14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army

The 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (Russian: 14-я армия ВВС и ПВО) is an air army of the Russian Air Force, part of the Central Military District and headquartered at Yekaterinburg.

14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army (1998–2009, 2015–present) 2nd Air and Air Defence Forces Command (2009–2015)
Active	1998–2009 2015–present
Country	Russia
Branch	Russian Air Force
Type	Air army
Part of	Central Military District
Garrison/HQ	Yekaterinburg
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko
Notable commanders	Alexander Zelin Viktor Bondarev

It was formed in 1998 from the 14th Separate Air Defence Army when the Russian Air Force was reorganized to combine both Air Force and Air Defence Forces units.

It was redesignated as the 2nd Air and Air Defence Forces Command when the Russian Air Force reorganized its armies into commands in 2009, but returned to its original name in 2015 when the commands became armies again.

History

The lineage of the 14 A VVS i PVO began with the Novosibirsk Air Defense District of the 3rd category, organized by directive of the Commander of the Air Defense Forces on July 1, 1952. Subsequently the district became the Novosibirsk Air Defense Division (March 1954); the Novosibirsk Air Defense Corps (11/15/1956); the 14th Separate Air Defense Army (3/24/1960);[1] and then the 6th Separate Air Defense Corps (6/10/1994).

The 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army was formed in 1998, Air Forces Monthly reported in its August 2007 issue, from the 14th Independent Air Defence Army of the Russian Air Defence Forces (the former Soviet PVO) at Novosibirsk, the 23rd Air Army of the Russian Air Forces from Chita and the 50th Independent Air Defence Corps also from Chita. Thus the history of the formation is traced to the 14th Independent Air Defence Army, established in 1960, rather than the 14th Air Army in the Second World War.

The 14th Independent Air Defence Army was formed from the 14th Corps of the PVO at Novosibirsk, and included the 38th (HQ Novosibirsk), 39th Air Defence Corps (HQ Krasnoyarsk), 50th Guards Air Defence Corps(HQ Chita),[2] and 56th Air Defence Corps (HQ Semipalatinsk) of the PVO,[3] as well as the 41st Air Defence Division, in 1988.[4] In 1988 five fighter regiments were part of the army.

Fighter Regiments of the 14th Army PVO 1988 (Source Feskov et al. 2004)[4]

Regiment	Base	Equipment	Remarks
64th Fighter Aviation Regiment	Omsk-Chakalovsky	MiG-31	56th Air Defence Corps
350th Fighter Aviation Regiment	Bratsk	MiG-31	350 иап 1945
356th Fighter Aviation Regiment	Zhaneysmey (Semipalitinsk)[5]	MiG-31	Formed March 1944; 56th Air Defence Corps
712th Fighter Aviation Regiment	Kansk (air base) (Achinsk)	Sukhoi Su-15	39 ADC (became 94 ADD February 1988)
849th Fighter Aviation Regiment	Kupino	MiG-25P	38th Air Defence Corps

The new army was given the title of 14th Army of the Air Force and Air Defence (14 A VVS i PVO). Its zone of responsibility covered the huge area of the Siberian Military District, AFM said, and its headquarters was located in Novosibirsk. AFM also said that the aircraft were concentrated in the southern part of the territory, along the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. In 2007 the commanding officer of the 14th Air Army, AFM also reported, was Lieutenant-General Nikolay Danilov.

The most important force, AFM noted, within the army was the 21st Composite Air Division, which operated a Sukhoi Su-24M tactical bomber regiment, a Su-24MR reconnaissance regiment and a Su-25 attack aircraft regiment. The division was stationed in the eastern part of its responsibility zone, near the Chinese border.

The army was disbanded in 2009 by being redesignated as the 2nd Air and Air Defence Forces Command.

The 21st Separate Aviation Division amalgamated with 2 BAP circa 2010 to become the 6980th Guards Aviation Base of the 1st Rank. The new base (Military Unit Number 69806) was equipped with Su-24M bombers and Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft and stationed at Chelyabinsk Shagol Airport.[6]

The army was reformed in August 2015. Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko took command in January 2016.[7]

Structure 2007

• 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army - Novosibirsk
  • 21st Composite Aviation Division - HQ at Dzhida;
    • 2nd Bomber Aviation Regiment - HQ at Dzhida - Su-24M;[8]
    • 266th Assault Aviation Regiment - HQ at Step', Oloviannaya - Su-25;
    • 313th Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment - HQ at Bada - Su-24MR;
  • 120th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Domna, 27 km southwest of Chita - MiG-29;
  • 712th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Kansk (air base) - MiG-25PU, MiG-31;
  • 137th Independent Composite Aviation Squadron - HQ at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport - An-26;
  • Army Aviation component
    • 337th Independent Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Berdsk (later at Tolmachevo) - Mi-8, Mi-24;
    • 112th Independent Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Chita - Mi-8, Mi-24;
  • Two SAM regiments and four radar units

Structure 2020

• 14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army - HQ: Yekaterinburg[9]
  • 21st Guards Composite Aviation Division (HQ: Chelyabinsk Shagol airbase)
    • 712th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment; Two Squadrons: MiG-31BM Fighters (Kansk-Yuzhniy air base)
    • 764th Fighter Aviation Regiment; Two Squadrons: MiG-31BM/BSM Fighters (Perm air base)[10]
    • 2nd Guards Frontal Bomber Aviation Regiment; One Squadron: Su-24MR Fencer strike aircraft; Two Squadrons: Su-34 strike fighters (Chelyabinsk Shagol airbase)
  • 999th Aviation Base (Kant airbase, Kyrgyzstan; directly subordinate to 14th Air Army); One Squadron: Su-25SM Frogfoot aircraft[11]
  • 76th Air Defense Division (HQ: Samara)
    • 185th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Beryozovsky): S-400 surface-to-air missile system.[12]
    • 511th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Engels air base): S-400/Pantsir surface-to-air missiles[13]
    • 568th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Samara): S-300PS SAMs[14]
  • 28th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Mirny): S-300V4 SAMs[15]
  • 41st Air Defence Division (HQ: Novosibirsk)[16]
    • 590th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Novosibirsk): S-400/Pantsir SAMs
    • 388th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Achinsk): S-300P SAMs
    • 24th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Abakan): S-300P? SAMs
    • 1534th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Angarsk Belaya air base region): S-300PM SAMs

Additional long-range bomber elements deployed under the command of Russian Long Range Aviation at Engels and Belaya air bases in the Central Military District.

Notes

1. Michael Holm. "14th independent Air Defence Army]". Retrieved 28 November 2020. The different formation date is probably the result of one source listing the date the order was issued, and the other source the date the order was to be effective.
2. Michael Holm. "14th independent Air Defence Army]". Retrieved 28 November 2020. 50th Guards ADC was activated on February 2, 1986, in Atamanovka, Chita Oblast, from the 16th Guards Air Defence Division.
3. Michael Holm, 56th Air Defence Corps
4. Feskov et al 2004, p.152
5. http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/iap/356iap.htm
6. https://www.unian.info/world/1193193-syrian-rebels-reveal-identity-of-dead-russian-su-24-pilot.html
7. "Назначен новый командующий 14-й армией ВВС и ПВО в Центральном военном округе" [14th Air and Air Defence Forces Army in Central Military District gets new commander]. TASS (in Russian). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
8. http://www.ww2.dk/new/air%20force/regiment/bap/2gvbap.htm
9. https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/2713
10. https://tass.com/defense/1251597
11. http://www.easternorbat.com/html/russian_air_force_eng.html
12. https://www.gfsis.org/russian-monitor/view/2891
13. https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces
14. https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces
15. https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces
16. https://www.gfsis.org/maps/russian-military-forces

References

• Air Forces Monthly, July & August 2007 issues.
• brinkster.com/Vad777