Pryluky () is an air base in Chernihiv Oblast,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

located 6 km west of

Pryluky Pryluky ( uk, Прилу́ки ) is a city and municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (district). Located nearby is the Pryluky air base, a ma ...

. This airfield was Ukraine's primary Tupolev Tu-160 bomber base (with

Uzyn Uzyn () is a city in Bila Tserkva Raion of Kyiv Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Uzyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city and covers an area of . Population: . The largest industrial or ...

hosting the nation's Tupolev Tu-95 fleet). There are revetments for 20 large aircraft.

History

In April 1946, the

184th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment 184th may refer to: *184th (2nd South Midland) Brigade, formation of the Territorial Force of the British Army *184th AAA Battalion (United States), attached to the 49th AAA Brigade *184th Battalion, CEF, unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force du ...

(184 GvTBAP) arrived at Priluky, after being renamed from 9th Guards Long-Range Regiment.Piotr Butowski, International Air Power Review, Summer 2004, 81. It flew Tu-4s from 1950,

Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberati ...

aircraft beginning in 1955, then acquired the Tupolev Tu-22M4 in 1984 and the

Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, translit=Belyj Lebeď, translation=White Swan; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Desi ...

from 1987 until 2000. It also flew the

Tu-134 The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain ot ...

UBL trainer. Pryluky accepted the USSR's first

(Blackjack) in April 1987, building its fleet up to 19 by 1994. By the mid 1990s, the Pryluky Regiment had lost its value as a combat unit. The 184th GvTBAP's 19 "Blackjacks" were effectively grounded because of a lack of technical support, spare parts and fuel. At this point in time, Ukraine considered the Tu-160s more of a bargaining chip in their economic negotiations with Russia. Certainly, they were of very limited value to Ukraine from a military standpoint, but discussions with Russia concerning their return bogged down. Between October 1999 and February 2000 Ukraine turned over 8 Tu-160 bombers to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

to pay off energy debts; these are now at Russia's

Engels-2 Engels Air Force Base (russian: Энгельс, formally Engels-2) is a strategic bomber military airbase in Russia located east of Saratov. Engels is a major bomber operations base, and is Russia's sole operating location for the Tupolev Tu- ...

air base. The last of Ukraine's strategic bombers, a Tu-160, was destroyed by agreement with the United States in February 2001. As of 2012, the Priluki airbase is abandoned. Almost all equipment has been dismantled, including radar and lighting equipment. At the request of the United States, earthen revetments, bomb shelters, two fuel and lubricant depots, and other facilities at the air base were also destroyed. A

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the People's Liberation ...

monument still remains.

References

Soviet Long Range Aviation bases Ukrainian airbases Ukrainian Long Range Aviation Ukraine Long Range Aviation {{Chernihiv-geo-stub