Oktyabrskoye air base

Oktyabrskoye is an airbase in Crimea used by the Russian Air Force located 15 miles (24 km) east of Hvardiiske, Simferopol Raion, Crimea.^[1]

Oktyabrskoye (Oktiabrske)
Oktiabrske, Hvardiiske, Crimea in Ukraine
Oktyabrskoye Shown within Crimea
Coordinates	45°19′18″N 34°06′11″E
Type	Air Base
Site information
Operator	Russian Air Force Russian Ground Forces
Site history
In use	-present
Airfield information
Elevation	1 metre (3 ft 3 in) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 06/24 3,250 metres (10,663 ft) Concrete

History

In 1958, the Soviet Union 639th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the 49th Fighter Aviation Division, Black Sea Fleet, was redeployed to the Oktyabrskoye airfield from Khersones. The regiment was armed with Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (ASCC "Fresco") fighters. On April 6, 1960, by a directive of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated March 16, 1960, as part of the "further significant reduction in the Armed Forces of the USSR," the headquarters of the 49th Fighter Aviation Division at the Belbek airfield was disbanded. At the same time, the regiment was disbanded.

The base was previously^[when?] home to the 943rd Konstantskiy Red Banner Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet.^[2]

The base was used^[when?] by the Ukrainian Air Force before it was abandoned.^[when?] After occupation by Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, the airbase was restored by the Russian Air Force during 2020 to serve as a reserve base.^[1] During February 2022 military units were observed using the southern portion of the base.^[3][4][5]

References

1. AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. October 2022. p. 42.
2. "943rd Konstantskiy Red Banner Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-1991. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
3. "Force Massing at Oktyabrskoye air base, Crimea, February 10". The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
4. "Satellite images show new Russian military deployments near Ukraine". Reuters. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
5. @christopherjm (February 10, 2022). "In Crimea, a large new deployment of troops and equipment was seen this morning" (Tweet) – via Twitter.