The 6th Red Banner Leningrad Army of Air and Air Defence Forces () is an

Air Army Air army is a term used in several countries, notably French Air and Space Force, France, as the equivalent term to air force. In Russia, an air army is a major command within the Russian Air Force. Historically, a Imperial Japanese Army Air Serv ...

of the

Russian Aerospace Forces The Russian Aerospace Forces or Russian Air and Space Forces (VKS) comprise the air force, aerial, space force, space warfare, and Missile defense, missile defence Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was ...

. The army was first active from 1998 to 2009, and was reformed in 2015. After the war, the

Soviet Air Defence Forces The Soviet Air Defence Forces (; ) was the air defence branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Formed in 1941, it continued being a service branch of the Russian Armed Forces after 1991 until it was merged into the Air Force in 1998. Unlike Western ...

' main command in the Leningrad area from 1960 was the 6th Independent Air Defence Army. As of 2020 it is the principal frontal aviation formation within the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

of the Russian Armed Forces.

History

Origins

The army traces its lineage back to the formation of the 2nd Air Defence Corps before

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The corps provided direct cover for the city, and the

Air Forces of the Leningrad Military District An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

had two fighter aviation divisions for air defense, which became the

7th Fighter Aviation Corps Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *" The Seventh", a second-season ...

in July. In November, the 2nd Corps was reorganized into the

Leningrad Air Defence Corps Region Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, but on April 5, 1942, it became the

Leningrad Air Defence Army Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601,9 ...

. During the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

between 1941 and 1944, the air defence formations protecting the city claimed more than 1,500 German aircraft destroyed, and covered the

Road of Life The Road of Life () was the set of ice road transport routes across Lake Ladoga to Leningrad during the Second World War. They were the only Soviet winter surface routes into the city while it was besieged by the German Army Group North und ...

across

Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...

. In the fall of 1945, after the end of the war, the army was reorganized into the 16th Special Air Defence Corps, which was redesignated the 16th Air Defence Corps in May 1946 and the 16th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Corps PVO in July 1947. In early 1949, the headquarters of the

Leningrad Air Defence Region Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601,9 ...

was formed from the corps headquarters. In August, its anti-aircraft artillery divisions conducted an exercise in which they practiced repelling a large enemy air raid. The region was an air defence region of the 2nd category, and in the spring of 1954 became 1st category, tasked with providing air defense for Leningrad and the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

. On May 1, 1953, it included four fighter aviation divisions part of the

25th Fighter Air Defence Army Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a conta ...

(the 20th, 41st, 44th, and the 50th), three anti-aircraft artillery divisions (the 25th, 29th, and the 42nd), a separate anti-aircraft artillery regiment, and seven separate anti-aircraft artillery battalions. These numbered 33,200 men, 256 fighter aircraft, 950 anti-aircraft guns (including 261 light guns), and 52 radars. In June 1954, the region was reorganized into the

Special Leningrad Air Defence Army Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces M ...

, and the 25th Fighter Army abolished with its divisions brought under the direct control of the new army. When

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

s were introduced into the Air Defence Forces between 1958 and 1959, four Air Defence Brigades of Special Designation were formed in the army: the 82nd, 83rd, 84th, and 86th, equipped with

S-75 Dvina The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system. It is built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the ...

missiles. These brigades were planned to be controlled by a coordinated missile defence system forming a ring around Leningrad, known as the System-100 Missile Zone. Additionally, the S-75s were to be bolstered by three regiments of long-range multi-target

Dal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

missiles (see :ru:Даль_(зенитный_ракетный_комплекс)), whose formation began in the fall of 1960. The

closed military townlet In military of Russia and some other post-Soviet states (as well as in the former Soviet Union), a military townlet (), also translated as military town or barracks town, is a special territory with buildings and structures located on it , which a ...

of Khvoyny was built to house the headquarters of the system. In April 1959 ''General-lieutenant''

Dmitry Zherebin Dmitry Sergeyevich Zherebin (; 23 February 1906 – 27 June 1982) was a Soviet colonel general and a Hero of the Soviet Union who held corps and divisional commands during World War II. An engineer officer, Zherebin took part in the Spanish Civil ...

was appointed commander of the Special Leningrad Air Defence Army. He continued to command the army after its reorganization into the 6th Separate Air Defence Army in February 1961.

6th Independent Air Defence Army

In March 1960, the 6th Independent Air Defence Army (6-я отдельная армия ПВО) was formed from the Special Leningrad Air Defence Army. It controlled air defence units in

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...

Pskov Oblast Pskov Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Pskov. As of the Russian Census ...

, and the

Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, (abbreviated Estonian SSR, Soviet Estonia, or simply Estonia ) was an administrative subunit (Republics of the Soviet Union, union republic) of the former Soviet Union (USSR), covering the Occupation o ...

. Between 1961 and 1962, the aviation division headquarters were disbanded and their regiments directly subordinated to the army headquarters. The Dal missile program was cancelled in late 1962, and the SAM brigades instead equipped with the

S-125 The S-125 ''Neva/Pechora'' (, NATO reporting name SA-3 ''Goa'') is a Soviet surface-to-air missile system that was designed by Aleksei Isaev to complement the S-25 and S-75. It has a shorter effective range and lower engagement altitude than ei ...

and S-200 missiles. In the spring of 1967, the System-100 Zone was abolished and its units directly subordinate to the army headquarters or the

14th Air Defence Division 14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15. Mathematics Fourteen is the seventh composite number. Properties 14 is the third distinct semiprime, being the third of the form 2 \times q (where q is a higher prime). ...

. On February 22, 1968, the army was awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...

in honor of the 50th anniversary of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. In early 1978, the 14th Division was transferred to the

Baltic Military District The Baltic Military District () was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Baltic states, formed shortly before the German invasion during World War II. After the end of the war the Kaliningrad Oblast was added to the District's co ...

, and in the spring of 1980 the army was reorganized into the 18th Air Defence Corps with the transfer of its fighter units to the Air Forces of the Leningrad Military District. The army was composed of regiments of

interceptor Interceptor may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Interceptor'', a British drama series on BBC One * Interceptor (game show), ''Interceptor'' (game show), a British television game show that ran during 1989 * Interc ...

s and anti-aircraft missiles. It had two major tasks: to protect the most industrialized European part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

against possible U.S.

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

attack from the north via the North Pole (using

Mikoyan MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares de ...

interceptors), and to protect the deployment of

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion ...

s stationed in the

Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula (; ) is a peninsula in the extreme northwest of Russia, and one of the largest peninsulas of Europe. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely inside the Arctic Circle and is border ...

(using

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...

fighters). In early 1986, the PVO returned to the organization used during the 1960s and 1970s. As a result, in April 1986, the headquarters of the army was reestablished in Leningrad at 16 Baskov Pereulok from the headquarters of the 18th Corps. The army included the

27th Air Defence Corps The 27th Air Defense Corps () was a corps of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Formed in 1960 from the Baltic Air Defense Corps, the corps provided air defense for the Latvian and Lithuanian Soviet Sociali ...

at Riga, the new 54th Air Defence Corps with headquarters at Khvoyny, the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, which included the 425th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

(Khaansalu), Estonian SSR), the 656th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO at Tapa Airfield in Estonia with MiG-27MLDs from 1978 and the

498th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Training Brigade 498th may refer to: *498th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit *498th Nuclear Systems Wing (498 NSW), wing of the United States Air Force based at Ki ...

Opochka Opochka () is a town and the administrative center of Opochetsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Velikaya River, south of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was founded in 1414. At the t ...

. In turn, the 27th Corps of the PVO consisted in 1988 of the: * 54th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (Vainode, Latvian SSR) (38 Sukhoi Su-27P / UB) * 689th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (

Nivenskoye Nivenskoye (also Severnyi, Uzhnyi & Yezau (US)) () is a former interceptor aircraft air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia located 17 km south of Kaliningrad. A large mile-wide taxiway ring on west side fed a series of aircraft revetments. Th ...

, Kaliningrad Oblast) (36 Sukhoi Su-27P / UB) *77th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Ventspils, Latvian SSR) *85th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR) *158th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Liepaya, Latvian SSR) *169th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Neman, Kaliningrad Oblast) *183rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Gvardeysk, Kaliningrad Oblast) *205th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (Riga, Latvian SSR) *529th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Ukmerge, Lithuanian SSR) *466th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR) *80th Radio-Technical Brigade (Tukums, Latvian SSR) *81st Radio-Technical Brigade (Pereslavskoye, Kaliningrad Oblast) *5th Radio-Technical Regiment (Paplaka, Latvian SSR) 54th Air Defence Corps included: *

177th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO The 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO (; Military Unit Number 10232) was a Fighter aircraft, fighter Aviation regiment (Soviet Union), regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Soviet Air Defense Forces (; PVO) during World War II and the Cold ...

(

Lodeynoye Pole Lodeynoye Pole (, lit. ''the field of boats'') is a town and the administrative center of Lodeynopolsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Svir River (Lake Ladoga's basin) northeast of St. Petersburg. ...

, Leningrad Oblast) (38

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-sweep wing, variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, ...

MLD) *

180th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO The 180th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (180th Guards IAP) was a military unit of the Red Army Air Force, which took part in the fighting of the Great Patriotic War, and then became part of the Russian Air Defence Forces and finally the Russian ...

Gromovo Gromovo (; ) is a settlement in Priozersky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Kuznechnoye railway. Gromovo is situated on the northern shore of the Lake Sukhodolskoye, Karelian Isthmus, in the histor ...

-Sakkola, Leningrad Oblast) (31

) *

82nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade The 82nd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (; Military Unit Number 03214) was a surface-to-air missile brigade of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Active from 1960, the brigade provided air defense for the Le ...

(Lomonosov, Leningrad Oblast) *

83rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade 83rd may refer to: *83rd Academy Awards, a ceremony that honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011 *83rd Grey Cup, the 1995 Canadian Football League championship game *83rd meridian east, a line of lon ...

(Zelenogorsk, Leningrad Oblast) *

84th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade The 84th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (; Military Unit Number 28036) was a surface-to-air missile brigade of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Active from 1960, the brigade provided air defense for the Le ...

(Vaganovo, Leningrad Oblast) *

86th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade The 86th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade (; Military Unit Number 28037) was a surface-to-air missile brigade of the Soviet Air Defense Forces and briefly the Russian Air Defense Forces. Active from 1960, the brigade provided air defense for the Le ...

(Tosno-2, Leningrad Oblast) *

204th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Brigade Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * Fourth (album), ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 ...

(Kerstovo, Leningrad Oblast) * 169th Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (Kornevo, Leningrad Oblast) * 219th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment ( Pervomayskoye-1) *

341st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment The 341st Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (; Military Unit Number 25885) was a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Soviet Air Defense Forces during the Cold War which briefly became part of the Russian Air Defence Force ...

( Lopukhinka-2) *

555th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment The 555th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (; Military Unit Number 30147) was a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Soviet Air Defense Forces during the Cold War which briefly became part of the Russian Air Defense Forces. Active from 1960, the ...

( Ostrov-2) *

967th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment The 967th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment (; Military Unit Number 22222) was a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Soviet Air Defense Forces during the Cold War which briefly became part of the Russian Air Defence Force ...

(

Tikhvin Tikhvin (; Veps: ) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin is also an industrial ...

) * 46th Radio-Technical Brigade (Khvoyny)

Russian Air Force

The Army was reformed within the

Russian Air Force The Russian Air Force () is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reb ...

on June 1, 1998, from the

76th Air Army The 76th Air Army was a unit of the Soviet Air Forces from 1949 to 1980, and again from 1988 to 1998. As the 13th Air Army, it was originally formed on 25 November 1942 and based on air units of the Leningrad Front. 13th Air Army's initial compone ...

of the VVS and the 6th Independent Air Defence Army, both headquartered in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. Its new title was the 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence. The 6th Army had responsibility for the

. General Lieutenant was appointed commander of the army by a presidential decree of April 6, 2000. He replaced Lt-Gen , who retired due to age. Its commanding officer was

General Lieutenant Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

Vladimir Sviridov Vladimir Sergeyevich Sviridov (; born 10 May 1990) is a Russian para-athlete competing mainly in category F36 long jump and shot put. In 2013 he took the gold in the shot put at the IPC Athletics World Championships equaling his own world record ...

from June 2005 until at least 2007. Economic stringency and the reduction of the threat led to drastic cuts in the formation, as previously the 6th and 10th Independent Air Defence Armies, which covered the area, had twelve fighter regiments between them. 10th Independent Air Defence Army appears to have disbanded on December 1, 1994. The

518th Fighter Aviation Regiment The 518th Fighter Aviation Regiment (; Military Unit Number 42192) was a Fighter aircraft, fighter Aviation regiment (Soviet Union), aviation regiment of the Soviet Air Forces during World War II that became part of the Soviet Air Defence Forces af ...

Talagi Airport Talagi Airport ( Russian: Аэропорт Архангельск (Тала́ги) имени Ф.А. Абрамова) is an international airport serving Arkhangelsk, Russia, located 11 kilometers outside the city. In 2001, it had 105,797 pas ...

disbanded in 1998. The 174th and 470th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiments, at

Monchegorsk Monchegorsk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located on the Kola Peninsula, south of Murmansk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 52,242 (Russian Census (2002), 2002 Census); ...

and

Afrikanda air base Afrikanda is a former military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located just north of the village of the same name. It was built for fighter operations with 30 revetments, and has largely served in the interceptor aircraft role. Wes ...

, both disbanded on September 1, 2001. There was also formerly the

72nd Fighter Regiment 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has symbolic associations in religion, myt ...

Amderma Amderma (, lit. ''a walrus rookery'' in Nenets languages, Nenets) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a settlement) in Zapolyarny District of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the coast of Kara Sea, near the V ...

and the 641st Fighter Aviation Regiment at Rogachevo (

Sukhoi Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet Union, Soviet-origin twinjet, twin-engine supersonic Supermaneuverability, supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the lar ...

s). On September 13, 2005, the army was awarded the honorific Leningrad in honor of the actions of its predecessor units in the Siege of Leningrad. From 2001 to 2009, the Kilpyavr airfield was home to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, created on the basis of 941st Fighter Aviation Regiment, which had received all the regalia of the 470th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. In 2009, 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment was transferred from Karelia to the Besovets airbase, where it was merged with the 159th and 177th Fighter Regiment airfields Besovets and Lodeynoye Pole, respectively. In 2009 the army was disestablished and reorganised as the

1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command The 1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command was a command of the Russian Air Force from 2009-2015. It was located at Voronezh and supervised air force operations in the Western Military District. It was created on 1 December 2009. On 1 August 2015, ...

. Major General took command in February 2014; he was promoted to lieutenant general in February 2016. On August 1, 2015, the army was reformed from the 1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command as the 6th Leningrad Air and Air Defence Forces Army. By a

Decree of the President of Russia A Decree of the President of the Russian Federation (; ''Ukaz Prezidenta Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') or Executive Order (Decree) of the President of Russia is a legal act (''ukase'') with the status of a by-law made by the President of Russia. As no ...

dated September 13, 2005, for mass heroism and courage, fortitude and courage shown by the personnel of the army during the Great Patriotic War to protect the skies of Leningrad, and given its merits in peacetime, the army was given the honorary name "Leningrad".

Structure

Structure, 2007

*Headquarters, 6th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence –

21st Air Defence Corps First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

–

Severomorsk Severomorsk (), known as Vayenga () until 18 April 1951, is a closed city, closed types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Severomorsk is the main administrative base of the Russian Northern Fleet. The town is sit ...

***9th Guards Vilnius Fighter Aviation Regiment – HQ at Kilp-Yavr (Poliarnyi) – Su-27; (see :ru:Гвардейский Виленский ордена Кутузова III степени истребительный авиационный полк). Formed March 18, 1943, as 63rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. ***458th Fighter Aviation Regiment – HQ at

Savatiya Savatiya (also Kotlas South, Savati, or Savvatiya) is a former Russian Air Force air base in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia located 29 km south of Kotlas. It is a small interceptor airfield. It was home to 445th Interceptor Aviation Regiment ( ...

(Kotlas) –

MiG-25 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (; NATO reporting name: Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that is among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. Designed by the Soviet Union's Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, it is a ...

U, MiG-31; *** 531st Nevel-Berlin Guards Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment *** 1528th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment –

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk (; ) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the p ...

*** 583rd Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment –

Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast Olenegorsk (, lit. ''reindeer mountain'') is a town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located north of the Arctic Circle, south of Murmansk. Population: 25,166 ( 2002 Census); History The railway station of Olenya () was opened in 1916, with the ...

*** 145th Radiotechnical Brigade –

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

*** 5th Radiotechnical Brigade – Dalny Zelentsy,

** 54th Air Defence Corps – HQ at Taytsy ***177th Fighter Aviation Regiment – HQ at

Lodeynoye Pole (air base) Lodeynoye Pole (also Lodynoye Pole) is a former air base in Leningrad Oblast, Russia located 2 km south of Lodeynoye Pole. It was home to the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO between 1960 and 2009. Lodeynoye Pole initially operated the Su ...

– Su-27; *** 159th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment – HQ at

Besovets Airport Petrozavodsk Airport (, , ; ; ex: Besovets, Petrozavodsk-2) is a joint civil-military airport in Russia located northwest of Petrozavodsk in Besovets, Shuya Rural Settlement (municipality). It services small airliners. It is a minor airfield w ...

– Su-27; ***196th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment ***?th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment ** 149th Composite Aviation Division ***67th Bomber Aviation Regiment – HQ at

Siverskiy Siversky () is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Gatchinsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, on the bank of the Oredezh River. Its population was The banks of the Oredezh River through Siversky are lined with red sand, sugge ...

-2 –

Su-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

; ***722nd Bomber Aviation Regiment – HQ at Smuravyevo (Gdov) – Su-24; **98th Guards Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment – HQ at

Monchegorsk (air base) Monchegorsk Air Base is a military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia located 13 km northeast of Monchegorsk and 11 miles southwest of Olenya (air base). Work on the air base began in the early 1950s, and by 1957 it was identified on Americ ...

– MiG-25RB/U, Su-24MR; **87th Aviation Base – HQ at Levashevo –

An-12 The Antonov An-12 (Russian language, Russian: Антонов Ан-12; NATO reporting name: Cub) is a four-engined turboprop Cargo aircraft, transport aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It is the military version of the Antonov An-10 and has ...

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. Russian production of t ...

Tupolev Tu-134 The Tupolev Tu-134 (NATO reporting name: Crusty) is a twin-engined, narrow-body jet airliner built in the Soviet Union for short and medium-haul routes from 1966 to 1989. The original version featured a glazed-nose design and, like certain oth ...

; (ex 138th Independent Composite Air Regiment) **Army Aviation Component ***147th Independent Helicopter Squadron of Electronic Warfare – HQ at Pushkin – Mi-8PPA; ***332nd Independent Helicopter Regiment for Battle Control – HQ at Pribylovo – Mi-8,

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

; ***85th Independent Helicopter Squadron – HQ at Alakurtti – Mi-8, Mi-24. * 1080th Mixed Aviation Base (смешанная авиационная база) –

Priozersky District Priozersky District () is an administrativeOblast Law #32-oz and municipalLaw #50-oz district (raion), one of the administrative divisions of Leningrad Oblast, seventeen in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northwest of the oblast and ...

–

An-72 The Antonov An-72 (NATO reporting name: Coaler) is a Soviet transport aircraft, developed by Antonov. It was designed as a STOL transport and intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-26, but variants have found success as commercial freigh ...

An-30 The Antonov An-30 (NATO reporting name: Clank), is a development of the An-24 designed for aerial cartography. It is the second member of the Antonov An-24 family, succeeding the An-24, while preceding the An-26, An-32 and canceled An-132. D ...

, * 714th Base for Reserve Helicopters – Kasimovo –

* 396th Centre for Special and Physical Preparations – St Petersburg

Structure: 1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command, 2009–2015

* 1st Air and Space Defence Brigade (with

S-300PM The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the former Soviet Union. It was produced by NPO Almaz for the Soviet Air Defence Forces to defend against air raids and cruise ...

, S-300PS) –

2nd Air and Space Defence Brigade The 2nd Air Defense Division is an air defence military formation of the Russian Aerospace Forces. It was previously the 54th Air Defence Corps (), a corps both of the Soviet Air Defence Forces and later the Russian Aerospace Forces. Formed in 19 ...

(with S-300PM) – Khvoyny * 6961st Air Base (

UB) –

Besovets Besovets (; , ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a village#Russia, village) in Prionezhsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia. Subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions, Municipally, it is a part of the Shuy ...

(Бесовец) * 6964th Guards Vistula Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Air Base (with

SU-24 The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, night fighter, all-weather tactical bomber developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, Twinjet, twin engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for it ...

M, Su-24MP)—

(Мончегорск) * 6965th Air Base (with

) –

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

(Вязьма) * 7000th Guards Borisov-Pomerania Twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Air Base (with SU-24M, Su-24MP,

Su-34 The Sukhoi Su-34 (; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/ strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entere ...

) –

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

The

was only active from 2009 to 2015.

Structure: 2019/2020

6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army HQ (St.Petersburg): * 105th Guards Composite Aviation Division (Voronezh) ** 159th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (

Petrozavodsk Airport Petrozavodsk Airport (, , ; ; ex: Besovets, Petrozavodsk-2) is a joint civil-military airport in Russia located northwest of Petrozavodsk in Besovets, Shuya Rural Settlement (Subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions, municipality). It servic ...

, Karelia) (Two Squadrons:

Su-35 The Sukhoi Su-35 (-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable, 4.5 ge ...

S) ** 790th Fighter Aviation Regiment (

Borisovsky Khotilovo (air base) Borisovsky Khotilovo (also given as Borisovskiy, Borisovsky, and Khatilovo) is an air base in Tver Oblast, Russia located 24 km south of the town of Bologoye, Tver Oblast, Bologoye. It is an interceptor base with three groups of fan revetme ...

) (Two Squadrons:

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed for the Soviet Air Forces by the Mikoyan design bureau as a replacement for the earlier MiG-25 "Foxbat"; the MiG-31 is based on and shares de ...

; One Squadron: Su-35) ** 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (

Kursk Vostochny Airport Kursk Vostochny Airport () , also known as Khalino airbase, Kursk-Khalino, is an interceptor aircraft base in Kursk Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of c ...

(Khalino)) (Two Squadrons:

Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union in the 1980s by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter for all-weath ...

SM) ** 47th Composite Aviation Regiment (

Voronezh Malshevo (air base) Voronezh Malshevo is an air base in Voronezh Oblast of the Russian Aerospace Forces as part of the 6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, Western Military District. and Baltimore. The base is home to the 47th Composite Guards Aviation Regiment w ...

) (Two Squadrons:

) ** 4th Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron (

Shatalovo Shatalovo () is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Shatalovo, Pskov Oblast, a village in Pustoshkinsky District of Pskov Oblast * Shatalovo, Smolensk Oblast, a village in Shatalovskoye Rural Settlement of Pochinkovsky District of ...

) (

MR) * Naval Aviation (drawn from 132nd Mixed Aviation Division – Kaliningrad) ** 689th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (

Kaliningrad Chkalovsk Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (also Chkalovskoye, Tchalov, or Prowehren) is a naval air base in Chkalovsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia located 9 kilometers northwest of Kaliningrad. Most instances in Russian aviation literature of Chkalovsk or Chkalovskoy ...

) (Two Squadrons:

P – planned to re-equip with the Su-35) ** 4th Independent Naval Attack Aviation Regiment (

Chernyakhovsk (air base) Chernyakhovsk Air Base () is a military air base of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet, located 4 km south-west of the city of Chernyakhovsk in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. It is a medium-sized interceptor airfield, listed as a nuclear bomber b ...

) (One Squadron:

SM; One Squadron: Su-24M) * 2nd Air Defence Division (St. Petersburg region) ** 1488th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment ( Zelenogorsk –

S-400 The S-400 Triumf ( – 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 Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

SAM system) ** 1489th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment ( Vaganovo – S-400/

Pantsir The Pantsir () missile system is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems. Three types of vehicles make up one system: a missile launcher, a radar truck and a command post. Starting with ...

SAM systems) ** 1490th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (

Ulyanovka Ulyanovka () is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Ulyanovka, Leningrad Oblast, an urban-type settlement under the administrative jurisdiction of Ulyanovskoye Settlement ...

– S-400 SAMs) ** 500th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (

Gostilitsy Gostilitsy () is a village and the administrative center of Gostilitskoye Rural Settlement in Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located several kilometers west of the town of Petergof. Gostil ...

– S-400/Pantsir SAMs) ** 1544th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment ( Vladimirsky Lager – S-400 SAMs) * 32nd Air Defence Division ** 42nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Izhitsy – S-300PM2 surface-to-air missile system) ** 108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (

– S-300PM2 SAMs) * 44th Air Defence Division of the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

(

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

region) ** 183rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (

Gvardeysk Gvardeysk ( rus, Гвардейск, p=ɡvɐrˈdʲejsk, a=Ru-Гвардейск.oga; known prior to 1946 by its German name Tapiau ; ; ), is a town and the administrative center of Gvardeysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on t ...

– S-400/S-300/Pantsir SAMs) ** 1545th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Kruglovo – S-400 SAMs) Also seemingly part of the army are the 15th Brigade of Army Aviation at the former

Russian Naval Aviation The Russian Naval Aviation () is the air arm of the Russian Navy, a successor of Soviet Naval Aviation. The Russian Navy is divided into four fleets and one flotilla: Northern Fleet, Pacific Fleet (Russia), Pacific Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea ...

base at Ostrov, the

332nd Independent Guards Helicopter Regiment 33 may refer to: *33 (number) *33 BC *AD 33 *1933 * 2033 Science * Arsenic, a metalloid in the periodic table * 33 Polyhymnia, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Music * La 33, a Colombian salsa music band Albums * ''33'' (Luis Miguel album) (2 ...

(332-й отдельный гвардейский вертолётный полк, 12633 (Pushkin, St. Petersburg, with 12

Mil Mi-28 The Mil Mi-28 (NATO reporting name "Havoc") is a Soviet all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It is an attack helicopter with no intended secondary transport capability, and is better optimized than th ...

N, 10

Mil Mi-35M The Soviet and later Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter has been produced in many variants, as described below. History In 1966, Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Mil created a mock-up design of a new helicopter (derived from the Mil Mi-8) which was ...

, and 12

Mil Мi-8 Mil, mil, or MIL may refer to: Places * Mil, Syria, a village in Syria * Mil, Azerbaijan, a municipality in Beylagan Rayon * Mil, Markazi, a village in Markazi Province, Iran * Metropolitan area of Milan (List of airports by IATA code: M, IATA co ...

MТV); and the 440th Independent Helicopter Regiment. The 52nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (at

Shaykovka Shaykovka air base (; State airfields index: ЬУБЙ), also given variously as Kirov Shaykovka, Anisovo Gorod, Anisovo Gorodishche, Shaykovo, Shajkovka, Gorodische, Chaikovka, is an airbase of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Kaluga Oblast, Russi ...

air base equipped with

Tupolev Tu-22M The Tupolev Tu-22M (; NATO reporting name: Backfire) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing, long-range strategic and maritime strike bomber developed by the Tupolev, Tupolev Design Bureau in the 1960s. The bomber was reported as being designated ...

3 "Backfire" bombers) is also based within the boundaries of the Western Military District but is subordinate to 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 1 ...

of Russian Long Range Aviation.

Notes

Air Forces Monthly ''Air Forces Monthly'' (AFM) is a military aviation magazine published by Key Publishing Ltd, based at Stamford in the English county of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Established in 1988, the magazine provides news and analysis on mi ...

, July & August 2007 issues. *

Sources

* * {{Armies of the Russian Armed Forces 06 Military units and formations established in 1998 Military units and formations disestablished in 2009 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner

History

Origins

6th Independent Air Defence Army

Russian Air Force

Structure

Structure, 2007

Structure: 1st Air and Air Defence Forces Command, 2009–2015

Structure: 2019/2020

See also

Notes

Sources