Monino Airfield is a former military

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operatio ...

of the

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

in Monino,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally " under Moscow"), is a federal subject of R ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. It is located east of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and is best known for housing the Central Air Force Museum, one of the world's largest aviation museums and the largest for Russian aircraft. Monino Airfield was decommissioned from active service with the Soviet Air Force in 1956, however, the presence of the Gagarin Air Force Academy in Monino meant the air base's facilities saw minor usage, including a military technical school with an operations ramp which during the 1990s had an Ilyushin Il-76 freighter jet and two bombers. In 1958, construction of the Central Air Force Museum began on an unused section of Monino Airfield's grounds and opened in 1960, which has since expanded as new aircraft have been added to the collection. The remaining facilities of the air base, including the

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

, are now abandoned.

References

RussianAirFields.com
Soviet Air Force bases Russian Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Moscow Oblast {{Russia-mil-stub