Lipetsk Air Base
Encyclopedia
Lipetsk Air Base is an air base in Lipetsk Oblast
, Russia
located 12 km northwest of Lipetsk
. It is the combat training center of Soviet Air Force, analogous to the U.S. Air Force's Nellis Air Force Base
. The base is made up of two medium-sized airfields joined together.
In 1925, the Soviet government allowed Germany
to open an air combat school at Lipetsk. That permitted Germany to evade treaty restrictions
on the development of military aviation, while the Soviet 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
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 USA and has become the personal pilot of President Putin
.
Units stationed at Lipetsk include:
Lipetsk Oblast
Lipetsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia which was formed on January 6, 1954. Its administrative center is the city of Lipetsk...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
located 12 km northwest of Lipetsk
Lipetsk
Lipetsk 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.-History:...
. It is the combat training center of Soviet Air Force, analogous to the U.S. Air Force's Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command .-Overview:...
. The base is made up of two medium-sized airfields joined together.
In 1925, the Soviet government allowed Germany
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
to open an air combat school at Lipetsk. That permitted Germany to evade treaty restrictions
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
on the development of military aviation, while the Soviet 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
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
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 USA and has become the personal pilot of President Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
.
Units stationed at Lipetsk include:
- 4 TsBP i PLS (4th Combat and Conversion Training Center)
- 760 IISAP (760th Composite Training and Research Aviation Regiment) flying 14 MiG-29E, 13 Su-17, 16 Su-25, and a number of Su-24, Su-27, and Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
aircraft as of the early 1990s. - 91 IIAP (91st Training and Research Regiment) flying MiG-23, 23 MiG-29, and 15 Su-27 aircraft as of the early 1990s
- 968 IAP (968th Interceptor Aviation Regiment) flying MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft in the mid-1990s and solely MiG-29s by 2004.
- 968 IISAP (968th Composite Training and Research Aviation Regiment) flying Su-24M aircraft .