NEWS
20 // JUNE 2018 #363 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
Russia & CIS
Above: MiG-29 9.13 ‘45 Blue’ (c/n 2960729003) of 204 brTA during a regular training fl ight at its
current home base of Kul’bakino. It is one of fi ve aircraft (including one two-seat MiG-29UB)
delivered to the unit fresh from overhaul since 2014. Sergey Smolentsev
Ukrainian Air Force changes
A LONG-RUMOURED
restructuring of the
Povitryani Syly (PS,
Ukrainian Air Force) has
now been confirmed.
Last November 15 it
was announced that the
204 brihada taktichnoyi
aviatsiyi (brTA, tactical
aviation brigade) from
Kul’bakino would move to
Luts’k reserve air base –
effectively leaving Povitryane
Komanduvannya ‘Pivden’
(PvK ‘Pivden’, Air Command
‘South’) to join PvK ‘Zakhid’
(‘West’). It will become
the second organic MiG-
29 fighter unit within PvK
‘Zakhid’, alongside 114
brTA at Ivano-Frankivs’k.
Officially, the move is
being made to strengthen
air defence capabilities
in western Ukraine, but
it will ultimately leave the
south defended only by
a pair of Su-27s of the
831 brTA from Myrhorod,
temporarily detached
to Odessa International
Airport. Understandably,
this has led to speculation
as to the real reason –
especially since a suitable
reserve air base (Martynivka
near Voznesensk) already
existed in PvK ‘Pivden’,
not far from Kul’bakino.
As of mid-April, the unit
was still at Kul’bakino,
but the move should be
complete by the end
of the year and some
actions to improve existing
infrastructure at Luts’khave been initiated. It
now remains to be seen
whether it will lead to
additional changes in
PS structure to close the
‘gap’ left in PvK ‘Pivden’.
In addition, as of January
1, the 39 okrema aviatsiyna
eskadryl’ya taktichnoyi
aviatsiyi (oaeTA, independent
tactical aviation squadron),
operating Su-27s at Ozerne
air base – which was by
then subordinated to the 40
brTA at Vasyl’kiv – re-formed
into the independent 39
brTA under PvK ‘Tsentr’
(‘Centre’). It became the
third fighter brigade under
this air command (and
the second with Su-27s,
alongside the 831 brTA).
Vladimir TrendafilovskiBear-H fl ies
with new
powerplant
TUPOLEV HAS delivered
a Tu-95MS bomber with
upgraded NK-12MPM
engines to the Russian
defence ministry for flight
trials. The manufacturer
announced handover of
the aircraft for “official
joint testing”, on April- The Tu-95MS was
delivered to an undisclosed
flight-test centre –
presumably Zhukovsky.
The upgraded NK-12MPM
turboprop was developed
and manufactured by
Kuznetsov and drives
AV-60T (Tyazholyi, heavy)
propellers manufactured
by SPE Aerosila. The new
power unit increases the
aircraft’s payload, take-off
performance and range.
It was planned as part of
the Tu-95MSM upgrade
and replaces the previous
Kuznetsov NK-12MP
engines and AV-60K
airscrews. Trials of the
AV-60T propellers started
in 2015 at Zhukovsky.
More Yak-130s for Belarus
Above: Yak-130 ‘74 Red’ is one of the fi rst batch of four delivered to Belarus in 2015. Four
more were delivered in 2016 and the latest order will provide a total of 12. Stanislav Bazhenov
THE BELARUSIAN defence
minister, Lt Gen Andrei
Ravkov, has confirmed that
the country will receive
an additional four Yak-
Mitten combat trainers
before the end of the year.
The Belarusian armed
forces will also receive
a fifth Tor-M2 (SA-
Gauntlet) surface-to-air missile battery.
“Advance payments have
already been made, and
we are expecting these
weapons to be delivered
before the end of the year,”
Lt Gen Ravkov said.
The minister also
announced that 12
Su-30SM multi-role fighters
ordered from Russia in a$600m deal signed last
year will be delivered in
2019-20. The first four
jets are scheduled to
be handed over to the
Belarusian Voyenno-
Vozdushnyye Sily i Voyska
Protivovozdushnoy
Oborony (VVS i VPVO, Air
Force and Air Defence
Forces) next year.Uzbekistan
to receive
Mi-35Ms
REPORTS FROM Moscow
suggest that Uzbekistan
will receive “more than
ten” Mi-35M assault
helicopters from Russia.
The plan was revealed by
Vladimir Drozhzhov, deputy
director of Russia’s Federal
Service for Military-
Technical Cooperation,
quoted by the TASS news
agency on March 29.
“We’ve got a delivery
contract for Mi-
helicopters signed in
accordance with the
agreements,” said
Drozhzhov. “The work is
successful, and military-
technical co-operation
with Uzbekistan is actively
developing.” A possible
deal involving 12 Mi-35Ms
for Uzbekistan was first
reported last December.
Uzbekistan is currently
thought to operate around
24 Mi-24D/P/V variants, the
survivors of perhaps twice
that number that were
inherited from the USSR.Tu-22M3 returns to service
THE RUSSIAN defence
ministry has announced
plans to buy in excess of
100 Il-112V light transport
aircraft. Deputy Defence
Minister Yuri Borisov
outlined the intended
procurement on April
11, during a visit to the
Voronezh Aircraft ProductionAssociation (VASO). This
facility is planned to
become the main producer
of series-built Il-112V
aircraft. Borisov also
stated that the defence
ministry is due to receive
three additional An-
transport aircraft from the
VASO production line.THE UNITED Aircraft
Corporation (UAC)
announced on April 3 that
Tupolev had re-delivered
another Tu-22M3 to the
Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye
Sily Rossiyskoy Federatsii
(VKS R F, Russian Federation
Air and Space Force). The
bomber was returned
to service after “testing
and repairing work”.
According to UAC, theBackfire-C underwent “the
complete list of works in the
scope of minor repair and
modifications under service
bulletins in Kazan Aviation
Factory [KAZ] workshops”.
After completing operational
readiness, acceptance and
check flights, it was flown
to an unnamed air base.
A first upgraded Tu-22M3M
is scheduled to make its
first flight in August.Russia plans to buy “more
than 100” Il-112Vs
Above: UAC released this photo of Tu-22M3 ‘Blue 42’,
suggesting it was the aircraft recently returned to service
after repair work at Kazan. UAC