Protasovo (), in western media also given as Ryazan Alexandrovo or Aleksandrovo, was an air base in

Ryazan Oblast Ryazan Oblast (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Ryazan, which is also the oblast's largest city. Geography Ryazan Oblast ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

located southeast of

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

. Before 1992 it was home to the ''Ryazan Training Centre'' (), a

DOSAAF DOSAAF (), full name ''Volunteer Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy'' (), was a paramilitary sport organization in the Soviet Union that was concerned mainly with weapons, automobiles and aviation. The society was establ ...

training unit, flying the L-29. After the 1992 military reforms, the unit was disbanded, and the airbase became home to the ''865th Helicopter Reserve Base'' (), a storage and dismantling unit, handling

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 ...

and

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 ...

helicopters of 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 ...

. However,

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

high-resolution images from 2004 and 2005 show the airfield was vacated with no aircraft present, probably meaning all helicopters had been scrapped by then. As of 2012, the Ryazan Aeroclub was reported to be based on the airfield.

Sources

* *https://archive.today/20080110072449/http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/russia/air/va/16va_mvo.htm - accessed January 2007 Russian Air Force bases Ryazan Oblast {{Russia-mil-stub