Monchegorsk Air Base is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located 13 km northeast of

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk (russian: Мончего́рск) is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 ( 2002 Census); 68,652 ( 1989 Census). Name Th ...

and 11 miles southwest of

Olenya (air base) Olenya (also Olenegorsk) has been a major Russian Navy reconnaissance base, located on the Kola Peninsula 92 km south of Murmansk. As of 2020 units at the base are subordinate to the Long-Range Aviation branch of the Russian Aerospace Force ...

. Work on the air base began in the early 1950s, and by 1957 it was identified on American

Lockheed U-2 The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "''Dragon Lady''", is an American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It provides day ...

overflights with a modern 6600 ft (2000 m) runway, extensive infrastructure, and a MiG regiment. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

it hosted the 174th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (174 Gv IAP) flying the Yak-28P during the 1960s and 1970s, and a MiG-21R squadron in the 1970s which was upgraded to the Su-17M3 in the early 1980s. It was also home to

MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-25; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by th ...

PDS aircraft in the 1980s. In the early 1980s

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

interceptors were deployed to Monchegorsk. The base also hosted a reconnaissance regiment, the 98 ORAP (98th Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment) flying

RB, Sukhoi Su-17, Sukhoi Su-24MR, and

aircraft. For much of the Cold War fighter regiments at the base were under control of Air Defence Corps of the 10th Air Defence Army. The base is home to the 98th Guards Composite Aviation Regiment which uses the Sukhoi Su-24M/MR (NATO: Fencer),

Mikoyan MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

BM (NATO: Foxhound) & Mil Mi-8MTV (NATO: Hip) along with 98th Guards Independent Composite Aviation Regiment of the Russian Navy.

Runway

Monchegorsk has a

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

of concrete in the direction 01/19 of 2,400x40 m. (7.873x131 feet).

Military operations

May 20, 1966 in Monchegorsk was established the 67 separate air squadron composed of two aircraft

early warning An early warning system is a warning system that can be implemented as a chain of information communication systems and comprises sensors, event detection and decision subsystems for early identification of hazards. They work together to for ...

Tu-126 The Tupolev Tu-126 (NATO reporting name: Moss) was an airborne early warning and control aircraft developed from the Tupolev Tu-114 airliner by the Tupolev design bureau. It was in service with the armed forces of the Soviet Union from 1965 to 1 ...

( NATO designation: '' 'Moss' '') equipping the radar system "Liana". The same year, November 10 the unit was moved to the city of

Šiauliai Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County. Names Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different l ...

, in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. In the 1980s it was the headquarters of the regiment of intercept 174 Gv IAP, which used aircraft MiG-25PDS (NATO designation:'' 'Foxbat-E' ''), during the 1980s and

(NATO designation:'' 'Foxhound-A' '') during the 1990s. The regiment was dissolved on September 1, 2001. After the dissolution, the MiG-31 became part of the 458 regiment, stationed in the Kotlas air base, in the

Arkhangelsk Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...

. It also hosted the regiment of

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

98 ORAP flying MiG-25RB (NATO designation: '' 'Foxbat-B' ''),

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 enter ...

(designation NATO: '' 'Fitter-C' '') Su-24MR (NATO designation: '' 'Fencer-E' '') and MiG-31. It is currently stationed at the 7000 air group aerodrome serving aircraft Su-24MR (NATO designation: '' 'Fencer-E' ''), Su-24M (NATO designation: '' 'Fencer-D '' ') and helicopters

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 t ...

(NATO designation: '' 'Hip '' ').

References

{{authority control Russian Air Force bases Soviet Air Force bases Soviet Air Defence Force bases Airports in Murmansk Oblast Installations of the Russian Navy