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Lipetsk | |||||||
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| Lipetsk,Lipetsk Oblast in Russia | |||||||
 Satellite imagery of Lipetsk air base | |||||||
 Su-25SM, MiG-29UB, Su-24M2, Su-34 in 2012 | |||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Type | Air Base | ||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator | Russian Aerospace Forces | ||||||
| Location | |||||||
  Lipetsk Shown within Lipetsk Oblast Show map of Lipetsk Oblast Lipetsk Lipetsk (Russia) Show map of Russia | |||||||
| Coordinates | 52°38′6″N39°26′42″E / 52.63500°N 39.44500°E /52.63500; 39.44500 | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1960 (1960) | ||||||
| In use | 1960 - present | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Elevation | 194 metres (636 ft)AMSL | ||||||
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Lipetsk Air Base (also given asLipetskiy,Lipetsky,Lipetsk-2,Shakhm 10, andLipetsk West) is an air base inLipetsk Oblast,Russia located 12 km northwest ofLipetsk. It is the chief combat training center of theRussian Aerospace Forces, analogous to theUnited States Air Force'sNellis Air Force Base.[1] The base is made up of two medium-sized airfields joined together.[citation needed]
The base is home to the 4th State Centre for Aircrew Training and Field Tests (4th GTsPAPVI), formerly the 4th Centre for Combat Application and Crew Training. Components of the 4th Centre include the 968th Instructor-Research Aviation Regiment (968th IISAP) and the 237th Air Force Display Centre of the Russian Air Force. I. N. Kozheduba - Russian Falcons.[2][3]
In 1925, the Soviet government allowedWeimar Republic Germany to open anair combat school at Lipetsk:Lipetsk fighter-pilot school. That permitted Germany to evadetreaty restrictions on the development of military aviation, while theSoviet Air Forces received technical advice and access to test results. By 1933, the Soviets concluded that the arrangement was not worthwhile, and the newGerman government agreed (for different reasons). The school was closed.[4][5][6]
The 4th Center of Combat Application and Conversion of Frontline Aviation, Russia's Top Gun school since around the 1960s, is the most well known unit on the base. Its chief, Col. Kharchevski, became famous after air combat exercises in the US and has become the personal pilot of PresidentPutin.
From the 1960s to 1990, units stationed at Lipetsk include:
In 1992, the 968th Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived from Falkenberg in East Germany. It was flyingMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 andMikoyan MiG-29 aircraft in the mid-1990s. In 1992-1993 it became first a Research-Instructor Fighter Aviation Regiment and then a Research-Instructor Mixed Aviation Regiment.[10][11] Flying solely MiG-29s by 2004, it later also flewSukhoi Su-24M aircraft.[8]
On 8 August 2024, during theRusso-Ukrainian War, the airbase was struck by a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that caused numerous explosions and fires.[12][13] A warehouse containing guided aerial bombs and other facilities near the airbase were hit, with multiple sources of ignition resulting in a massive fire and multiple detonations, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Damage to the aircraft at the base was still being assessed the morning after the attack. The governor of Lipetsk reported detonations and said that six people had been injured.[14] The fire at the air base facility was confirmed byNASA'sFIRMS.
On 20 October 2024, the air base was attacked by Ukrainian drones with Ukrainian officials reporting that the attack was aimed at fuel, equipment and ammunition stored on the base.[15]
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Ledwidge said the Kursk region is very important for gas supplies, as it is a conduit into Ukraine. As for Lipetsk, he said it is home "to the main training base of the Russian aerospace forces." For to this reason, he said Ukraine views Lipetsk as a valid military target.
Media related toLipetsk Air Base at Wikimedia Commons
