Lipetsk Air Base (also given as Lipetskiy, Lipetsky, Lipetsk-2, Shakhm 10, and Lipetsk West) is an air base in

Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk Oblast (russian: Липецкая область, Lipetskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Lipetsk. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,173,513. Geography Lipets ...

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 12 km northwest of

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populatio ...

. It is the combat training center of Russian Air Force, analogous to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

. The base is made up of two medium-sized airfields joined together. The site is home to the 4th State Centre for Aicrew Training and Field Tests (4th GTsPAPVI) and 968th IISAP. The base is home to the 968th Instructor-Research Aviation Regiment and the 237th Air Force Display Centre of the Russian Air Force. I. N. Kozheduba - Russian Falcons both part of the 4th Centre for Combat Application and Crew Training.

History

In 1925, the Soviet government allowed

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to open an air combat school at Lipetsk:

Lipetsk fighter-pilot school The Lipetsk fighter-pilot school (german: Kampffliegerschule Lipezk), also known as WIWUPAL from its German codename ''Wissenschaftliche Versuchs- und Personalausbildungsstation'' "Scientific Experimental and Personnel Training Station", was a secr ...

. That permitted Germany to evade treaty restrictions on the development of military aviation, while 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 ...

received technical advice and access to test results. By 1933, the Soviets concluded that the arrangement was not worthwhile, and the new

German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

agreed (for different reasons). The school was closed. The 4th Center of Combat Application and Conversion of Frontline Aviation, Russia's Top Gun school since around the 1960s, is the most well known unit on the base. Its chief, Col. Kharchevski, became famous after air combat exercises in the US and has become the personal pilot of President

Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. From the 1960s to 1990, units stationed at Lipetsk include: *

4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel The 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel VVS of the Russian Air Force is a research, training, and instructional centre. It was formed at Tambov (air base) on 19 April 1953. In 1954 it was transferred to Voronezh Malshev ...

(4 TsBP i PLS) * 760th Composite Training and Research Aviation Regiment (760 IISAP) flying 14

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 MiG- ...

E, 13

Sukhoi Su-17 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Its NATO reporting name is "Fitter". Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to ent ...

, 16

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...

, and a number of

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 wa ...

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 jet ...

, and

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition to ...

aircraft as of the early 1990s. * 91st Training and Research Regiment (91 IIAP) flying

Mikoyan-Gurevich 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-generati ...

, 23

, and 15

aircraft as of the early 1990s In 1992, the 968th Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived from Falkenberg in East Germany. It was flying

and

aircraft in the mid-1990s. In 1992-1993 it became first a Research-Instructor Fighter Aviation Regiment and then a Research-Instructor Mixed Aviation Regiment.Holm, www.ww2.dk/new Flying solely MiG-29s by 2004, it later also flew

M aircraft.

Gallery

References

* Soviet Air Force bases Soviet Frontal Aviation Soviet Air Defence Force bases Russian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Lipetsk Oblast Airports in Lipetsk Oblast {{Russia-mil-stub