automated Control Systems Maintenance, Yanino-1, Leningrad Oblast

2529th Central Base of Armament Maintenance, Khabarovsk

2633rd Base of Armament Maintenance and Storage, Lyubertsy, Moscow Oblast

3821st Base of Armament Maintenance and Storage, Tosno, Leningrad Oblast

Training and Research Organisations

2nd Central Scientific-Research Institute — Tver

13th State Scientific Research Institute "ERAT" Luberchi, Moscow Oblast

30th Central Scientific-Research Institute (ЦНИИ АКТ) — Shelkovo, also includes research institutes in Noginsk.

Gagarin Military Air Academy (VVA) — Monino

Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy — Moscow

Zhukov Command Academy of Air Defense — Tver ( branch in the St. Petersburg )

Yaroslavl Anti-aircraft Missile Defence Institute

Chelyabinsk Red Banner Military Aviation Institute of Navigators

604th Training Aviation Regiment — Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport

Voronezh Central Military Aviation Engineering University (VCMAEU)

Both the Irkutsk Military Aviation Engineering Institute and the Tambov Military Aviation Engineering Institute were disbanded in 2009 and transferred to VCMAEU.

Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute (L-39Cs); by 2016, the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation Pilots College Named for Hero of the Soviet Union A.K. Serov

704th Training Aviation Regiment — Котельниково — L-39

627th Training Aviation Regiment — Тихорецк — Л-39

Medical and athletic facilities

State Research Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine, Moscow. Chief – Major-General Igor Ushakov.

5th Central Military Research Aviation Hospital, Krasnogorsk-3, Moscow Region.

7th Central Military Research Aviation Hospital, Moscow.

Spa Air Force, Chemitokvadzhe, Krasnodar Krai. Chief – Colonel Theodore Barantsev.

Central Sports Club VVS Samara. Chief – Colonel Dmitry Shlyahtin.

361st Center of Psychophysiological Training of personnel, Agha, Krasnodar region.

709th Center of Psychophysiological Training of personnel, Anapa (now Dzhubga), Krasnodar region.

464th Training Center for Physical Culture and Sports, Ufa, Bashkortostan.

The list of Soviet Air Force bases shows a number that are still active with the Russian Air Force.

With the Air Force now fusing into one joint service branch the personnel from the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces and their respective facilities, the following now report to the Aerospace Forces HQ:

Space Command (Russian: Космическое командование (KK)):

153rd Main Trial Centre for Testing and Control of Space Means named after G.S. Titov at Krasnoznamensk (Russian: Главный испытательный центр испытаний и управления космическими средствами имени Германа Титова)

Squadrons

As of 2014:

8 × Bomber squadrons (4 operating Tu-22M3/MR; 3 operating Tu-95MS; 1 operating Tu-160)

37 × Fighter squadrons (8 operating MiG-29; 3 operating MiG-29SMT; 11 operating MiG-31/MiG-31BM; 10 operating Su-27; 4 operating Su-27SM1/Su-30M2; 1 operating Su-27SM3/Su-30M2)

27 × Attack squadrons (11 operating the Su-24M/Su-24M2; 13 operating Su-25/Su-25SM; 3 operating Su-34)

10 × Attack & Reconnaissance squadrons (1 operating Su-24M/MR; 8 operating Su-24MR; 1 operating Mig-25RB)

1 × AEW&C squadron (1 operating A-50/A50-U)

1 × Tanker squadron (1 operating Il-78/Il-78M)

Equipment

The precise quantitative and qualitative composition of the VVS is unknown and figures include both serviceable and unserviceable aircraft as well as those placed into storage or sitting in reserve. FlightGlobal estimated that there were about 3,947 aircraft in inventory in 2015. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the share of modern armament in the VVS had reached about 35% during 2014. The figure was raised to 66% by late 2016 and to 72% by late 2017. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian Air Force received in 2023 more than 100 new and repaired aircraft and 150 helicopters.

Estimates provided by the IISS show that VVS combat pilots average 60 to 100 flight hours per year and pilots flying transport aircraft average 120 flight hours per year.

Radars

The VVS operates several Nebo-M radars, that combine meter, decimeter, and centimeter range. First two Nebo-M regiments were deployed in 2017 to Saint Petersburg and Kareliya. In 2018, further two regiments were deployed to Crimea and Penza. In 2019, a regiment was delivered to Volga region. In 2020, two regiments were deployed to the Far East and Naryan Mar.

Additionally, the VVS operates radars that work in meter range only. Such systems are Nebo-UM (first units were delivered in 2018 to Voronezh and in 2020 to Rostov-on-Don) as well as Rezonans-NE radars that have been constructed in the Arctic in Zapolyarniy, Indiga, Shoyna and Nova Zemlya, with another in Gremikha under construction.

Ranks and insignia

The VVS inherited the ranks of the Soviet Union, although the insignia and uniform were slightly altered and the old Tsarist crown and double-headed eagle were re-introduced. The VVS uses the same rank structure as the Russian Ground Forces.

Aircraft procurement

Production of the Russian aerospace industry for the Russian Armed Forces, 'by year of manufacture (first flight):