The 23rd Guards Tallinn Fighter Aviation Regiment (;
Military Unit Number 77984) is a
fighter aviation regiment
Aviation Regiment or Air Regiment is a type of military aviation unit, often used by the aviation corps of an army and equivalent to a Wing or Group, in most air forces.
Albania
* Albanian Aviation Regiment 4020
Australia
* Australian Army Avia ...
of the
Russian Air Force
" Air March"
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 12 August
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles =
, decorations =
, bat ...
. Based at
Dzyomgi, the regiment is part of the
303rd Mixed Aviation Division of the
11th Air and Air Defense Forces Army. Flying the
Sukhoi Su-35S
The Sukhoi Su-35 (russian: link=no, Сухой Су-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable aircraft, designed ...
, the regiment participated in the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
History
The regiment was formed in 2000 as the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment by the merger of the 60th Fighter Aviation Regiment and the 404th Tallinn Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment.
In December 2009, the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was reorganized during
reforms of the Russian Air Force, becoming the 6987th Aviation Base. The regiment was recreated and on 29 January 2018 received the Tallinn honorific, perpetuating the traditions of the 404th Fighter Aviation Regiment. Beginning in early August 2018, a flight from the regiment was stationed at
Yasny air base on
Iturup
, other_names = russian: Итуру́п; ja, 択捉島
, location = Sea of Okhotsk
, coordinates =
, archipelago = Kuril Islands
, total_islands =
, major_islands =
, area_km2 = 3139
, length_km = 200
, width_km = 27
, coastline =
, highest_moun ...
in the
Kuril Islands. The regiment is part of the 303rd Mixed Aviation Division of the 11th Air and Air Defense Forces Army, based at
Dzyomgi Airport. The regiment participated in
aerial warfare in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regimental navigator Major Viktor Anatolyevich Dudin was awarded the title
Hero of Russia on 4 March for downing a
Ukrainian Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...
during the invasion, becoming the first pilot to receive the award during the war. Regimental deputy commander Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Andreyevich Sizov received his Hero of Russia medal on 21 July, credited by state media with the destruction of eleven Ukrainian aircraft and thwarting an attempt to recapture
Snake Island. For "mass heroism and courage in battle," the regiment received the
Guards designation
Guards units (russian: Гвардия, translit=Gvardiya) were elite Military unit, units and formations in the Soviet Union, Soviet Soviet Armed Forces, Armed Forces that continue to exist in the Russian Russian Armed Forces, Armed Forces and ot ...
on 17 November 2022 as a reward for its performance in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That month, Sizov announced that the pilots of the unit were undergoing theoretical training on the
Sukhoi Su-57 at the
4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel, as the regiment was slated to become the first operational unit to receive the Su-57 in 2023.
[{{Cite web , last=Butowski , first=Piotr , date=2022-12-01 , title=Su-57 Felon To Enter Service With Elite Russian Air Force Unit , url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/su-57-felon-to-enter-service-with-elite-russian-air-force-unit , access-date=2023-01-16 , website=The Drive , language=en]
References
Regiments of the Russian Air Force from 2014
Military units and formations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine