Pryluky () is an air base in

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast (), also referred to as Chernihivshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The capital city, administrative center of the oblast is the city of Chernihiv. There are 1,511 sett ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

located 6 km west of

Pryluky Pryluky ( ) is a city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (Raion, district). Located nearby is the Pryluky (a ...

. This airfield was Ukraine's primary

Tupolev Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable heavy strategic bomber and airborne missile platform designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The aircra ...

bomber base (with

Uzyn Uzyn (, ) is a city in Bila Tserkva Raion of Kyiv Oblast (province) in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Uzyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The city and covers an area of . Population: The largest industrial orga ...

hosting the nation's

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 ...

fleet). There are revetments for 20 large aircraft.

History

In April 1946, the 184th Guards Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (184 GvTBAP) arrived at Priluky, after being renamed from 9th Guards Long-Range Regiment.Piotr Butowski, International Air Power Review, Summer 2004, 81. It flew Tu-4s from 1950,

Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39; NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired af ...

aircraft beginning in 1955, then acquired the Tupolev Tu-22M4 in 1984 and the

Tu-160 The Tupolev Tu-160 (; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable heavy strategic bomber and airborne missile platform designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The aircra ...

from 1987 until 2000. It also flew the

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 trainer. Pryluky accepted the USSR's first

(Blackjack) in April 1987, building its fleet up to 19 by 1994. By the mid 1990s, the Pryluky Regiment had lost its value as a combat unit. The 184th GvTBAP's 19 "Blackjacks" were effectively grounded because of a lack of technical support, spare parts and fuel. At this point in time, Ukraine considered the Tu-160s more of a bargaining chip in their economic negotiations with Russia. Certainly, they were of very limited value to Ukraine from a military standpoint, but discussions with Russia concerning their return bogged down. Between October 1999 and February 2000 Ukraine turned over 8 Tu-160 bombers to

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 ...

to pay off energy debts; these are now at Russia's

Engels-2 Engels-2 () is a strategic bomber military airbase in Russia located east of Saratov. Engels is a major bomber operations base, and is Russia's sole operating location for the Tupolev Tu-160 (NATO: Blackjack) strategic bomber. The base has a ...

air base. The last of Ukraine's strategic bombers, a Tu-160, was destroyed by agreement with the United States in February 2001. As of 2012, the Pryluky airbase is abandoned. Almost all equipment has been dismantled, including radar and lighting equipment. At the request of the United States, earthen revetments, bomb shelters, two fuel and lubricant depots, and other facilities at the air base were also destroyed. A

Tupolev Tu-16 The Tupolev Tu-16 (USAF/DOD reporting name Type 39; NATO reporting name: Badger) is a twin-engined jet strategic heavy bomber used by the Soviet Union. It has been flown for almost 70 years. While many aircraft in Soviet service were retired af ...

monument still remains.

References

Soviet military air bases in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic Soviet Long Range Aviation bases Ukrainian Long Range Aviation {{Chernihiv-geo-stub