The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенна-паветраныя сілы і войскі супрацьпаветранай абароны Рэспублікі Беларусь, Vajenna-pavietranyja sily i vojski supraćpavietranaj abarony Respubliki Bielaruś) is the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

of the Armed Forces of Belarus, formed in 1992 from the 26th Air Army of the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

which had been serving in the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

History

Soviet era

On 5 May 1942, on the basis of the Air Forces of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, the

1st Air Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Air Army (russian: 1-я воздушная армия) was an Air Army in the Soviet Air Force which served during World War II. It was formed on May 10, 1942, within the Soviet Western Front, and renamed the 26th Air Army on ...

was created. In January 1949, the Army became the

26th Air Army The 26th Air Army was an Air army of the Soviet Air Forces active from 1949 to 1980, and then 1988-1992. It was formed by redesignation of the 1st Air Army in February 1949 (in accordance with a decree of 10 January 1949, ГШ ВС СССР No. ...

. In 1980, the 26th Air Army was redesignated the Air Forces of the Belorussian Military District. In May 1988 the Air Forces of the District were again renamed the 26th Air Army. In June 1992, the headquarters of the 26th Air Army became the headquarters of the Air Forces of the Republic of Belarus. Aircraft operated by the 26th Air Army and 2nd Air Defence Army, prior to the collapse of the USSR, included the

MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-23; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-gener ...

, MiG-25, and the Sukhoi Su-22.

Independence and establishment

The Armed Forces of Belarus came into existence on September 20, 1991, when the Supreme Soviet of Belarus (''Верховный Совет Белоруссии'') voted an order "On the Formation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus" (''«О создании Вооружённых Сил Республики Беларусь»'') through the transformation of the Belorussian Military District of the Soviet Union. The order of the Supreme Soviet was followed by the Law "On the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus" (''«О Вооружённых Силах Республики Беларусь»'') a year later on November 3, 1992. In line with those transformations the 26th Air Army of the Belorussian MD became the Air Forces of Belarus and the Soviet Air Defence Troops' 2nd Air Defence Army became the Air Defence Troops of Belarus, continuing the Soviet practice of two separate air arms. Парад в Минске 2019 13

The Belarusian air force was established on June 15, 1992, when the Minister of Defence issued Order #05/15.06.1992 for the transformation of the 26th Air Army into the Air Forces of the Republic of Belarus (Russian: ''Военно-воздушные силы Республики Беларусь''). The Belarusian Air Force took over all the assets of the 26th AA, except for the 1st Guards Bomber Aviation Division (''1-я гвардейская бомбардировочная авиационная дивизия'' (''1 гбад'')), which was transferred to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. At that time the composition of the 26th ''Red Banner'' Air Army was: * 1st ''Guards Stalingradskaya, awarded the Order of Lenin and twice awarded the Order of the Red Banner'' Bomber Aviation Division, Lida (with three air regiments: 116th Guards Bomber Air Regiment at Ross' Air Base flying Su-24M, 305th BAR at Postavy-Ozerki AB, flying Su-24 and 497th BAR at Lida AB, flying Su-24M) * 927th Fighter Air Regiment (''927-й иап'') at Osovtsy-Beryoza AB, flying MiG-29 and MiG-21 * 10th Separate Reconnaissance Air Regiment (''10-й орап'') at Shtuchin AB, flying MiG-25RB/BM, Su-24MR and MiG-21R * 151st Separate Air Regiment for Electronic Warfare (''151-й оап РЭБ'') also at Shtuchin AB, flying MiG-25RB and Yak-28PP * 378th Separate Ground Attack Air Regiment (''378-й ошап'') also at Postavy-Ozerki AB, flying Su-25 * 397th Separate Ground Attack Air Regiment (''397-й ошап'') at Kobrin AB, flying Su-25 * 206th Separate Ground Attack Air Regiment (''206-й ошап'') at Pruzhany-West AB, flying Su-25 and L-39 * 50th Separate Mixed Air Regiment (''50-й осап'') at Lipki AB, flying Tu-134, An-12, An-26 and Il-22 aircraft, Mi-6, Mi-8 and Mi-24R helicopters. In May 1989 it absorbed the 66th Separate Mixed Air Squadron (''66-я осаэ'') and the 248th Separate Helicopter Squadron (''248-я овэ''), gaining their Mi-26, Mi-24К, Mi-8/MTYa/Mi-9. * 266th Separate Helicopter Squadron for Electronic Warfare (''266-я овэ РЭБ'') at Minsk-Stepnyanka AB, flying Mi-8PPA/SMV * 302nd Separate Helicopter Squadron for Electronic Warfare (''302-я овэ РЭБ'') also at Kobrin AB, flying Mi-8PPA/SMV The Belarusian Air Forces also took over a large helicopter fleet from the Air Defence Troops, army aviation and the aviation of the RVSN: From the Air Defence Troops: * 25th Separate Mixed Squadron, 2nd Separate Army of the ADT (''25-я осэ, 2-я ОА вПВО'') at Machulishti AB, flying 10 Mi-8 From the army aviation: * 65th Separate Heavy Combat Helicopter Regiment, Red Banner Belarusian Military District (''65-й отбвп, кБВО'') at Kobrin AB, flying 20 each of Mi-26, Mi-6 and Mi-8 * 181st Separate Combat Helicopter Regiment, 28th Combined Arms Army (''181-й обвп, 28-я ОА'') (Army HQ in Grodno) at Zasimovichi AB, flying 40 Mi-24V/P and 20 Mi-8MT/TV * 95th Separate ''Tilzitskaya, Red Banner'' Mixed Helicopter Squadron, 28th Combined Arms Army (''95-я Тильзитская, ордена Красной звезди освэ, 28-я ОА'') (Army HQ in Grodno) at Chekhovshchizna-Grodno AB, flying a total of 20 Mi-24R/K, Mi-8/9 and Mi-2 * 276th Separate Combat Helicopter Regiment, 5th ''Guards'' Tank Army (''276-й обвп, 5-я ГвТА'') (Army HQ in Borisov) at Borovtsy AB, flying 40 Mi-24V/P and 20 Mi-8MT/TV * 46th Separate Mixed Helicopter Squadron, 5th ''Guards'' Tank Army (''46-я освэ, 5-я ГвТА'') (Army HQ in Borisov) at Zaslonovo-Chashnik AB, flying a total of 20 Mi-24R/K, Mi-8/9 and Mi-2 * 13th Separate Mixed Helicopter Squadron, 7th Tank Army (''13-я освэ, 7-я ТА'') (Army HQ in Bobruysk) at Kiselevichi-Bobruysk AB, flying a total of 20 Mi-22VKP, Mi-6, Mi-9VzPU and Mi-8 From the RVSN aviation: * 206th Separate Helicopter Squadron, 32nd Ballistic Missile Division, 50th ''Red Banner'' Ballistic Missile Army (''206-я овэ, 32-я рд, 50-я кРА'') at Postavy AB, flying 8 Mi-8T and 2 Mi-9VzPU * 212th Separate Helicopter Squadron, 33rd ''Guards'' Ballistic Missile Division, 50th ''Red Banner'' Ballistic Missile Army (''212-я овэ, 33-я гврд, 50-я кРА'') at Mozyr' AB, flying 7 Mi-8T and 2 Mi-9VzPU * 257th Separate Helicopter Squadron, 49th ''Guards'' Ballistic Missile Division, 43rd Ballistic Missile Army (''257-я овэ, 49-я гврд, 43-я РА'') at Lida AB, flying 7 Mi-8T and 2 Mi-9VzPU After the break-up of the Soviet Union a memorandum was signed in Tashkent on May 15, 1992 between the successor states on the manner they will adhere to the

Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe The original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe (from the Atla ...

, commonly known as the Tashkent Accord (''Соглашение о принципах и порядке выполнения Договора об обычных вооруженных в Европе'' (''Ташкентское соглашение'')). According to it Belarus was only allowed to field 80 combat helicopters (including the R/K recon variants of the Mi-24 and the armed air assault variants of the Mi-8, which the USSR did not consider actual combat helicopters). Many helicopters were sold overseas, took part in UN peacekeeping missions, were put into storage or utilised at the 1169th Aviation Storage Base (''1169-я БХАТ'') at Luninets. In January 1992, the 927th Koenigsberg Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Fighter Regiment at Bereza-Osovitsy,

Brest Oblast Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative ce ...

(

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union. For ground forces t ...

55782) ( :ru:927-й истребительный авиационный полк) became part of the Air Force of Belarus. In 1993 or 1994, it was renamed as the 927th Koenigsberg Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Fighter Air Base. In 2001, the Air Forces (VVS) and Air Defence Troops were merged into the Air Forces and Air Defence of the Armed Forces of Belarus. In 2002 two Operational-Tactical Air Force Commands were formed parallel to the two territorial commands of the ground forces. The Western OTAFC had its HQ at the Baranovichi AB, Brest Oblast and was composed of one combat air base (Baranovichi), five missile air defence brigades, one radar brigade, four aviation command posts and other support units. The Southwestern OTAFC had its HQ at the Machulishchi AB in Minsk Oblast and was composed of one combat air base (Lida), three missile air defence brigades and one missile air defence regiment, one radar brigade, an aviation command post and other support units. The 50th Separate Transport Air Base, the reserve airfields and other support units were kept under Air Force HQ. In the end of 2014 the Chief of the Air Force and Air Defence Major-General Oleh Dvihalyov has informed the media, that the two OTAFCs were disbanded due to the increased automatisation in the command and control of the forces.

Air Defence Forces

The armed forces of the Soviet Union kept the air defence assets responsible for the air cover of the territory separate from the Air Force. The 2nd Separate Air Defence Army (''2-я отдельная армия ПВО'') provided air defence for the

and had its HQ in the capital Minsk. It had two air defence corps - the 11th Corps of Air Defence (''11-й корпус ПВО'') had its HQ in

Baranovichi Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of 2019) of 179,000. It is n ...

an AOR covering Belarus and the 28th Corps of Air Defence (''28-й корпус ПВО'') had its HQ in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

and AOR over Western Ukraine. At the time of its takeover by the military of Belarus the 11th Corps AD had the following structure: * 28th Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron, Minsk-Machulishchy, flying An-26, Mi-8 and Mi-9 (the army's liaison squadron) * 11th Corps of Air Defence (''11-й корпус ПВО''),

** 56th Signals Regiment, Urechye (city district within Minsk) ** 10th Separate Battalion for Electronic Warfare ** 61st Fighter Aviation Regiment AD, Baranovichi, 1st Sqn flying 13 MiG-25P/PDS, 2nd and 3rd Sqn flying 25 MiG-23 (being replaced by Su-27P from 1989 on and MiG-29 from 1992 on. Transformed into 61st Fighter Air Base in 1994, by the mid-90s it had 23 Su-27P and 30 MiG-29) ** 201st Fighter Aviation Regiment AD, Machulishchy, flying 38 MiG-23 ** (28th Fighter Aviation Regiment AD, Krichev, flying MiG-25P, is listed by Sergey Drozdov in the April 2016 issue of Aviation and Spaceflight magazine as being part of the 2nd Separate Army of Air Defence (probably due to being based on Belarusian territory), but this is false. The air regiment belonged to the 2nd Corps AD of the Moscow Air Defence District) ** 15th Missile Air Defence Brigade, Fanipol' ** 115th Missile Air Defence Brigade, Brest ** 127th Missile Air Defence Brigade, Lida (transformed into the 127th Missile Air Defence Regiment in 1995) ** 147th Missile Air Defence Brigade, Bobruysk ** 377th ''Guards'' Air Defence Missile Regiment, Polotsk ** 1146th ''Guards'' Air Defence Missile Regiment, Orsha ** 360th Missile Air Defence Regiment adred(formerly the 105th Missile Air Defence Brigade, transformed into the cadred (skeleton manpower, mothballed equipment) 360th Missile Air Defence Regiment in December 1989), Beryoza ** 8th Radiotechnical Brigade, Baranovichy ** 49th Radiotechnical Regiment, Urechye The command of the 2nd Separate Army AD and its 11th Corps AD was taken over by the Republic of Belarus and on August 1, 1992 it was amalgamated with the Air defence Troops of the Belarus Military District to form the Air Defence Troops of the Republic of Belarus.

Commanders-in-Chief

List of Commanders of the Air and Air Defence Forces: * Major General Igor Golub (31 August 2017-13 December 2022) * Andrey Lukyanovich (since 13 December 2022)

Mission and functions

The VVS and Air Defence Forces were intended to protect population centres such as cities and regions, as well as the administrative, industrial, economic interests of the Republic. They are also intended to defend troops from the impacts of enemy air attacks, and also against the attacks of hostile troops, as well as fire support and the guarantee of combat operations of ground forces. In peacetime, VVS and Air Defense forces are on standby to protect the state boundary in the air and also control of Belarusian airspace. The Air Force is responsible for all military aviation, as the Army maintains no aircraft of its own.

Organization

Prior to August 2010, there were six primary airbases: * Minsk - Machulishchy (50th Mixed Air Base) * Lida (206th Assault Air Base) *

(61st Fighter Air Base) (

Sukhoi 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 ...

), * Ross (116th Bomber-Recon Air Base) *

Pruzhany Pruzhany ( be, Пружа́ны, ; russian: Пружаны, pl, Prużana, yi, פרוזשענע, Pruzhene) is a town in Brest Voblast, Belarus. Pruzhany is the center of the district in Brest Region, Belarus. Its population is about 18,500 people ...

(181st Combat Helicopter Base) * Bereza (927th Fighter Air Base) On 26 August 2010, a reorganisation of the Air Force & Air Defence Force was announced. It was reported that the 206th Assault Aviation Base (Lida) would be reorganized into the 116th Guards Red Banner Assault Base (at Ross) – formerly named the 116th Guards Bomber-Reconnaissance Base, flying

Sukhoi Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 ( NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its crew of two. It ...

"Fencer" and Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" aircraft. The Su-24 bombers were retired. The 206th Assault Aviation Base was reorganised as the 206th Training Center. The

Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the ...

"Fulcrum" aircraft and personnel of the 927th Fighter Base (at Bereza) became part of the 61st Fighter Base at Baranovichi. Shortly after the move of MiG-29s to Baranovichi, on 23 September 2010, a MiG-29 crashed during a reported low-altitude flying exercise at the new location (see below). On 24 August 2010, the 927th Konigsberg Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Fighter Air Base at Bereza was renamed the 927th Koenigsberg Red Banner Order of Alexander Nevsky Training Center and the use of unmanned aircraft systems. The air force consists of more than 18,170 personnel, though this number is being reduced. There are now four active airbases:https://www.scramble.nl/orbats/belarus, accessed April 2020. *61st Fighter Air Base (

), flying the

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the ...

. The Su-27 aircraft previously flown here were being retired in 2014. * 116th Red Banner Guards Assault Air Base ( Lida) **206th Training Centre for Aircrew (L-39C; subordinate to 116 GvShAB) *50th Composite Air Base ( Minsk - Machulishchy) *927th Red Banner Center for the Preparation and use of Unmanned Aerial Systems ( Osovcy), Irkut-3, Irkut-10 The Belarusian Air Force maintains close links with the

Russian Air Force "Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , batt ...

and defense industry. The Air Force and Air Defence has three arms and several support services: * Air forces (''военно-воздушные силы'') * Missile air defence troops (''зенитные ракетные войска'') * Radiotechnical troops (''радиотехнические войска'') * Special troops and services (''специальные войска и службы'')

Air Force and Air Defence Command

Air Force and Air Defence Command in Minsk * 483rd Security, Support and Supply Base (''483-я база охраны, обслуживания и обеспечения'') in Minsk * 56th ''Til'zitskiy'' Separate Signals Regiment (''56-й Тильзитский отдельный полк связи'') in Minsk * 570th Air Traffic Control Center (''570‑й центр организации воздушного движения'') at Minsk Airport * 61st Fighter Air Base (''61-я истребительная авиабаза'') at Baranovichi AB, flying Su-30SM and MiG-29 * 50th Mixed Air Base (''50-я смешанная авиабаза'') at Machulishchi AB, flying Il-76, An-26, Mi-24 and Mi-8 * 116th ''Guards Radomskaya Red Banner'' Ground Attack Air Base (''116-я гвардейская Радомская Краснознамённая штурмовая авиационная база'') at Lida AB, flying Su-25 ** 206th Pilot Training Center (''206-й центр подготовки летного состава'') at Lida, flying Yak-130 and L-39 * 927th ''Kyonigsbergskiy, awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Alexander Nevsky'' Center for Preparation and Operations of UAVs (''927-й Кёнигсбергский Краснознамённый ордена Александра Невского центр подготовки и применения БПЛА'') at Byaryoza, flying Irkut-3 and Irkut-10 UAVs * 15th Missile Air Defence Brigade (''15-я зенитная ракетная бригада'') at Fanipol', armed with S-300PS * 115th Missile Air Defence Brigade (''115-я зенитно-ракетная бригада'') at Brest, armed with S-300PS * 147th Missile Air Defence Brigade (''147‑я зенитно-ракетная бригада'') at Bobruysk, armed with S-300V * 120th ''Yaroslavskaya'' Missile Air Defence Brigade (''120-я Ярославская зенитно-ракетная бригада'') at Baranovichi, armed with Buk and Tor-M2 * 377th Missile Air Defence Brigade (''377-й гвардейский зенитно-ракетный полк'') at Polotsk, armed with S-200 and S-300 * 740th Missile Air Defence Brigade (''740-я зенитно-ракетная бригада'') at Borisov, armed with Osa-AKM * 825th Missile Air Defence Regiment (''825-й зенитно-ракетный полк'') at Polotsk, armed with S-200 * 1146th ''Guards'' Missile Air Defence Regiment (''1146-й гвардейский зенитно-ракетный полк'') at Ostrovetskiy Rayon, armed with Tor-М2Ye * 8th Radiotechnical Brigade (''8-я радиотехническая бригада'') at Baranovichi * 49th Radiotechnical Brigade (''8-я радиотехническая бригада'') at Machulishchi * 16th Separate Electronic Warfare Regiment (''16‑й отдельный полк радиоэлектронной борьбы'') at Byaryoza * 276th Separate Airfield Security and Service Battalion (''276‑й отдельный батальон охраны и обслуживания аэродрома'') in Borovukha * 83rd Separate Airfield Engineer Regiment (''83-й отдельный инженерно-аэродромный полк'') in Bobruysk * 210th Aviation Fire Range (''210-й авиационный полигон'') in Ruzhany * 174th Training Range (''174‑й учебный полигон'') in Domanovo, Ivatsevichskiy Rayon * 223rd Center of Aviation Medicine (''223-й центр авиационной медицины'') at Machulishchi AB * 3666th Aviation Technical Storage (''3666‑й авиационно-технический склад'') in Slutsk

Incidents and accidents

On 30 August 2009, an Su-27 UBM aircraft

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stations, along with some Alternativ ...

on the second day of the Air Show 2009 in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

killing both pilots. On 21 April 2010, two

aircraft were performing an exercise when they both collided. One managed to land safely, while the other crashed. On 23 September 2010, a

aircraft crashed. On 29 November 2011, a Mi-24 helicopter crashed in a small forest near the village of Novye Zasimovichi. The crew of three people was killed on impact. According to eyewitnesses, there was ''"A thick fog... the previous evening"''. On 12 June 2012, a Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft crashed near a small village in Belarus. The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Gridnyov, lost control of the aircraft when maneuvering at low-altitude. He was ordered to eject, but instead remained on board to make sure the aircraft did not crash into the village. Gridnyov died in the crash. On 11 November 2014, a

aircraft crashed. On 23 February 2017, another

aircraft crashed. The engine caught fire during takeoff, but the pilot ejected safely at Bobruisk, Mogilev Region. On 19 May 2021, a

Yakovlev Yak-130 The Yakovlev Yak-130 (NATO reporting name: Mitten) is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer and light combat aircraft originally developed by Yakovlev and Aermacchi as the "Yak/AEM-130". It has also been marketed as a potential light attac ...

aircraft crashed in Baranavichy, causing minor damage to one house in the city. Two pilots ejected but died.

Intercept of Ryanair Flight 4978

On 23 May 2021, Irish

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

Flight FR4978 (

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

—

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

) was intercepted by a Belarusian

MIG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the ...

prior to crossing into Lithuanian airspace and diverted to Minsk National Airport. In Minsk, the Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Roman Protasevich was removed from the plane and arrested. Protasevich had previously fled Belarus and the Belarusian authorities added him to a wanted list in 2020 after he helped organize major protests against President

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian language, Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian language, Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лука� ...

. His partner was also arrested. According to the national press service of Belarus, the Belarusian Air Force

fighter was sent to escort the aircraft to Minsk on the orders of Lukashenko.

Symbols

Emblem

The heraldic sign is the emblem of the Air Force, which was approved in April 2003. It is a stylized golden image of an arrow, lightning bolts and wings, combined with a wreath of golden oak and laurel branches, located in the center of a blue baroque shield, crowned with a five-pointed gold star. The shield is located against the background of a silver medal star.

Flag

The flag of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces was approved on January 19, 2005. The flag is a rectangular blue cloth, with the center consisting of four main and four additional directions of eight rays of golden color. In the center is the emblem of the Air Force. The flag has the same pattern on the front and back sides.

Belaya Rus

Belaya Rus is the aerobatic team of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, performing aerobatics from combat training

Aero L-39 Albatros The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer designed and produced in Czechoslovakia by Aero Vodochody. It is the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also f ...

. The team performs at aviation event and public holidays in Belarus.

Aircraft

Current inventory

Belarus Air Force Sukhoi Su-25 Pichugin-1

Retired aircraft

Aircraft operated by the Air Force, inherited at the dissolution of the Soviet Union were the

, MiG-25, MiG-27, Sukhoi Su-22,

and

Mil Mi-2 The Mil Mi-2 ( NATO reporting name Hoplite) is a small, three rotor blade Soviet-designed multi-purpose helicopter developed by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant designed in the early 1960s, and produced exclusively by WSK "PZL-Świdnik" in Po ...