Special Purpose Command

In the last days of the Soviet Union there was a considerable Soviet Air Defence Forces presence, and a smaller Air Forces presence, in the Moscow Military District. The Air Forces of the Moscow Military District consisted of a reconnaissance regiment, the 47th Guards Separate Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment at Shatalovo flying Su-24MPs, and the 9th Fighter Aviation Division (9 iad), at Kubinka, with three regiments.[4] The division incorporated the 32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, also at Shatalovo, with MiG-23MLDs, the 234th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment at Kubinka with MiG-29s, and the 274th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment at Migalovo (274 apib) with Su-17s. Also part of the force was a ground signals regiment, the 131st. There was also a transport squadron, an independent helicopter regiment, and an independent helicopter squadron for electronic warfare.

32nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment served in Cuba as part of 'Operation Anadyr' during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963.[5] The regiment was temporarily renamed 213th Fighter Aviation Regiment while in Cuba. It was disbanded in 1989.

In October 1990 the 1080th Red Banner Training Aviation Center for retraining of personnel im. V.P. Chkalov was activated in Borisoglebsk, Voronezh Oblast, from the 796th Center for Preparation of Officers for Fighter and Fighter-Bomber Aviation, and the Borisoglebsk Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots. It came under the command of the Air Forces of the Moscow Military District. It comprised four instructor aviation regiments, the fourth being the 343rd Fighter Aviation Regiment at Sennoy with MiG-29s.

Joseph Stalin's son Vasily Stalin commanded the Moscow district air forces from June 1948 to August 1952.[6] He was succeeded by General Colonel Stepan Krasovsky (1952–53), Lieutenant General Stepan Rybanov (June 1953 – 1959), and, later, Lieutenant General Igor Dmitriev (ru:Дмитриев, Игорь Михайлович) (1983–1989) and Nikolai Antoshkin (ru:Антошкин, Николай Тимофеевич) (1989–93).[7]

Also part of the Moscow District air forces was the 4th Centre for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel at Lipetsk.

The 16th Air Army was the most important formation of the Special Purpose Command. Initially formed during the Second World War as a part of the Soviet Air Force, it was from c.2002–2009 the tactical air force component of the Moscow Military District, headquartered at Kubinka.

In 2009 the Russian Air Force was extensively reorganised. This structure is not current. Combat Aircraft magazine's June 2010 issue gives some details of the new structure.

• 16th Air Army – Kubinka[8]
  • 105th Mixed Aviation Division, Voronezh
    • 455th Bomber Aviation Regiment – Voronezh Malshevo/Baltimor, Voronezh – Su-24, being replaced by Su-34
    • 899th Shturmovik (Assault) Aviation Regiment – Buturlinovka – Su-25, being also replaced with Su-34
  • 14th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Kursk Vostochny Airport – MiG-29
  • 28th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment – Andreapol (air base) – MiG-29
  • 47th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment – Shatalovo – MiG-25 and Su-24MR in service
  • 237th Air Technology Demonstration Centre of Guards – Kubinka – MiG-29, Su-27, Su-27M, L-39C
• 226th Separate Mixed Aviation Regiment – Kubinka (air base) – Mi-8, Mi-9, An-12, An-24, An-26, An-30
• 1st Air Defence Corps(Balashikha) (surface to air missiles only)
  • 9th Air Defence Divisions, including the 584 SAM Regiment (Лыткино, Поварово) with the S-400[9]
  • 37th(?) Air Defence Division[10]
  • four SAM regiments in total
• 32nd Air Defence Corps (Rzhev)
  • 611th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Dorokhovo – Su-27
  • 790th Fighter Aviation Regiment – Khotilovo – MiG-31, MiG-25U
• Army Aviation components
  • 45th Independent Helicopter Regiment – Oreshkovo (Vorotinsk) near Kaluga – Mi-24
  • 440th Independent Helicopter Regiment for battle control – Vyazma Airport – Mi-24, Mi-8
  • 490th Independent Helicopter Regiment for battle control – Klokovo (4 km north of Tula) – Mi-24, Mi-8;
  • 865th Reserve Helicopter Base – Protasovo/Aleksandrovo (air base), near Ryazan

• Woezik, Rene van, and Lok, Joris Janssen, "Working up to leaving: despite withdrawal, the Soviet Air Force in Germany is being modernised", Jane's Defence Weekly, Vol. 16, No. 10, Sept 7, 1991 p415(2) (ISSN 0265-3818) Jane's Information Group.
• Soviet ORBAT from last years in Germany (in Russian)
• https://archive.is/20080110072449/http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/russia/air/va/16va_mvo.htm (in Russian)
• www.victory.mil.ru
• http://oko-planet.su/politik/politikarm/13853-v-rossijskoj-armii-sozdano-komandovanie-vozdushno.html – new Operational-Strategic Command for Air and Space Defence reported. The command will be established by the end of 2010 and located at Balashikha near Moscow, where the previous 1st Air Defence Corps was located.