Olenya (also Olenegorsk) has been a major Russian Navy

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

base, located on the

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (russian: Кольский полуостров, Kolsky poluostrov; sjd, Куэлнэгк нёа̄ррк) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk ...

92 km south of Murmansk. As of 2020 units at the base are subordinate to the Long-Range Aviation branch of the

Russian Aerospace Forces The Russian Aerospace Forces or Russian Air and Space Forces ( rus, Воздушно-космические силы, r=Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily) or VKS ( rus, ВКС}) comprise the air and space branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian ...

. The base and its staff settlement ( Vysoky, Murmansk Oblast), across Lake Permusozero from the city of Olenegorsk, are served by the Olenegorsk rail station (formerly Olenya station). Olenya has served as the headquarters for 5 MRAD (Naval Reconnaissance Air Division), and has hosted to two reconnaissance regiments. Its 3500-meter runway is the longest on the Kola Peninsula, making it a key facility for intercontinental flights across the North Atlantic basin. The base is home to the 40th Composite Aviation Regiment as part of the

22nd Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Division The 22nd Guards Donbass Red Banner Heavy Bomber Aviation Division is a division of the Russian Aerospace Force's Long-Range Aviation branch having previously been a Soviet Air Forces formation. It was a Long Range Aviation division active from 194 ...

. Olenya was first detected by US intelligence in 1957, and was listed as having a runway length of 3350 m (11,000 ft). The base served as a forward deployment field for

Long Range Aviation Long-Range Aviation ( rus, Авиация Дальнего Действия, r=Aviatsiya dal'nego deystviya, abbr. to AДД, or ADD, and literally ''Aviation of Distant Action'') is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces responsible for deliv ...

and was one of nine Arctic staging facilities for nuclear strikes on the United States.STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATIONS RELATED ACTIVITIES SUMMARY REPORT (SANITIZED)
June 1, 1980, CREST: CIA-RDP80T01355A000100140001-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC. An analysis in 1966 revealed 21 Tupolev Tu-16 Badger aircraft. Near the airfield is the Olenegorsk Radar Station ballistic missile early warning site, which entered service in 1971. A number of surface-to-air missile sites were operational near Olenya during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

. During the 1960s and 1970s, Olenya was used as a refueling stop on the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Tupolev Tu-114 The Tupolev Tu-114 Rossiya ( ru , link=no, Tyполев Тy-114 Poccия; NATO reporting name Cleat) was a turboprop-powered long-range airliner designed by the Tupolev design bureau and built in the Soviet Union from May 1955. The aircraft w ...

route. As of 2006,

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

imagery showed nearly 40

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (russian: Туполев Ту-22М; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. According to some ...

bombers on the airfield, but by 2018 only four of the aircraft appeared serviceable with another 27 aircraft awaiting disposal. On 22 January 2019, a Tu-22M3 crash-landed after a training flight while attempting to make a landing at the Olenya air base. Two of the four crew members died in the crash, and a third died on his way to the hospital. According to

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

, the first launch of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal ("

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use def ...

", a nuclear-capable

air-launched ballistic missile An air-launched ballistic missile or ALBM is a ballistic missile launched from an aircraft. An ALBM allows the launch aircraft to stand off at long distances from its target, keeping it well outside the range of defensive weapons like anti-aircr ...

ALBM) in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

took place mid-November, 2019. Reportedly, the launch was carried out by a MiG-31K from Olenya air base. The missile hit a ground target at "Pemboy" proving ground, reaching the speed of Mach 10. On 7 October 2022, satellite photos showed 7 Tu-160 and 4

Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of t ...

at the air base.

Military operations

Units stationed at the airfield since the 1990s include: * 924 MRAP ( 924th Naval Reconnaissance Air Regiment), operating

aircraft * 967 ODRAP ( 967th Long Range Air Reconnaissance Regiment), operating Tupolev Tu-22M aircraft * 88 OMAPIB ( 88th Separate Fighter Bomber Regiment), operating

Mikoyan MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 (russian: Микоян МиГ-27; NATO reporting name: Flogger-D/J) is a variable-sweep ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India ...

aircraft * OGA (Arctic Control Group), maintaining standby facilities for

Tupolev Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-95 (russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the ...

bomber aircraft * 458th IAP, Mikoyan MiG-31BM In 2020, the Tu-22M3-based unit may now be the 40th Mixed Aviation Regiment operating in both a maritime-attack and land-strike role.

References

{{authority control Russian Navy Russian Air Force bases Soviet Naval Aviation bases Soviet Air Force bases Airports in Murmansk Oblast Soviet Long Range Aviation bases