Luninets is a reserve air base of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus located in

Luninets Luninets ( be, Лунінец, russian: Лунине́ц, pl, Łuniniec, lt, Luninecas, yi, לונינייץ, Luninitz BGN/PCGN romanization: ''Luninyets'') is a town and administrative centre for the Luninets district in Brest Region, Belarus. ...

, Brest Region. The airfield was a fighter-bomber training area during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. It was home to the 1169th BRAT (1169th Aviation Equipment Reserve Base) flying

Mil Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...

and Mil Mi-24 helicopters. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

the

18th Guards Assault Aviation Regiment The 18th Guards Assault Aviation Vitebsk twice Red Banner, the Order of Suvorov and the French Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor Regiment "Normandie-Niemen" (''18-й гвардейский штурмовой авиационный пол ...

was deployed here using

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...

s from

Chernigovka (air base) Chernigovka is a Russian Aerospace Forces airbase located near Chernigovka, Primorsky Krai, Russia. The base is home to the 18th Guards Red Banner Assault Aviation Regiment which flies the Sukhoi Su-25SM under the 303rd Composite Aviation Divis ...

. These were supported by the 266th Assault Aviation Regiment with their Sukhoi Su-25's from

Step (air base) Step (also Olovyannaya) is an air base in Chita, Russia located 14 km northwest of Yasnogorsk. It is a large air base with two revetment areas and numerous military fortifications. It is near an SS-11 missile field that was dismantled in t ...

. In early October it was reported that Russia had deployed approximately 20

Shahed-136 The HESA Shahed 136 ( fa, شاهد ۱۳۶, literally "Witness-136"), or Geran-2 in Russian service, is an Iranian loitering munition in the form of an autonomous pusher-prop drone. It is designed and manufactured by Shahed Aviation Industries ...

drones to the base.

References

External links

Airport record for Luninets Airport
at Landings.com Soviet Air Force bases Military installations of Belarus Airports in Belarus Luninets {{Belarus-transport-stub Belarusian Air Force

See also

References

External links