Aspidnoye, also referred to as Dresba and Krumaya, is an abandoned Russian military airfieldOAK MISSION 8003 31 JULY - 1 AUGUST
Central Intelligence Agency, August 1963. near

Ambarchik Ambarchik (russian: Амба́рчик) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and a port in Pokhodsky Rural Okrug of Nizhnekolymsky District of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located from Chersky, the administrative center of the district and from ...

Bilibinsky District Bilibinsky District (russian: Били́бинский райо́н; , ''Bilibinkèn rajon'') is an administrativeLaw #33-OZ and municipalLaw #43-OZ district (raion), one of the six in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is located in the west ...

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...

, on the border with the

Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

, located 41 km north of Petushki and near the now also abandoned settlement of Mikhalkino.

History

The airfield was constructed around 1960 and was initially classified by the CIA as a long range bomber base, though it was never completed. US

KH-4 The CORONA program was a series of American strategic reconnaissance satellites produced and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Directorate of Science & Technology with substantial assistance from the U.S. Air Force. The CORO ...

reconnaissance satellite passes in 1963 showed no aircraft activity at the base but indicated an exceptionally long 15,000 ft (4600 m) runway. However this runway was made of graded earth and analysts determined the airfield was probably not usable during the summertime due to mud and drainage across the surfaces. The airfield was likely intended as a winter season arctic staging base, as the open tundra and packed snow would allow for large numbers of bomber aircraft to be serviced with minimal infrastructure. The base would then be abandoned each spring. The airfield was intended for staging and dispersal for the Soviet Union's

Tupolev Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the ...

and

Tupolev Tu-22 The Tupolev Tu-22 ( NATO reporting name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with the Soviet military in the 1960s. The aircraft was a disappoint ...

bomber force. The position of Aspidnoye on the shore of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

would have given it access to northern resupply ship routes for fuel supplies. A defense radar facility, probably a P-14 Tall King unit, exists on satellite imagery 14 km northwest of the airfield. The last reference in declassified CIA documents to Aspidnoye was in 1973 when it appeared in a target list.OAK SUPPLEMENT PART 4, KH-9 MISSION 1205, 10 MARCH - 4 APRIL 1973
Central Intelligence Agency, CIA-RDP78T04752A000400010010-2, May 1973. It was listed as non-operational and covered by snow.

References

Soviet Long Range Aviation Arctic staging bases Former populated places in Russia Airports in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug {{Russia-mil-stub

History

See also

References