Tartu Air Base is a former air base in Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 located 4 km northeast of Tartu

Tartu

Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

. It is a fairly extensive base with 24 large revetment

Revetment

Revetments, or revêtements , have a variety of meanings in architecture, engineering and art history. In stream restoration, river engineering or coastal management, they are sloping structures placed on banks or cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water...

s and over 30 small ones. It was home to 132 TBAP (132nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment) which flew Tupolev Tu-16

Tupolev Tu-16

The Tupolev Tu-16 was a twin-engine jet bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has flown for more than 50 years, and the Chinese license-built Xian H-6 remains in service with the Chinese air force.-Development:...

 and Tupolev Tu-22M

Tupolev Tu-22M

The Tupolev Tu-22M is a supersonic, swing-wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Soviet Union. Significant numbers remain in service with the Russian Air Force....

 aircraft . It was also a transport base with the 192 and/or 196 VTAP (Military Transport Aviation Regiment) flying Ilyushin Il-76M

Ilyushin Il-76

The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas...

 cargo jets until 1990 . These jets were relocated to Tver

Tver

Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...

.

By 1993 it was listed as a designated emergency airfield on a 1993 Jeppesen

Jeppesen

Jeppesen is an American company that specializes in navigational information, operations management solutions and flight training products and services...

 chart for airline use although this is no longer possible as the runway has various used car lots preventing use by planes. On 16 January 2006 the winning works of the international architecture competition held to design the new Estonian National Museum

Estonian National Museum

The Estonian National Museum founded 1909 in Tartu is a museum devoted to folklorist Jakob Hurt's heritage, to Estonian ethnography and folk art...

building were revealed.