Presentation of the banner of Air-space forces 03

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 The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

and

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

of the

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. Russia established the VKS as a new branch of its military on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the

Russian Air Force " Air March" , mascot = , anniversaries = 12 August , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , bat ...

(VVS) and the

Russian Aerospace Defence Forces The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) ( rus, Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO)) was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation respons ...

(VVKO) - as recommended by the Ministry of Defence. The VKS has its headquarters in

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 ...

. Russia's

Defense Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in s ...

Sergei Shoigu Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, ; tyv, Сергей Күжүгет оглу Шойгу, translit=Sergey Kyzhyget oglu Shoygu, . (russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу; born 21 May 1955) is a Russian politician who has served as ...

explained the merger as improving efficiency and logistical support.

Organisation

Sub-branches

According to

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...

, with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, the new Russian Aerospace Forces consist of three sub-branches:Russia creates new Aerospace Force service branch
, janes.com, 4 August 2015 *

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

* *

Space Forces A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

Leadership

Order of Battle

The Aerospace Forces are organised in air armies. Air Forces High Command (''Главное командование ВВС'') (Moscow) * Units directly subordinated to the High Command (''Части центрального подчинения ВВС'') * ''operationally subordinated to the High Command'': ** Military Transport Aviation Command (''Командование военно-транспортной авиации'') (Moscow) ** Long-Range Aviation Command (''Командование дальней авиации'') (Moscow) * ''operationally subordinated to the

Western Military District The Western Military District (russian: Западный военный округ, Zapadnyy voyennyy okrug) is a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, ...

'': ** 6th ''Leningrad Red Banner'' Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (''6-я Ленинградская Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО'') (

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) * ''operationally subordinated to the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

'': ** 4th ''Red Banner'' Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (''4-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО'') (

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

) * ''operationally subordinated to the

Central Military District The Central Military District (Russian: Центральный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction primarily within the ...

'': ** 14th ''Red Banner'' Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (''14-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО'') (

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

) * ''operationally subordinated to the Eastern Military District'': ** 11th ''Red Banner'' Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (''11-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО'') (

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

) * ''operationally subordinated to the

Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command The Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command (russian: Объединённое стратегическое командование «Северный флот»), is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jur ...

'': ** 45th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (''45-я Армия ВВС и ПВО'') (

Severomorsk-2 Severomorsk-2 (also Safonovo-1 (USSR), Murmansk Northeast (US)) is a naval air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located 7 km southwest of Severomorsk and just 11 km northeast of Murmansk. The primary operator of Severomorsk-2 (after 1 ...

) - uniquely the aviation units of the 45th Army belong administratively to the

Naval Aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

and the ground-based missile air defence units belong to the Air Forces air defence branch. Air Defence and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Forces Command (''Командование'' ''войск ПВО-ПРО'') (Moscow) * 1st ''

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

'' Air Defence and

Anti-Ballistic Missile An anti-ballistic missile (ABM) is a surface-to-air missile designed to counter ballistic missiles (missile defense). Ballistic missiles are used to deliver nuclear weapon, nuclear, Chemical weapon, chemical, Bioagent, biological, or conventiona ...

Defence Army (Special Purpose) (''1-я ордена Ленина армия противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны'' (''особого назначения'')) ( Balashikha,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

) - air cover of the Moscow area ** 4th Air Defence Division ''"Hero of the Soviet Union Lt.-Gen. B. P. Kirpikov"'' (''4-я дивизия ПВО имени Героя Советского Союза генерал-лейтенанта Б.П. Кирпикова'') (

Dolgoprudny Dolgoprudny (russian: Долгопру́дный, ) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located about north of Moscow city center. The town's name is derived from Russian "" (''dolgy prud'', lit. "long pond")—a long and narrow pond situated in t ...

, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the S-300PM/PS and the

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...

s) ** 5th Air Defence Division (''5-я дивизия ПВО'') ( Petrovskoe, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the

S-300PM The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long range surface-to-air missile systems developed and operated by the former Soviet Union, now fielded by the militaries of Russia and Ukraine as well as several other former Easte ...

and the

s) ** 9th Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Division (''9-я дивизия ПРО'') ( Sofrino, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the

A-135 anti-ballistic missile system The A-135 (renamed to A-235) (NATO: ABM-4 Gorgon) is a Russian anti-ballistic missile system deployed around Moscow to intercept incoming warheads targeting the city or its surrounding areas. The system was designed in the Soviet Union and entere ...

) Space Forces Command (''Командование космических войск'') (

Krasnoznamensk Krasnoznamensk (russian: Краснознаменск) is the name of several urban localities in Russia: * Krasnoznamensk, Kaliningrad Oblast, a town in Krasnoznamensky District of Kaliningrad Oblast *Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Oblast Krasnoznamens ...

) * 15th Aerospace Forces Army (Special Purpose) (''15-я армия Воздушно-космических сил'' (''особого назначения'')) (Krasnoznamensk) * 1st State Test Cosmodrome of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence "Plesetsk" (''1-й Государственный испытательный космодром Министерства обороны Российской Федерации «Плесецк»'') * Space Forces Arsenal (''Арсенал космических войск'') (Znamenka-1 village,

Tambov Oblast Tambov Oblast (russian: Тамбо́вская о́бласть, ''Tambovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tambov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,091,994. Ge ...

)

Ranks and rank insignia

;Officer ranks ;Other ranks

References

External links

Russian Aerospace Forces official site
(English) {{Space forces Military of Russia * Russian military aviation Space warfare Military units and formations established in 2015 2015 establishments in Russia

Organisation

Sub-branches

Leadership

Order of Battle

Ranks and rank insignia

See also

References

External links