Dyagilevo (also given as Dyagilevo, Ryazan Dyagilevo) is a

military air base An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

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 ...

, 3 km west 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 ...

. It serves as a training center for Russia's strategic bomber force. , the base was home to the 203rd Guards Orlovsky Independent Aircraft-refuelling Aviation Regiment with the

Ilyushin Il-78 The Ilyushin Il-78 (; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter. Design and development The Soviet Union's first dedicated tanker aircraft were variants of pre ...

/78M and the 49th Instructor Red Banner Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment as part of the 43rd Guards Oryol Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Long-Range Aviation Flight Personnel. The Ryazan Museum of Long-Range Aviation is located on the base.

History

In 1955 it was one of only six

Soviet 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 ...

bases capable of handling the

Myasishchev M-4 The Myasishchev M-4 ''Molot'' (), USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", Air Standardization Coordinating Committee, ASCC reporting name Bison) was a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Myasishchev, Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev and manufa ...

bomber. In 1967 it had seven

Tupolev Tu-22 The Tupolev Tu-22 ( Air Standardization Coordinating Committee name: Blinder) was the first supersonic bomber to enter production in the Soviet Union. Manufactured by Tupolev, the Tu-22 entered service with Long-Range Aviation and Soviet Nav ...

s used for training. In 1973 it received 2

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 ...

(NATO: Backfire) aircraft. It was also home to 43 TsBPiPLS (43rd Center for Combat Application and Training of Air Crew) which included the Tu-22M,

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

MS (NATO: Bear), and

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 ...

UBL (NATO: Crusty) trainer. In 1985 the 49 TBAP (49th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment) arrived at Dyagilevo, flying Tu-22M and Tu-95 aircraft and eventually converting into an ITBAP (training regiment). The 49th Regiment was part of the 43rd Centre, and eventually disbanded in 1997. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н 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 ...

took command of the base. By 1994 it received 24

Tu-95 The Tupolev Tu-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 Soviet Air Forces in 1956 and ...

K (Bear-G) bombers for decommissioning under the

START II START II (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by US President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yel ...

treaty. A number of Tu-16, Tu-22, and M-4 aircraft are mothballed here. As of 2009, the ww2.dk website reported that three units were active at the airbase. * 1st Instructor Heavy Bomber Aviation Squadron (Tu-22M3 and Tu-134) * 2nd Instructor Heavy Bomber Aviation Squadron (Tu-95MS and An-26) *43rd Guards Orlovskiy Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel Ryazan - Dyagilevo

Air Power Review reported in 2004 that the 203rd Independent Orel Air Regiment of Guards (Air Tankers) operating

Il-78 The Ilyushin Il-78 (; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter. Design and development The Soviet Union's first dedicated tanker aircraft were variants of pre ...

and Il-78M was stationed at the base. Formed 6 July 1941 at Monino near Moscow as the 412th Aviation Regiment, with TB-7 (Pe-8) heavy bombers. Renamed 432nd AP several weeks later. Renamed 25th AP DD of Guards 19 September 1943. 1230th AP (SZ) renamed 203rd OAP (SZ) 1 December 1994. On 5 December 2022, the base was attacked by Ukrainian drones which damaged a Tu-22M3 bomber and destroyed a fuel truck; three personnel were killed and five injured. The Engels Air Force Base was also raided on the same night. On 14 December, a Shahed-136 drone that exploded in a Kyiv apartment building had “For Ryazan“ written on it in Russian. By December 2022, the (360 ARZ) located at the base was placed under sanctions of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and USA due to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On 1 June 2025, as part of

Operation Spider's Web Operation Spider's Web () was a Covert operation, covert drone attack carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) deep inside Russia on 1 June 2025, during the Russo-Ukrainian War. The coordinated strikes targeted the Russian Air Fo ...

, Ukraine attacked Dyagilevo and four other air bases (the attack on Ukrainka air base failed) using a swarm of short-range drones.

References

External links

Soviet Long Range Aviation bases Russian Air Force bases Airports in Ryazan Oblast {{Russia-mil-stub

History

See also

References

External links