Great in flight video of the Russian Air Force Mig-29 Fighter aircraft. The Russian Air Force (Russian: Военно-воздушные cилы России, tr. Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily Rossii) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is currently under the command of Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota ("Naval Aviation"), or AV-MF). The Air Force was formed from parts of the former Soviet Air Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991--92. Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation on 7 May 1992, can be taken as a convenient formation date for the new Air Force. Since that time, the Air Force has suffered severe setbacks due to lack of resources, and has constantly shrunk in size. Since Vladimir Putin became President of the Russian Federation however, much more money has been allocated to the Armed Forces as a whole. Organization In 2009 the Russian Air Forces' structure was completely changed to a command-air base structure from the previous structure of air army-air division or corps-air regiment. The VVS is now divided to 4 operational commands, the Operational Strategic Command for Air-Space Defence (seemingly primarily made up of the former Special Purpose Command), the Military Transport Aviation Command, and the Long Range Aviation Command.[29] This listing is a composite; the available new information covers frontline forces, and the forces of central subordination are as of approximately August 2008. Warfare.ru maintains what appears to be a reasonably up to date listing, and Combat Aircraft magazine in June 2010 listed their organisation's estimate of the new order of battle. Operational Strategic Command for Air-Space Defense (Moscow) 4th Air-space defense brigade (Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow Oblast) 5th Air-space defense brigade (Petrovskoe, Moscow Oblast) 6th Air-space defense brigade (Rzhev, Tver Oblast)(former 32nd Corps of PVO?) 6963rd aviation base (Kursk Vostochny Airport) (MiG-29SMT(UBT)) 6968th fighter aviation base (Borisovsky Khotilovo, Tver Oblast) (Su-27, MiG-31B) 1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command (Voronezh) (Western Military District) — (includes elements of former 6th Army of VVS and PVO) 1st Air-space defense brigade (Severomorsk) 2nd Air-space defense brigade (St. Petersburg) 6961st aviation base (Petrozavodsk Airport) (Su-27) 6964th aviation base (Monchegorsk Airbase, Murmansk Oblast) (Su-24M, Su-24MP) 6965th aviation base (Vyazma Airport, Smolensk Oblast) (Mi-8TM, Mi-24V) 7000th aviation base (Voronezh Malshevo Airbase) (Su-24M, Su-24MP, Su-34) 2nd Air and Air Defence Forces Command (Yekaterinburg) (Central Military District) 8th air-space defense brigade (Yekaterinburg) 9th air-space defense brigade (Novosibirsk) 10th air-space defense brigade (Chita) 6977th aviation base (Bolshoye Savino Airport, Perm Krai) (Mig-31) 6979th aviation base (Kansk Airbase, Krasnoyarsk Krai) (Mig-31) 6980th aviation base (Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport) (Su-24M) 6982nd aviation base (Doman Airbase, Zabaykalsky Krai) (Mig-29) 3rd Air and Air Defence Forces Command (Khabarovsk) (Eastern Military District) 11th air-space defense brigade (Komsomolsk-na-Amur) 12th air-space defense brigade (Vladivostok) 6983rd aviation base (Vozdvizhenka Airbase, Primorski Krai) (Su-25SM, Mi-8TM, Mi-24P) 6987th aviation base (Komsomolsk-on-Amur Airport, Khabarovsk Krai) (Su-27SM) 6988th aviation base (Khurba, Khabarovsk Krai) (Su-24M, Su-24M2, Su-24MR) 6989th aviation base (Vladivostok International Airport) (Su-27SM) 265th transport aviation base (Khabarovsk) 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Command — Southern Military District (former 4th and 5th Armies of VVS and PVO)(Rostov-on-Don) 7th air-space defense brigade (Rostov-on-Don) 8th air-space defense brigade (Yekaterinburg) 6970th aviation base (Morozovsk, Rostov Oblast) (Su-24M) 6971st aviation base (Budenovsk, Stavropol Krai) (Su-25SM, Mi-8AMTSh, Mi-24V, Mi-28N) 6972nd aviation base (Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai) (Su-27, Mi-8, Mi-24P, Mi-28N, Ka-27) 6974th aviation base (Korenovsk, Krasnodar Krai) (Mi-8MTV-5, Mi-24V, Mi-35M, Mi-28N) 999th aviation base (Kant Air Base, Kyrgyzstan) (Su-25, Su-27, Mi-8T) 229th transport aviation base (Rostov-on-Don) (Mi-26(T), Mi-8AMTSh(TM)) Military Transport Aviation Command (Moscow) 6955th Aviation Base (Migalovo (Tver)) (Il-76MD) 6956th Aviation Base (Orenburg) (Il-76MD) 6958th Aviation Base (Taganrog, Rostov Oblast) (Il-76MD) 6985th Aviation Base (Pskov Airport) (Il-76) Long Range Aviation Command (Moscow) 6950th Aviation Base (Engels-2, Saratov Oblast) (Tu-22M3, Tu-95MS, Tu-160)(former 22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division?)

• published: 22 Feb 2015
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