Russian Aerospace Forces
| Russian Aerospace Forces | |
|---|---|
| Воздушно-космические силы Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily | |
 Emblem of the Russian Aerospace Forces | |
| Founded | 1 August 2015 |
| Country |  Russia |
| Type | Air and space force |
| Role | Aerial warfare Space warfare Missile defense |
| Size | 165,000 personnel (2020)[1] |
| Part of |  Russian Armed Forces |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Patron | Saint Elijah the Prophet[2] |
| Colors | Blue, gold, grey |
| March | "Air March" (Template:Lang-ru) (official march-past of the Air Force) "14 Minutes Until Launch" (Template:Lang-ru) (official march of the Space Forces) |
| Anniversaries | Air Force Day (12 August) |
| Engagements | Intervention in the Syrian Civil War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Commanders | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Army General Sergei Surovikin |
| First Deputy Commander-in-Chief | Lieutenant General Viktor Afzalov |
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief | Colonel General Andrey Yudin |
| Notable commanders | Colonel General Viktor Bondarev |
| Insignia | |
| Flag |  |
| Roundel |  |
| Patch |  |
| Middle emblem |  |
| Insignia |  |
| Russian Armed Forces |
|---|
.svg) |
| Staff |
| Services (vid) |
| Independent troops (rod) |
| Special operations force (sof) |
| Other troops |
| Military districts |
| History of the Russian military |
.svg){kind=small}
The Russian Aerospace Forces[3] or Russian Air and Space Forces[4] (Russian: Воздушно-космические силы, romanized: Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily) or VKS (Russian: ВКС) comprise the air and space branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Russia established the VKS as a new branch of its military on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force (VVS) and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) - as recommended by the Ministry of Defence. The VKS has its headquarters in Moscow.[5] Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained the merger as improving efficiency and logistical support.[6]
Organisation
Sub-branches
According to Jane's Information Group, with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, the new Russian Aerospace Forces consist of three sub-branches:[7]
| Command Staff | ||
|---|---|---|
| Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces (Главнокомандующий Воздушно-космическими силами) |
Army general / Colonel general | |
| Chief of the Main Staff - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (Начальник Главного штаба — первый заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами) |
Colonel general / Lieutenant general | |
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами) |
Colonel general / Lieutenant general | |
| Chiefs of branches, deputy commanders: | ||
| Commander of the Air Force, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces
(Командующий Военно-воздушными силами — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами) |
Commander of the Aerospace and Missile Defense Forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces
(Командующий Войсками противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами) |
Commander of the Space Forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces
(Командующий Космическими войсками — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами) |
| Functional deputy commanders: | ||
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Military-Political Work (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по военно-политической работе) | Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Logistics (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по материально-техническому обеспечению) | Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Armaments (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по вооружению) |
Leadership
| Position | Name | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commander of the Aerospace Forces | Colonel General Viktor Bondarev | 1 August 2015 | 26 September 2017 |
| Lieutenant General Pavel Kurachenko (acting) | 26 September 2017 | 22 November 2017 | |
| Army General Sergei Surovikin | 22 November 2017 | ||
| First Deputy Commander of the Aerospace Forces (Chief of the General Staff) |
Lieutenant General Pavel Kurachenko | 1 September 2015 | unknown[7] |
| Lieutenant General Viktor Afzalov | unknown | ||
| Deputy Commander of the Aerospace Forces |
Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov | 1 August 2015 | 2019 |
| Lieutenant General Andrei Yudin | 2019 | ||
| Deputy Commanders of the Aerospace Forces | |||
| Commander of the Air Force | Colonel General Andrei Yudin | 1 September 2015 | c. July 2019 |
| Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov | c. July 2019 | ||
| Commander of the Aerospace and Missile Defense Forces | Lieutenant General Viktor Gumyonny | 1 September 2015 | 2018 |
| Lieutenant General Yury Grekhov | 2018 | 2021 | |
| Lieutenant General Andrei Dyomin | 2021 | ||
| Commander of the Space Forces | Colonel General Aleksandr Golovko | 1 September 2015[7] | |
| Deputy Commander for Work with Personnel | Major General Andrei Kazakevich | unknown | unknown |
| Lieutenant General Aleksandr Maksimtsev | 2019 | ||
| Deputy Commander for Logistics | Lieutenant General Vladimir Trishunkin | unknown | unknown |
| Lieutenant General Zabit Kheirbekov | unknown | ||
| Deputy Commander for Armaments | Colonel Andrei Medvedkov | unknown | unknown |
| Major General Sergei Meshcheryakov | unknown | 2021 | |
| Colonel General Yury Grekhov | 2021 | ||
Order of Battle
The Aerospace Forces are organised in air armies.
Air Forces High Command (Главное командование ВВС) (Moscow)
- Units directly subordinated to the High Command (Части центрального подчинения ВВС)
- operationally subordinated to the High Command:
- Military Transport Aviation Command (Командование военно-транспортной авиации) (Moscow)
- Long-Range Aviation Command (Командование дальней авиации) (Moscow)
- operationally subordinated to the Western Military District:
- 6th Leningrad Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (6-я Ленинградская Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Saint Petersburg)
- operationally subordinated to the Southern Military District:
- 4th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (4-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Rostov-on-Don)
- operationally subordinated to the Central Military District:
- 14th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (14-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Yekaterinburg)
- operationally subordinated to the Eastern Military District:
- 11th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (11-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Khabarovsk)
- operationally subordinated to the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command:
- 45th Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (45-я Армия ВВС и ПВО) (Severomorsk-2) - uniquely the aviation units of the 45th Army belong administratively to the Naval Aviation and the ground-based missile air defence units belong to the Air Forces air defence branch.
Air Defence and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Forces Command (Командование войск ПВО-ПРО) (Moscow)
- 1st Order of Lenin Air Defence and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Army (Special Purpose) (1-я ордена Ленина армия противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны (особого назначения)) (Balashikha, Moscow Oblast) - air cover of the Moscow area
- 4th Air Defence Division "Hero of the Soviet Union Lt.-Gen. B. P. Kirpikov" (4-я дивизия ПВО имени Героя Советского Союза генерал-лейтенанта Б.П. Кирпикова) (Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the S-300PM/PS and the S-400 missile systems)
- 5th Air Defence Division (5-я дивизия ПВО) (Petrovskoe, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the S-300PM and the S-400 missile systems)
- 9th Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Division (9-я дивизия ПРО) (Sofrino, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the A-135 anti-ballistic missile system)
Space Forces Command (Командование космических войск) (Krasnoznamensk)
- 15th Aerospace Forces Army (Special Purpose) (15-я армия Воздушно-космических сил (особого назначения)) (Krasnoznamensk)
- 1st State Test Cosmodrome of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence "Plesetsk" (1-й Государственный испытательный космодром Министерства обороны Российской Федерации «Плесецк»)
- Space Forces Arsenal (Арсенал космических войск) (Znamenka-1 village, Tambov Oblast)
Ranks and rank insignia
- Officer ranks
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Russian Aerospace Forces[9] |
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| Генера́л а́рмии Generál ármii |
Генера́л-полко́вник Generál-polkóvnik |
Генера́л-лейтена́нт Generál-leytenánt |
Генера́л-майо́р Generál-mayór |
Полко́вник Polkóvnik |
Подполко́вник Podpolkóvnik |
Майо́р Majór |
Kапита́н Kapitán |
Старший лейтена́нт Stárshiy leytenánt |
Лейтенант Leytenant |
Mла́дший лейтена́нт Mládshiy leytenánt | ||||||||||||||
- Other ranks
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Russian Aerospace Forces[9] |
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| Ста́рший пра́порщик Stárshiy práporshchik |
Пра́порщик Práporshchyk |
Старшина́ Starshyná |
Ста́рший сержа́нт Stárshiy serzhánt |
Сержа́нт Serzhánt |
Мла́дший сержа́нт Mládshiy serzhánt |
Ефре́йтор Efréĭtor |
Рядово́й Ryadovóy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Main Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces. Archived 2019-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2019-02-02.
- ^ "Russia establishes Aerospace Forces as new armed service — Defense Minister". Archived from the original on 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
- ^ "6 Dead in Fire at Russian Aerospace Defense Research Institute – State Media". 21 April 2022.
- ^ Шойгу объявил о создании нового вида ВС - Воздушно-космических сил Archived 2015-08-05 at the Wayback Machine, ria.ru/defense, 3 August 2015
- ^ Compare: Russia establishes Aerospace Forces as new armed service — Defense Minister Archived 2016-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, tass.ru, 3 August 2015. - "'The formation of the Aerospace Forces by combining the Air Force and the Aerospace Defense Force is the optimal option for improving the system of the country's aerospace defense,' Shoigu said. [...] 'Now the single command unites aviation, air defense and anti-missile defense troops, space forces and means of the armed forces' [...]."
- ^ a b c Russia creates new Aerospace Force service branch Archived 2015-12-27 at the Wayback Machine, janes.com, 4 August 2015
- ^ "Air and Missile Defence Forces". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 2018-07-23. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 11 марта 2010 года № 293 "О военной форме одежды, знаках различия военнослужащих и ведомственных знаках отличия"". rg.ru (in Russian). Российской газеты. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russian Aerospace Forces.
- Russian Aerospace Forces official site (English)