Soviet Air Force

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Soviet Air Force

The Soviet Air Force, also known under the abbreviation VVS, transliterated from Russian: ???, ??????-????????? ???? (Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily), was the official designation of one of the air force

Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army or historically an army air corps , is in the broadest sense, the national armed force or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare....
s of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces.

VVS was founded as the "Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet," with the status of a Main Directorate, on May 24, 1918, succeeding the Imperial Russian Air Force

Imperial Russian Air Force

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Air force

Soviet Union

Early Years

The VVS was founded as the "Workers' and Peasants' Air Fleet," with the status of a Main Directorate, on May 24, 1918, succeeding the Imperial Russian Air Force

Imperial Russian Air Force

The Imperial Russian Air Force existed in the Russian Empire between 1910 and 1917.The origins of Russian aviation go back to theoretical projects of the 1880s by pioneer Russian scientists such as Nikolai Kibalchich and Alexander F....
. It became the Directorate of the USSR Air Forces on March 28, 1924, and then the Directorate of the Workers-Peasants Red Army Air Forces on January 1, 1925. Gradually its influence on aircraft design

Aeronautics

File:An-225 Mriya.jpgFile:Atlantis on Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.jpgFile:Typhoon f2 zj910 arp.jpgAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacture of flight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft....
became greater. From its earliest days, the force mimic

Mimic

Biology mimicry occurs when a group of organisms, the mimics, have evolution to share common perception characteristics with another group, the models, through the selection action of a signal-receiver or dupe....
ked ground forces' organisation, being made up of Air armies

Air Army (Soviet Union)

An air army was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Forces from 1936 until its dissolution in 1991. Air armies continue to be used in the successor Russian Air Force....
, Aviation Division

Aviation Division

An Aviation Division was a type of formation of the Soviet Air Forces during the Second World War, the Soviet Air Force, Soviet Air Defence Forces and Soviet Naval Aviation, and since 1991 remain major formations within the Russian Air Force....
s, and Aviation Regiment

Aviation Regiment

An Aviation Regiment was a type of unit employed to organise aircraft and their crews in air combat in the Soviet Air Forces during the Second World War, the Soviet Air Force, Soviet Air Defence Forces and Soviet Naval Aviation, and since 1991 remain major formations within the Russian Air Force and the Russian Naval Aviation....
s.

After the creation of the Soviet state many efforts were made in order to modernize and expand aircraft production, led by its charismatic and energetic commander, General Yakov Alksnis, an eventual victim of Stalin's purges. Domestic aircraft production increased significantly in the early years of the 1930s and towards the end of the decade the Soviet Air Force was able to introduce I-15 and I-16 fighters and SB-2, SB-2 BIS and DB-3 bombers.

One of the first major tests for the VVS came in 1936 with the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted coup d'?tat by a group of Spanish Army generals, supported by the conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right , Carlist groups and the fascistic Falange, against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of pr...
, in which the latest aircraft designs, both Soviet and German, were employed against each other in fierce air-to-air combat. At first, the I-16

Polikarpov I-16

The Polikarpov I-16 was a USSR fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first cantilever-winged monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear....
fighters proved superior to any of the German Luftwaffe fighter aircraft, and managed to achieve local air superiority wherever they were employed. However, the Soviets refused to supply the plane in adequate numbers, and their aerial victories were soon squandered because of their limited use. Later German Bf-109

Messerschmitt Bf 109

Air superiority

Air superiority is the dominance in the air power of one side's air forces over the other side's during a military campaign. It is defined in the NATO Glossary as "That degree of dominance in the air battle of one force over another that permits the conduct of operations by the former and its related land, sea, and air forces at a given time...
for the Nationalists, one they would never relinquish. The defeats in Spain coincided with the arrival of Stalin's Great Purge

Great Purge

Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1936-1938. Also described as a "Soviet holocaust" by several authors, it involved the purge of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, repression of kulaks, Red Army leadership, and the persecution of unaffiliat...
of the ranks of the military leadership, which severely affected the combat capabilities of the rapidly expanding Soviet Air Forces. Newly promoted officers lacked flying and command experience, while older commanders, witnessing the fate of General Alksnis and others, lacked initiative, frequently referring minor decisions to Moscow for approval, and insisting that their pilots strictly comply with standardized and predictable procedures for both aerial attack and defense.

On November 19, 1939, VVS headquarters was again titled the Main Directorate of the Red Army Air Forces.

The War with Finland

Some practical combat experience had been gained in participating in the Spanish Civil War, and against Japan in the Far-East. Shortly before the start of war with Germany a Soviet Volunteer Group

Soviet Volunteer Group

The Soviet Volunteer Group was the ostensibly volunteer Soviet air force to support the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1941....
was sent to China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
to train the pilots from the Republic of China Air Force

Republic of China Air Force

The Republic of China Air Force is the aviation branch of the military of the Republic of China , and is often viewed as one of the most technologically advanced and combat capable branches of the Republic of China's armed forces....
for the continuing war

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the twentieth century. From 1937 to 1941, it was fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan....
with the Japanese. However, these experiences proved of little use in the Winter war

Winter War

The Winter War or the Soviet-Finnish War began when the Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the invasion of Poland by Germany that started World War II....
against Finland in 1939, where scores of inexperienced Soviet bomber and fighter pilots were shot down by a relatively small number of Finnish Air Force

Finnish Air Force

The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnish Rapid Deployment Force for wartime conditions....
(FAF) pilots. The VVS soon learned that established Soviet air defense procedures derived from the Spanish Civil War, such as forming defensive circles when attacked, did not work well against the Finns, who employed dive-and-zoom tactics to shoot down their Soviet opponents in great numbers. The effects of the Great Purge

Great Purge

Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1936-1938. Also described as a "Soviet holocaust" by several authors, it involved the purge of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, repression of kulaks, Red Army leadership, and the persecution of unaffiliat...
in 1937-38 on the Red Army's officer corps undoubtedly played a role in the slow reaction of the VVS and its command to the new realities of air combat. The Soviet Air Force as well as the Soviet aircraft industry would eventually learn from these combat experiences, though not before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

On 1 January 1941, six months prior to Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 kilometer front ....
, the Air Forces of the Soviet Red Army had 363,900 serving personnel, accounting for 8.65% of all military force personnel of the Soviet Union.

World War II

At the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, the Soviet military was not yet at a level of readiness suitable for winning a war: Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1922 until his death in 1953....
had said in 1931 that Soviet industry was "50 to 100 years behind" the Western powers. By the end of the war, Soviet annual aircraft production

Military production during World War II

Military production during World War II was a critical component to military performance during World War II. Over the course of the war, the Allies of World War II outproduced the Axis powers in most categories of weapons....
outstripped that of the German Reich

German aircraft production during World War II

The following is a list of production of aircraft of wartime Germany during World War II by type and year. Note that some figures may not be accurate, and it is not comprehensive....
; annual Soviet production rose to 40,241 aircraft in 1944. Some 157,261 aircraft were produced during the Great Patriotic War, of them 125,655 combat types.

The main reason for the large aircraft losses in the initial period of war with Germany was not the lack of modern tactics, but the lack of experienced pilots and ground support crews, the destruction of many aircraft on the runways due to command failure to disperse them, and the rapid advance of the Wehrmacht ground troops, forcing the Soviet pilots on the defensive during Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that commenced on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a 2,900 kilometer front ....
, while being confronted with more modern German aircraft. In the first few days of Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa

Luftwaffe

is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
destroyed some 2000 Soviet aircraft, at a loss of only 35 aircraft (of which 15 were non-combat-related).

The principal aircraft of the VVS during World War II were the Ilyushin Il-2

Ilyushin Il-2

The Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik was a ground attack aircraft in World War II, produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers. In combination with its successor, the Ilyushin Il-10, a total of 36,163 were built, making it the single most produced military aircraft design in all of aviation history as well as the third most produced aircraft i...
Shturmovik ground assault model and the Yakovlev Yak-1

Yakovlev Yak-1

The Yakovlev Yak-1 was a World War II Soviet Union fighter aircraft and the first among the war's many successful Yakovlev fighters....
fighter in its many variants; each of which became the most produced aircraft of all time in its class, together accounting for about half the strength of the VVS for most of the Great Patriotic War. The Yak-1 was a modern 1940 design and had room for development, unlike the mature design of the Messerschmitt Bf 109

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a Germany World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt in the early 1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear....
. The Yak-9 brought the VVS to parity with the Luftwaffe, eventually allowing it to gain the upper hand over the Luftwaffe until in 1944, when many Luftwaffe pilots were deliberately avoiding combat with the last and best variant, the out-of-sequence numbered Yak-3. The other main VVS aircraft types were Lavochkin fighters, mainly the Lavochkin La-5

Lavochkin La-5

The Lavochkin La-5 was a Soviet Union fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Goudkov LaGG-3 and was one of the Soviet Air Force's most capable types of warplane....
, the Petlyakov Pe-2

Petlyakov Pe-2

The Petlyakov Pe-2 , nicknamed Peshka was a Soviet Union dive bomber bomber aircraft used during World War II. It was fast and maneuverable yet durable, and was manufactured in large numbers....
twin engined attack-bombers, and a basic but functional and versatile medium bomber, the Ilyushin Il-4

Ilyushin Il-4

The Ilyushin Il-4 was a Soviet Union World War II bomber aircraft, widely used by the Soviet Air Force although not well known. Its NATO code-name was Bob....
.

Alone among World War II combatants, the Soviet Air Force initiated a program to bring women with existing air training into combat air groups. Marina Raskova

Marina Raskova

Marina Mikhailovna Raskova was a famous Russian navigator, often referred to as the "Russian Amelia Earhart". She later became one of over 800,000 women in the military service in a huge way by founding three female air regiments which would eventually fly over 30,000 sorties in World War II....
, one of very few women in the VVS prior to the war, used her influence with Stalin to form three all-female air regiments: the 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, the 587th Bomber Aviation Regiment and the 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment aka the Night Witches
Night Witches

The Night Witches was the nickname the Germans gave to the World War II Soviet Air Forces 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later called the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, a women-only combat regiment formed at the instigation of Marina Raskova and led by Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya....
. Because of their achievements in battle, the latter two units were honored by being renamed Guards unit

Guards unit

Guards units are elite Military unit in the armed forces of the former Soviet Union, Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. These units were awarded Guards status after distinguishing themselves in service, and are considered to have elite#Military status....
s. Beyond the three official regiments, individual Soviet women sometimes served alongside airmen in otherwise all-male groups. Women pilots, navigators, gunners, mechanics, armament specialists and other female ground personnel made up more than 3,000 fighting members of the VVS. Women pilots flew 24,000 sorties. From this effort came the world's only two female fighter aces: Lydia Litvak and Katya Budanova

Katya Budanova

Yekaterina Vasylievna Budanova, also known as Katya Budanova , , was a female fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. With 11 victories, she was one of the world's two female fighter aces along with Lydia Litvyak....
.

Chief Marshal of Aviation Alexander Novikov

Alexander Novikov

Alexander Alexandrovich Novikov was the Chief Marshal for the Soviet Air Force during Russia involvement in the Second World War. Lauded as "the man who has piloted the Red Air Force through the dark...
led the VVS from 1942 to the end of the war, and was credited with introducing several new innovations and weapons systems. For the last year of the war German military and civilians retreating towards Berlin were hounded by the presence of "low flying aircraft" strafing and bombing them, an activity in which even the ancient Polikarpov Po-2

Polikarpov Po-2

The Polikarpov U-2 or Po-2 served as a general-purpose Soviet Union biplane, nicknamed Kukuruznik , NATO reporting name of "Mule". The reliable, uncomplicated and forgiving aircraft served as a trainer and crop-duster....
, a much produced biplane of 1920s design, took part. However, this was but a small measure of the experience Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
front-line s were receiving of the sophistication and superiority the Red Air Force had achieved. In one strategic operation alone, the Yassy-Kishinev Strategic Offensive, the 5th

5th Air Army

The 5th Air Army is currently Russian Air Force's smallest Air Army, with the headquarters located in Yekaterinburg, its zone of responsibility being the Volga-Ural Military District, on the border between Europe and Asia....
, 17th Air Armies and the Black Sea Fleet Naval Aviation aircraft achieved a 3.3:1 superiority in aircraft over the Luftflotte 4

Luftflotte 4

Luftflotte 4 was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed March 18 1939 from Luftwaffenkommando ?sterreich in Vienna....
and the Royal Romanian Air Force

Royal Romanian Air Force

The Fortele Aeriene Regale ale Rom?niei , or simply Fortele Aeriene Rom?ne was the Air Arm of Royal Romanian forces in WWII. It provided support to land forces, carrying out reconnaissance missions, and mounting air raids between other missions in all combat fronts....
, allowing almost complete freedom from air harassment for the ground troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts.

As with many allied countries in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
the Soviet Union received western aircraft by Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the name of the program under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Republic of China, Free France and other Allies of World War II with vast amounts of materiel between 1941 and 1945 in return for, in the case of Britain, military bases in Newfoundland and Labrador, Bermuda, and the British W...
, mostly P-39 Airacobra

P-39 Airacobra

The Bell Aircraft P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal United States fighter aircraft in service at the start of World War II. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the lack of an efficient turbocharger, limiting it to low-altitude work, although the type was used with great success by the Sov...
s, P-63 Kingcobra

P-63 Kingcobra

The Bell Aircraft Corporation P-63 Kingcobra was a United States fighter aircraft developed in World War II from the P-39 Airacobra in an attempt to correct that aircraft's deficiencies....
s, Hawker Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a United Kingdom single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft. Some production of the Hurricane was carried out in Canada by the Canada Car and Foundry....
s, Curtiss P-40

Curtiss P-40

The Curtiss-Wright P-40 was an United States single-engine, single-seat, Aluminium fighter aircraft and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938....
Kittyhawks and A-20 Havocs. Soviets in P-39s scored the highest individual kill totals of any pilot ever to fly a U.S. aircraft. Two air regiments were equipped with Spitfire Mk. Vb

Supermarine Spitfire

The Supermarine Spitfire is a United Kingdom single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allies of World War II countries through the Second World War and on into the 1950s as a frontline fighter and in secondary roles....
in early 1943 but immediately experienced unrelenting losses due to friendly fire

Friendly fire

Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States Armed Forces, refers to Shooting from one's own side or allied forces, as opposed to fire coming from enemy forces....
as the British aircraft looked too much like its German nemesis, the Bf 109. Lend-Lease aircraft from the US and UK accounted for nearly 12% of total Soviet air power.

Cold War

During the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
, the Soviet Air Force was rearmed, strengthened and modern air doctrines were introduced. At its peak in the 1980s, it could deploy approximately 10,000 aircraft, and at the beginning of the 1990s the Soviet Union had an air force that in terms of quantity and quality fulfilled superpower standards..

During the Cold War

Cold War

Long Range Aviation

Long Range Aviation was the branch of the Soviet Air Force tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, it was the counterpart to the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force....
(Dal'naya Aviatsiya or 'DA'), focused on long-range bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them....
s; Frontal Aviation (Frontovaya Aviatsiya or 'FA'), focused on battlefield air defense, close air support

Close air support

In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces....
, and interdiction

Air interdiction

Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. It differs from close air support because it does not directly support ground operations and is not closely coordinated with ground units....
; and Military Transport Aviation (Voenno-Transportnaya Aviatsiya or 'VTA'), which controlled all transport aircraft. The Air Defense Forces (Voyska protivovozdushnoy oborony or Voyska PVO), which focused on air defense and interceptor aircraft

Interceptor aircraft

An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, particularly bomber aircraft, usually relying on great speed....
, was then a separate and distinct service within the Soviet military organization. It was this force that shot down KAL 007 on September 1, 1983.

A list of units and bases can be found here

List of Soviet Air Force bases

This List of Soviet Air Force bases shows the state of the Soviet Air Force during the last decade of the Cold War to present. Dates shown indicate years during which units and aircraft were known to be at that airbase....
.

The Russian Navy

Russian Navy

The Russian Navy or VMF is the Navy of the Russian Armed Forces. The international designation of Russian naval vessels is "RFS" - "Russian Federation Ship"....
has its own independent air arm, Naval Aviation (Aviatsiya Voenno Morskogo Flota
Soviet Naval Aviation

Soviet Naval Aviation was a part of the Soviet Navy.The first naval airborne forces Military units in Russia were formed in 1912-1914 as a part of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and the Soviet Black Sea Fleet....
or 'AV-MF').

Soviet Air Armies in the last years of the Soviet Union included:

Aviation formation directly subordinated to HQ Command VVS

Long-Range Aviation

30th Air Army VGK (Irkutsk
Irkutsk

Irkutsk is one of the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia in Siberia and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, situated by rail from Moscow....
, Long Range Aviation
Long Range Aviation

Long Range Aviation was the branch of the Soviet Air Force tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, it was the counterpart to the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force....
)
37th Air Army
37th Air Army

The 37th Air Army of the High Supreme Command is the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force, equipped with Tu-95 and Tu-160 armed with nuclear cruise missiles, and the intermediate range Tu-22M bombers....
VGK (Special subordination) (Moscow, Long Range Aviation
Long Range Aviation

Long Range Aviation was the branch of the Soviet Air Force tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, it was the counterpart to the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force....
)
46th Air Army VGK (Smolensk
Smolensk

Smolensk is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative centre of Smolensk Oblast, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler....
, Long Range Aviation
Long Range Aviation

Long Range Aviation was the branch of the Soviet Air Force tasked with long-range bombardment of strategic targets with nuclear weapons. During the Cold War, it was the counterpart to the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force....
)

Frontal Aviation in Groups of Forces

16th Air Army (Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany

The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
)
4th Air Army VGK (Special purpose)
36th Air Army (Southern Group of Forces
Southern Group of Forces

The Southern Group of Forces was a Soviet Army formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
)
131st mixed air division

Military Transport Aviation

Frontal Aviation

5th Air Army (Frontal Aviation) (Odessa Military District
Military district

Military districts are formation s of a state's armed forces which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and in countries with conscript forces, often handle parts of the conscription cycle....
)*15th Air Army (Baltic Military District
Baltic Military District

The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the Operation Barbarossa, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....
)
26th Air Army (Belarussian Military District) On 15 June 1992, by decree ? 05 of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Belarus, the 26th Air Army headquarters became the command of the Air Forces of the Republic of Belarus
Belarusian Air Force

The Belarusian Air Force is the air force of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1942 from the 26th Air Army of the Soviet Air Forces which had been serving in the Belorussian SSR....
.
14th Air Army VVS
17th Air Army (Kiev Military District
Kiev Military District

The Kiev Military District was a Russian military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of theSoviet Armed Forces....
) (primarily a training force)
24th Air Army VGK (Special purpose) (South-Western Strategic Direction) At the dissolution of the Soviet Union this Army had forces in Belarus and Ukraine. In Ukraine forces consisted of the 32nd Bomber Aviation Division, at Starokonstantinov, the 56th Bomber Aviation Division at Cherlyany, and the 138th Fighter Aviation Division at Mirgorod. In the Ukraine in 1991-92, this Army had available over 140 Su-24 Fencer, over 35 Yak-28 electronic warfare aircraft, and 40 MiG-27 Floggers and 40 Su-27 Flankers for strike escort.
34th Air Army (Transcaucasian Military District
Transcaucasian Military District

The Transcaucasian Military District, a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, traces its history to May 1921 and the incorporation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia into the USSR....
)
73rd Air Army (Alma-Ata, Central Asian Military District)
76th Air Army (Leningrad, Leningrad Military District
Leningrad Military District

The Leningrad Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. As the Russian Military of Defence site officially states, it traces its history from the Petersburg Military District of Imperial Russia....
)
VVS Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District

The Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. General of the Army Vladimir Bakin has commanded the District since June 6, 2005....
23rd Air Army (Transbaikal Military District
Transbaikal Military District

The Transbaikal Military District was a military district of first the Military of the Soviet Union and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on May 17, 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia....
)
1st Air Army
1st Air Army

The 1st Air Army was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during Eastern Front . It was formed on May 10, 1942 within the Western Front , and renamed the 26th Air Army on January 10, 1949 in the Belorussian Military District....
of Frontal Aviation (Far Eastern Military District
Far Eastern Military District

The Far Eastern Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which traces its history originally to the East Siberian Military District originally formed in 1918, during the Russian Civil War....
)

Aviation PVO (Air Defense)

6th Separate Army of PVO (Air Defense) (part) (see below in Leningrad)
2nd Separate Army of PVO Air Defence Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
(part)
8th Separate Army of PVO (Soviet Air Defence Force)
19th Separate Army of PVO (Soviet Air Defence Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
)
12th Separate Army of PVO (Soviet Air Defence Forces)
6th Separate Army of PVO
6th Air Army

The 6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of Military-Air Forces and Air Defence is an Air Army of the Russian Air Force, which traces its history to the prewar PVO command in the Leningrad area, which later became 13th Air Army of the Leningrad Front....
(Soviet Air Defence Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
) (part)
10th Separate Army of PVO (Soviet Air Defence Force
Soviet Anti-Air Defense

Voyska PVO was the air defense branch of the Soviet Union military. It continued being a service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from 1991 to 1998....
)

Aviation VVS and PVO (Air Defense) in territory of the Volga-Ural military district

VVS Of Volga-Ural
4th Separate Army of PVO
4th Air Army

The 4th Air Army was a Soviet Air Force formation and is now part of the Russian Air Force as the 4th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence....
(Air Defense) (Frontal Aviation)

Aviation VVS and PVO (Air Defense) in Siberia

14th Separate Army of PVO
14th Air Army

The 14th Air Army of the Russian Air Force, was first formed in World War II as part of the Soviet Air Force.The Army was first formed from the Air Forces of the Volkhov Front in June 1942, and in 1943 participated in the Novgorod-Luga operation....
(Soviet Air Defence Forces)
11th Separate Army of PVO
11th Air Army

The 11th Air Army of the Russian Air Force, is located in the Russian Far East and Pacific Coast area, and its zone of responsibility covers the Far East Military District....
(Far East Military District)

1980s Fighter Programs

In the 1980s the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
acknowledged the development of the Advanced Tactical Fighter

F-22 Raptor

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a Fighter aircraft#Fifth generation jet fighters , fighter aircraft that uses stealth aircraft technology....
in the USA and began the development of an equivalent fighter in order to maintain its position as a superpower.

Two programs were initiated, one of which was proposed to directly confront the United States' then-projected Advanced Tactical Fighter (that was to lead to the development of the F-22 Raptor

F-22 Raptor

The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is a Fighter aircraft#Fifth generation jet fighters , fighter aircraft that uses stealth aircraft technology....
/YF-23

YF-23 Black Widow II

The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 was an United States prototype fighter aircraft designed for the United States Air Force. The YF-23 was entered in Advanced Tactical Fighter competition but lost out to the Lockheed YF-22, which entered production as the F-22 Raptor....
). This future fighter was designated as Mnogofounksionalni Frontovoi Istrebitel (MFI) (Multifunctional Frontline Fighter) and designed as a heavy multirole aircraft, with air-supremacy utmost in the minds of the designers.

In response to the American X-32

Boeing X-32

The Boeing X-32 was a multi-purpose jet fighter in the Joint Strike Fighter Program. It lost to the Lockheed Martin X-35 demonstrator which was further developed into the F-35 Lightning II....
/F-35 project, Russia began the LFI program, which would develop a fighter reminiscent of the X-32/F-35 with a single engine, without the capabilities of a true multirole aircraft.

Russia would later change the designation of the LFI project to LFS, making it a multirole aircraft, primarily emphasising ground attack capability. During the 1990s the Russian military cancelled the LFS projects and continued with the MFI project, with minimal funding, believing that it was more important than the production of a light fighter-aircraft. Most recently the 'PAK FA' was planned, no advanced fighter successor to the Su-27 and MiG-29 family has entered service. Sukhoi

Sukhoi

Sukhoi is a major Russian aircraft manufacturer famous for its fighter aircraft. Founded by Pavel Sukhoi in 1939 as the Sukhoi Design Bureau , it is currently known as Sukhoi Corporation....
won the latest PAK FA

Sukhoi PAK FA

The Sukhoi PAK FA is a Fighter_aircraft#Fifth-generation_jet_fighters_.282005_to_the_present.29 Fighter aircraft which is being developed by Russia....
competition in 2002.

Breakup of the Soviet Union

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet VVS were divided among the newly independent states. Russia received the plurality of these forces, approximately 40% of the aircraft and 65% of the manpower, with these forming the basis for the new Russian Air Force

Russian Air Force

The Russian Air Force is the air force of Russia. It is the second largest Air Force in the world in terms of combat aircraft inventory. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin....
.

Commanders-in-Chief

Vershinin Konstantin Andreyevich (1946-1949, 1957-1969)
Zhigarev Pavel Fedorovich (1949-1957)
Kutakhov Pavel Stepanovich (1969-1984)
Yefimov Aleksandr Nikolayevich (1984-1990)
Chief Marshal of Aviation
Chief Marshal

The ranks of Marshal of a troop arm and Chief Marshal of a troop arm were senior military ranks of the Soviet Army. They were established in 1943....
Yevgeny Shaposhnikov
Yevgeny Shaposhnikov

Yevgeny Ivanovich Shaposhnikov is a Russian military leader and business figure, Chief Marshal of Aviation .In 1987-1988, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov was the air force commander of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany ....
(1990-1991)

Soviet Air Force Inventory as of 1991

200 strategic bombers, : 150 Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

Tupolev Tu-95

The Tupolev Tu-95 is a large, four-engine turboprop powered strategic bomber and missile platform.First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 was put into service by the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040.....

35 Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack

Tupolev Tu-160

The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, swing-wing heavy bomber designed by the Soviet Union. It is similar in configuration to the B-1 Lancer but is significantly faster than the B-1B at altitude with a greater combat range and payload capacity....

15 Myasishchev M-4 Bison

Myasishchev M-4

The Myasishchev M-4 Molot is a four-engined strategic bomber, designed by Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1950s to provide a bomber capable of attacking targets in North America....

550 medium bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them....
s : 155 Tupolev Tu-22M Backfire

Tupolev Tu-22M

The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. Significant numbers remain in service with the Russian Air Force....

260 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

Tupolev Tu-16

The Tupolev Tu-16 was a twin-engine jet bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 50 years and, as the Xian H-6, remains in service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force....

135 Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder

Tupolev Tu-22

The Tupolev Tu-22 was a USSR supersonic bomber aircraft and reconnaissance military aircraft....

2830 fighter

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs....
s :610 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker

Sukhoi Su-27

The Sukhoi Su-27 is a one-seat Mach-2 class Jet engine fighter plane originally manufactured by the Soviet Union, and designed by the Sukhoi....

790 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum

450 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31 Foxhound

570 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 Flogger

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 is a swing-wing fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan bureau in the Soviet Union and is considered to belong to the "Third Generation" aircraft category along with similar-aged Russian-produced fighters like the MiG-25 "Foxbat"....

260 Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon

Sukhoi Su-15

The Sukhoi Su-15 was a twin-engine interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s to replace the Sukhoi Su-11....

105 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a high-supersonic Interceptor aircraft and reconnaissance/bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan bureau....

20 Tupolev Tu-128 Fiddler

Tupolev Tu-28

The Tupolev Tu-28/Tu-128 was a long-range interceptor aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It remains the world's largest production fighter aircraft....

20 Yakovlev Yak-28 Firebar

Yakovlev Yak-28

The Yakovlev Design Bureau Yak-28 was a swept wing, turbojet-powered combat aircraft used by the Soviet Union. Produced initially as a bomber aircraft, it was also manufactured in reconnaissance aircraft, electronic warfare, interceptor aircraft, and trainer aircraft versions, known by the NATO reporting names Brewer, Firebar, and...

2705 attack aircraft : 770 Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer

Sukhoi Su-24

The Sukhoi Su-24 was the Soviet Union's most advanced all-weather Air interdiction and attack aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s. The two-seat, twin-engined aircraft carried the USSR's first integrated digital nav/attack system....

210 Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot

Sukhoi Su-25

The Sukhoi Su-25 is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for the Red Army....

830 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27 Flogger

895 Sukhoi Su-7 Fitter-A

Sukhoi Su-7

For the World War II mixed-power ground attack aircraft see Sukhoi Su-6The Sukhoi Su-7 was a swept wing, turbojet-powered fighter-bomber used by the Soviet Union and its allies....
and Sukhoi Su-17 Fitter-C

Sukhoi Su-17

The Sukhoi Su-17 was a Soviet Union attack aircraft developed from the Sukhoi Su-7 fighter-bomber. It enjoyed a long career in Soviet, later Russian, service and was widely exported to Eastern Bloc and Middle Eastern air forces....

84 tankers : 34 Ilyushin Il-76 Midas

Ilyushin Il-78

The Ilyushin Il-78 is a four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76....

30 Myasishchev M-4 'Molot' Bison

Myasishchev M-4

20 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

Tupolev Tu-16

40 AWACS: 40 Beriev A-50 Mainstay

Beriev A-50

The Beriev A-50 Shmel , is a Russian airborne early warning aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport. Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126, the A-50 first flew in 1978....

658 tactical reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Australian, Canadian, and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon ....
and ECM

Electronic countermeasures

Electronic countermeasures are a subsection of electronic warfare which includes any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems like IR and Laser....
aircraft : 65 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by the Mikoyan Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Balalaika or ol?wek by Polish pilots due to the shape of its fuselage....

195 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a high-supersonic Interceptor aircraft and reconnaissance/bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan bureau....

65 Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer

Sukhoi Su-24

195 Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer

Yakovlev Yak-28

260 strategic reconnaissance and ECM aircraft : 115 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger

Tupolev Tu-16

15 Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder

Tupolev Tu-22

The Tupolev Tu-22 was a USSR supersonic bomber aircraft and reconnaissance military aircraft....

4 Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

Tupolev Tu-95

102 Yakovlev Yak-28 Brewer

Yakovlev Yak-28

24 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 is a high-supersonic Interceptor aircraft and reconnaissance/bomber aircraft designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan bureau....

3050 helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
s

1500 trainers and training helicopters

615 transport aircraft : 40 Antonov An-124 'Ruslan' Condor

Antonov An-124

The Antonov An-124 Ruslan was the largest airplane in production until the Antonov An-225 was built. During development it was known as the An-400 and An-40 in the West, and it flew for the first time in 1982....

55 Antonov An-22 'Antey' Cock

Antonov An-22

Antonov An-22 ????? was the world's largest aircraft, until the advent of American C-5 Galaxy and later the Soviet An-124. Powered by 4 contra-rotating propellers turboprops, the design remains the world's largest turboprop-powered aircraft....

210 Antonov An-12 Cub

Antonov An-12

The Antonov An-12 is a four-engined turboprop Cargo aircraft. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10....

310 Ilyushin Il-76 Candid

Ilyushin Il-76

The Ilyushin Il-76 is a 4-engined strategic airlifter designed in the Soviet Union and in widespread use in Europe, Asia and Africa. Originally built for the military, the plane has subsequently seen extensive service as a commercial freighter, especially for the delivery of outsized or very heavy cargo....

2,935 civilian and other transport aircraft, usually Aeroflot

Aeroflot

OJSC "AeroflotRussian Airlines" , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the largest airline in Russia, based on passengers carried per year. Aeroflot is one of the List of airlines by foundation date in the world, tracing its history back to 1923....
aircraft which were easily converted

Soviet Air Force

Early Years

The War with Finland

World War II

Cold War

1980s Fighter Programs

Breakup of the Soviet Union

Commanders-in-Chief

Soviet Air Force Inventory as of 1991

Further reading