Dolon (also known as Chagan and Semipalitinsk Dolon) is an air base in Semipalatinsk (modern

Semey Semey ( kk, Семей, Semei, سەمەي; cyrl, Семей ), until 2007 known as Semipalatinsk (russian: Семипала́тинск) and in 1917–1920 as Alash-kala ( kk, Алаш-қала, ''Alaş-qala''), is a city in eastern Kazakhst ...

), Kazakhstan, that served as a major Cold War bomber base under the

37th Air Army The 37th Air Army ( rus, 37-я воздушная армия, r=37 Vozdushnaya Armiya) of the High Supreme Command (Strategic Purpose) was the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force from 1998 to 2009. It was equipped with Tupolev Tu-95MS a ...

, Soviet

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 delive ...

. It contains significant tarmac space and over 50

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

s. Until at least 1980 it served as one of three bases for the Soviet Union's

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 t ...

"Bear" long-range bomber fleet. The nearby

Dolon Southwest Dolon Southwest was a dispersal bomber base in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, located 43 km south-west of Dolon (air base). It was part of the Far East command of Soviet Air Forces Long Range Aviation. A Central Intelligence Agency document l ...

, a former airfield 32 km to the south, was probably a dispersal field and no longer exists. In 1955, Dolon was one of only six Soviet bases capable of handling the

Myasishchev M-4 The Myasishchev M-4 ''Molot'' (russian: Молот (Hammer), USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", ASCC reporting name Bison) was a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in ...

(Bison) bomber. The 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division was created at Dolon in 1957. The

Tupolev Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (russian: Туполев Ту-160 Белый лебедь, translit=Belyj Lebeď, translation= White Swan; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupole ...

(Blackjack) was temporarily deployed to Dolon in the late 1980s. In 1990, Dolon had 40

(Bear) aircraft, which were eliminated by 1994, ending the base's strategic bomber role. Units based at Dolon included: *79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division * 1023rd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (1023 TBAP) flying

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 th ...

and Tu-95M aircraft (1957–62), Tu-95K (1960–83), and

MS aircraft (1983–92). * 1226th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (1226 TBAP) flying

and Tu-95M aircraft (1957–62), Tu-95K and

MS aircraft (1984–92). The 79th TBAD was under the control of Long Range Aviation from 1957 to 1960, the 8th independent Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps (later to become the

30th Air Army The 15th Air Army was a military formation of the Soviet Air Forces, active from July 1942 until December 1993. History It was formed between 11 July and 15 August 1942, in accordance with the directive of the commander of the Soviet Air Force ...

) from 1960 until 1980, and finally, the

from 1980 until 1992. Both regiments were taken over by

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

in 1992 and the aircraft were withdrawn to the Russian Federation."All Strategic Bombers Out Of Kazakhstan; Talks On Those In Ukraine,"

RFE/RL Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

News Briefs, Vol. 3, No. 9, 21–25 February 1994, via

Nuclear Threat Initiative The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofi ...

References

Soviet Long Range Aviation bases Soviet Air Force bases Military installations of Kazakhstan Airports in Kazakhstan Kazakh Air Defense Forces {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub