Klyuchi Air Base is in

Kamchatka Krai Kamchatka Krai ( rus, Камча́тский край, r=Kamchatsky kray, p=kɐmˈtɕatskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

located southwest of the settlement of

Klyuchi Klyuchi (russian: Ключи; lit. ''springs'') is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai, a former town in Kamchatka Oblast; since 2004 — a rural locality; since 2007 — in Kamchatka Krai * Klyuchi, Biysky ...

. It is a small but significant interceptor airfield covering northern Kamchatka, probably to defend international borders during nearby missile testing operations at Kura Missile Test Range 130 km to the northeast. Klyuchi contains about twelve fighter revetments and some narrow tarmac space. The base is home to a Composite Aviation Squadron of the 35th Independent Transport Composite Aviation Regiment. Early US satellite imagery showed the airfield was constructed in 1963,DETAILED REPORT OF KLYUCHI COMPLEX, USSR (inadvertently paired with SEARCH FOR SURFACE-SEARCH RADAR AT VARIOUS AREAS IN CUBA), CIA-RDP78T04743A000400020001-8, September 26, 1963, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
/ref> replacing an old airfield about 10 miles (16 km) to the east-southeast. In another satellite pass in 1966, analysts saw mostly transports such as the

Lisunov Li-2 The Lisunov Li-2 (NATO reporting name: Cab), originally designated PS-84, was a license-built Soviet-version of the Douglas DC-3. It was produced by Factory #84 in Khimki, Moscow-Khimki and, after evacuation in 1941, at Tashkent Aviation Pro ...

, an

Antonov An-2 The Antonov An-2 ("kukuruznik"—corn crop duster; USAF/DoD reporting name Type 22, NATO reporting name Colt) is a Soviet mass-produced single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed and manufactured by the Antonov Design Bure ...

(ASCC: Colt), and a helicopter.ORDER OF BATTLE MISSION 4025 16-20 FEBRUARY 1966, published April 1, 1966, CIA-RDP03-00140R000100010031-7, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington DC, p. 3.
/ref>

References

Russian Air Force bases Soviet Air Force bases Soviet Air Defence Force bases Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Kamchatka Krai {{Russia-airport-stub