| 23rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment | |
|---|---|
| 23-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный полк | |
.jpg) ASukhoi Su-35 of the regiment, 2019 | |
| Active | 2000-present |
| Country |  Russia |
| Branch |  Russian Air Force |
| Role | Fighter |
| Part of | 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army
|
| Garrison/HQ | Dzyomgi,Komsomolsk-on-Amur |
| Decorations |  Guards |
| Honourifics | Tallinn |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Sukhoi Su-27,Sukhoi Su-30,Sukhoi Su-35,Sukhoi Su-57 |
The23rd Guards Tallinn Fighter Aviation Regiment (Russian:23-й гвардейский истребительный авиационный Таллинский полк;Military Unit Number 77984) is afighteraviation regiment of theRussian Aerospace Forces. Based atDzyomgi, the regiment is part of the303rd Mixed Aviation Division of the11th Air and Air Defense Forces Army. Flying theSukhoi Su-35S, the regiment participated in theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
In 2023, the unit became the first operational regiment equipped with theSukhoi Su-57 air superiority fighter.[1][2]
The regiment was formed in 2000 as the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment by the merger of the 60th Fighter Aviation Regiment and the 404th Tallinn Order of Kutuzov Fighter Aviation Regiment.
In December 2009, the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was reorganized duringreforms of the Russian Air Force, becoming the 6987th Aviation Base. The regiment was recreated and on 29 January 2018 received the honorific "Tallinn," perpetuating the traditions of the 404th Fighter Aviation Regiment.[3] Outside Russia, the addition of "Tallinn" to the regiment's name was characterized as "provocative" and an "attempt at intimidation."[4][5][6]
Beginning in early August 2018, a flight from the regiment was stationed atYasny air base onIturup in theKuril Islands.[7] The regiment is part of the 303rd Mixed Aviation Division of the 11th Air and Air Defense Forces Army, based atDzyomgi Airport. The regiment participated inaerial warfare in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regimental navigator Major Viktor Anatolyevich Dudin was awarded the titleHero of Russia on 4 March for downing aUkrainianSu-27 during the invasion, becoming the first pilot to receive the award during the war.[8] Regimental deputy commander Lieutenant ColonelIlya Andreevich Sizov received his Hero of Russia medal on 21 July, credited by state media with the destruction of eleven Ukrainian aircraft and thwarting an attempt to recaptureSnake Island.[9] For "mass heroism and courage in battle," the regiment received theGuards designation on 17 November 2022 as a reward for its performance in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10] That month, Sizov announced that the pilots of the unit were undergoing theoretical training on theSukhoi Su-57 at the4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel, as the regiment was slated to become the first operational unit to receive the Su-57 in 2023.[11]