The navy is historically distinguished by its higher political significance in comparison with other branches of the Armed Forces, approaching in this indicator the product of modern times - the strategic nuclear forces. The processes of rearmament of the fleet and its reorganization in this regard are closely monitored in all major powers - and Russia is no exception. The development of naval aviation, the most important component of the fleets throughout the world, can say much more about the military plans of the state than many other processes.

it was

Russian naval aviation in the post-Soviet era experienced one of the most difficult periods of its existence, when a formidable force of several hundred aircraft and helicopters of various classes was left with a few dozens of machines as part of disparate units with an unclear future. The revival of naval aviation today starts largely from scratch, and there is still a long way to go before bringing it back to normal.

In 2011, Russian naval aviation almost completely lost its strike component - its Tu-22M3 bombers, MiG-31, Su-27 fighters, Su-24 front-line bombers, as well as part of the transport aircraft were transferred to the Air Force. The only exception was the Su-24 bombers from the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet, which remained subordinate to the Navy due to the fact that the agreements between Russia and Ukraine allowed the deployment of only naval aviation in Crimea, but not the Russian Air Force.

Su-24

In addition to the squadron of the Black Sea Su-24s, the fleet’s aviation included Il-38 and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft, Be-12 seaplanes, Su-33 carrier-based fighters, Su-25 attack aircraft, Ka-27 carrier-based helicopters and a number of transport aircraft and helicopters.

IL-38

TU-142M3

Be-12

SU-33

The withdrawal of strike forces from the naval aviation was caused by the desire to simplify the management and maintenance of the relevant units and formations, as well as their very poor condition due to chronic underfunding - for example, out of several dozen Tu-22M3 missile carriers, no more than ten vehicles could perform combat missions.

TU-22M3

The 1990s were the time of a deep crisis in naval aviation.

By the time of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the powerful naval aviation of the Soviet Navy consisted of 1,702 aircraft, including 372 long-range bombers equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles, 966 tactical combat aircraft and 455 helicopters. These aircraft constituted the combat power of 52 aviation regiments and ten individual squadrons and groups. The new Russian naval aviation inherited the lion's share of the Soviet legacy, but almost immediately began a series of large-scale reductions, removing obsolete aircraft from service.

By the beginning of 1995, the naval aviation included 63 Tu-22M2 long-range bombers (of which 52 were combat-ready), 82 Tu-22M3 bombers (52 combat-ready), 67 Tu-142 patrol aircraft (19 combat-ready), 45 Il-38 patrol aircraft (20 combat-ready), 95 Ka-27 helicopters (75 combat-ready) and 128 Mi-14 and Ka-25 helicopters (68 combat-ready).

By 1997, the level of combat readiness fell to 35%, but by 2000 the situation began to improve, and it rose to 45-50%. These indicators remain more or less stable to the present day.

But by the start of the new millennium, the combat capabilities of naval aviation had fallen to a critical point due to insufficient flight training caused by limited fuel limits, which were 10 times less than needed. As a consequence, only one-third of the crews could be considered combat-ready, and even achieving this modest level required great effort.

The carrier-based aviation was also in a deplorable state: the only Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" with an air group consisting of a dozen Soviet-built Su-33s, several Su-25UTG training aircraft and helicopters went to sea quite rarely, and the prospects for updating the fleet of carrier-based aircraft were more than foggy.

SU-25K

CHARACTERISTIC

Project 1143.5
Dimensions, crew
Length Length at the waterline Width at the waterline Draft Crew Flight personnel Headquarters	302.3 m 270 m 72.3 m 35.4 m 9.14 m 1,960 people 626 people 40 people
Displacement
Standard Full Maximum	43,000 t 55,000 t 58,600 t
Main power plant
Steam Turbine Steam Boilers Screw Turbine Generators Diesel Generators	4 x 50,000 l/s 8 4 fixed steps 9 x 1,500 kW 6 x 1,500 kW
Driving performance
Full speed Range at full swing Economical speed Range at economical speed	29 knots 3,850 miles 18 knots 8,500 miles 45 days
carrier-based aviation
Aircraft Helicopters
Air defense missile and artillery complex
"Dagger" 24 launchers 192 Kashtan vertical launch missiles, 4 command and control modules, 8 combat modules 256 missiles and 48,000 rounds of 30mm AK-630 8 x 6 anti-aircraft guns with 24,000 rounds
Anti-submarine weapons
"Boa-1" - 60 missiles
Control systems
Combat information center Aviation combat information center Fighter aircraft control system Navigation complex Radio communications complex Space communications complex Electronic countermeasures system Hydroacoustic complex with a torpedo detection channel
Radar stations
airborne early warning radar detection radar low flying targets control radar flights Navigational radars 4 air defense fire control radars

In such a state, it could be more about the elimination of naval aviation as a branch of the Navy, than about any prospects.

Carrier-based aviation: a new hope

The prospects for major changes began to dawn after a contract was signed in 2011 for the construction of Mistral-type amphibious assault ships for the Russian Navy. Obtaining even two such ships implies a serious modernization of the fleet's existing helicopter fleet and the construction of new machines. The main novelty was the Ka-52K carrier-based attack helicopters, designed to support the marines and special forces units during operations on the coast. In addition, they will be able to hit surface targets. This type of helicopter is currently being tested. On February 8, 2014, a contract was signed for the supply of 16 Ka-52Ks to the Russian Navy.

KA-52K

Following the renewal of the fleet of helicopters (expressed, among other things, in the arrival of the upgraded anti-submarine Ka-27M with digital equipment to the fleet), it was the turn of the modernization of the air wing of the only Russian aircraft carrier.

Ka-27M

The Ka-27 is designed to detect, track and destroy submarines at depths of up to 500 m at speeds of up to 75 km/h with sea waves up to 5 points day and night in simple and bad weather conditions.

The diameter of the rotors is 15.9 m, the fuselage length is 12.25 m, the width is 3.8 m, the height is 5.4 m. The mass of the combat load is 2 tons. The crew is 3-4 people. Max Speed- 270 km / h. Flight range - 800 km.

It is planned that the Ka-27 will be based on Mistral-type helicopter carriers, which Russia will purchase from France in accordance with the concluded contract.

In addition to the overhaul of the remaining Su-33s, which can then be operated until the mid-to-late 2020s, Admiral Kuznetsov should receive new MiG-29K carrier-based fighters. As a result, its air wing will include 12-16 Su-33 and 24 MiG-29K fighters, which will significantly increase the capabilities of the aircraft carrier, bringing the composition of its air group closer to that originally planned back in the 1980s.

As a more distant perspective, a promising fifth-generation carrier-based fighter, created within the framework of the PAK KA program - a promising aviation complex for naval aviation, is considered.

It is assumed that this machine will be a naval version of the "land" fifth-generation fighter T-50, which first took to the air in 2010 and is currently being tested. The appearance of a new deck carrier is possible in the first half of the 2020s, and it will have to replace the Su-33 on the overhauled Admiral Kuznetsov, and also form the basis of the air wing of the new Russian aircraft carrier, the project of which is currently being developed.

Multifunctional fighter Su-30SM

The main flight performance characteristics of the Su-30SM: crew - 2 people;

length - 21.9 m; height - 6.36 m;

maximum takeoff weight - 34500 kg;

Max. speed - 2125 km / h; combat radius of action - 1500 km.

Armament: 30-mm built-in gun GSh-30-1; suspension points - 12; combat load - 8000 kg.

After Crimea: the return of striking power

In 2014, the plans for the development of the armed forces in general and the Navy in particular had to be seriously adjusted taking into account the changing situation: the reunification with Crimea greatly changed the situation not only on the southwestern borders of Russia, but also in the world. The changes also affected naval aviation. In particular, strike forces will return to its composition. These plans were discussed before Crimean events, but they became a catalyst for the process.

In the next few years, the fleet will receive Su-30SM multi-role fighters, which can provide effective support to warships both in maritime theaters (in the Black, Japanese, Baltic Seas) and increase the radius of aviation support in ocean theaters, operating from bases on the Kola Peninsula, Sakhalin and Kamchatka.
It is expected that by the end of 2015 a contract will be signed for the supply of 50 fighters of this type for the Russian Navy, in the future this number may increase. Su-30SMs are also supplied to the Air Force (60 aircraft under two existing contracts). The update will also affect anti-submarine aviation, the range of tasks of which will be significantly expanded. In most developed countries, with the development of on-board electronic equipment, anti-submarine aircraft began to turn into multi-purpose maritime patrol vehicles during upgrades. A striking example is the modernized P-3 Orion of the US Navy, peers and classmates of the Russian Il-38.

In the course of evolution over the past 30 years, Orions have learned to attack surface ships with anti-ship missiles, operate as an early warning and control aircraft, patrol the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters, searching for smugglers and poachers.

P-3"Orion"

A similar modernization is already underway on Russian anti-submarine vehicles - the first Il-38N was handed over to the fleet on July 15, 2014. But for the full range of tasks that Russia faces with its longest sea border in the world, combined with the steady melting of the polar ice, 28 Il-38s, which are planned to be modernized, are clearly not enough - for example, the United States has 130 machines of this class.

Il-38N

At the same time, many American experts also consider this number to be insufficient.

A-42PE seaplane project

Russia cannot compete with the United States, catching up with them in terms of the number of naval aviation, but there are opportunities for significantly strengthening naval aviation with the purchase of new aircraft.

First of all, we are talking about the A-42 seaplane, which was created on the basis of the A-40 Albatross developed in the 80s of the last century.

A-40 "Albatross"

These machines, capable of landing on the water, among other tasks of maritime patrol aircraft, can be used in rescue operations.

A-42RE

The military department has already announced plans for the purchase of the A-42. In particular, in 2008 it was reported about the intention to purchase four such aircraft in the search and rescue version by 2010, and then move on to the purchase of multi-purpose vehicles capable of carrying weapons. However, these plans have not yet been implemented. According to the former commander of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy, Lieutenant General Valery Uvarov, the Russian Navy would need 15-20 new seaplanes to cover the need for search and rescue vehicles and significantly strengthen the fleet of anti-submarine aircraft. It is hardly possible to talk about the complete replacement of old machines with the A-42 - given the state of the Taganrog plant where these machines are produced, as well as the smaller Be-200, purchased by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, it may take about 20 years to complete an order for at least 40 of these machines .

Be-200

Another option that would make it possible to completely replace the fleet of old aircraft within an acceptable timeframe is the purchase of Tu-214P aircraft. This machine, created on the basis of the Tu-204/214 airliner, is roughly equivalent in ideology to the latest American P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft, created on the basis of the B-737 airliner.

H-8 Poseidon

D Landing ship "Mistral"

Deployment of serial production of such machines by order of the Navy is a more realistic task than launching a large series of A-42s, and, among other things, this will support the production of Tu-204 aircraft, for which there are practically no commercial orders today. The production of 50-60 such machines over ten years, combined with a small series of A-42s, oriented primarily to rescue missions, could generally alleviate the problem and lay the foundation for the further development of naval aviation. Finally, it is possible to support an aviation group in the near zone by ordering Il-114 aircraft in a patrol modification. Such machines can quite effectively provide patrols in closed maritime theaters, releasing the modernized Il-38N and, if ordered, Tu-214P, for ocean theaters.

Assessing the prospects for changes in naval aviation in general, we can say that the key task of this type of naval force remains to ensure the fleet's ability to protect its own maritime frontiers. Nevertheless, some attention is also paid to the possibilities of force projection - the modernization of the Admiral Kuznetsov air wing, the planned overhaul of the aircraft carrier itself, the construction of two landing ships of the Mistral type will allow the Navy to form a core of forces capable of conducting local operations at a great distance from bases with a full-fledged aviation support.

The performance characteristics of Mistral

T about tonnage (standard) 16,500 tons Tonnage (full) 21,300 tons
Tonnage (limit) 32,300 tons
Overall length 199 m Beam at waterline 32 m Height 64.3 m Draft (with HAS) 6.3 m
Booking no
Power point:
- 3 diesel generators "Vyartsilya" 16 V32 (6.2 MW)
- 1 Vartsila diesel generator 18V200 (3.3 MW)
- 2 Alstom Mermaid propellers (7 MW)
Power 20 400 l. With. (15 MW)
Propellers 2 x 5-bladed
Maximum speed 19 knots Cruise speed 18 knots
cruising range:
- 10,800 km (5,800 miles) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
- 19,800 km (10,700 miles) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Autonomy of navigation 30 days
Crew 160 (20 officers) + 450 Marines
Armament
Radar armament: 2 DRBN-38A Decca Bridgemaster E250 navigation radars, MRR3D-NG target detection radar
Anti-aircraft armament: 2x2 Simbad SAM launchers, 2 Breda-Mauser 30mm gun mounts, 4 12.7mm Browning machine guns
Aviation group: 16 heavy helicopters or 32 light helicopters

A further increase in such opportunities depends primarily on the prospects for the country's economic development.

In the article brought to your attention, we will try to understand the current state and prospects of naval aviation of the Russian Navy. Well, for starters, let's remember what the domestic naval aviation was like in the days of the USSR.

As is known, due to a number various reasons The USSR in the construction of the navy did not rely on aircraft carriers, on carrier-based aviation. However, this does not mean that in our country they did not understand the importance of naval aviation in general - on the contrary! In the 80s of the last century, it was believed that this type of force is one of the most important components of the navy. Naval aviation (more precisely, the Air Force of the Navy of the USSR, but for the sake of brevity, we will use the term "naval aviation" regardless of how it was specifically called in a particular historical period) was entrusted with many important tasks, in including:

1. Search and destroy:
- enemy missile and multi-purpose submarines;
- enemy surface formations, including aircraft carrier strike groups, amphibious assault forces, convoys, naval strike and anti-submarine groups, as well as single warships;
- transports, aircraft and cruise missiles of the enemy;

2. Ensuring the deployment and actions of the forces of your fleet, including in uniform air defense ships and objects of the fleet;

3. Conducting aerial reconnaissance, guidance and issuing target designations to other branches of the Navy forces;

4. Destruction and suppression of objects of the air defense system in the flight paths of own aircraft, in the areas of problem solving;

5. Destruction of naval bases, ports and destruction of ships and transports located in them;

6. Ensuring the landing of amphibious assault forces, reconnaissance and sabotage groups and other assistance to ground forces in coastal areas;

7. Setting minefields, as well as mine action;

8. Conducting radiation and chemical reconnaissance;

9. Rescue of crews in distress;

10. Carrying out air transportation.

For this purpose, the following types of aviation were included in the composition of the naval aviation of the USSR:

1. Naval missile-carrying aviation (MRA);
2. Anti-submarine aviation (PLA);
3. Attack aviation (ShA);
4. Fighter aviation (IA);
5. Reconnaissance aviation (RA).

And besides - also special-purpose aircraft, including transport, electronic warfare, anti-mine, search and rescue, communications, etc.

The number of naval aviation of the USSR was impressive in the best sense of the word: in total, by the beginning of the 90s of the twentieth century, it included 52 air regiments and 10 separate squadrons and groups. In 1991, they included 1,702 aircraft, including 372 bombers equipped with cruise anti-ship missiles (Tu-16, Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3), 966 tactical aircraft (Su-24, Yak-38, Su-17 , MiG-27, MiG-23 and other types of fighters), as well as 364 aircraft of other classes and 455 helicopters, for a total of 2,157 aircraft and helicopters. At the same time, the naval missile-carrying divisions formed the basis of the striking power of naval aviation: their number as of 1991 is unknown to the author, but in 1980 there were five such divisions, which included 13 air regiments.

Well, then the Soviet Union was destroyed and its armed forces were divided among numerous "independent" republics, which immediately received state status. I must say that the naval aviation departed the Russian Federation almost in full strength, but the Russian Federation could not maintain such a large force. And so, by mid-1996, its composition was reduced by more than three times - to 695 aircraft, including 66 missile carriers, 116 anti-submarine aircraft, 118 fighters and attack aircraft, and 365 helicopters and special aviation aircraft. And that was just the beginning. By 2008, naval aviation continued to decline: unfortunately, we do not have exact data on its composition, but there were:

1. Naval missile-carrying aviation- one regiment, equipped (as part of the Northern Fleet). In addition, there was another mixed air regiment (568th, in the Pacific Fleet), in which, along with two Tu-22M3 squadrons, there were also Tu-142MR and Tu-142M3;

2. Fighter aircraft- three air regiments, including 279 okiap, designed to operate from the deck of the only domestic TAVKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov". Naturally, the 279th Okiap was based in the Northern Fleet, while the other two regiments belonged to the Baltic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, armed with fighters and, respectively;

3. Attack aircraft- two regiments stationed at the Black Sea Fleet and the Baltic Fleet, respectively, and armed with aircraft and the Su-24R;

4. Anti-submarine aviation– here everything is somewhat more complicated. We divide it into land-based and ship-based aviation:

- the main land anti-submarine aviation is the 289th separate mixed anti-submarine aviation regiment (Il-38, Ka-27, Ka-29 and Ka-8 helicopters) and the 73rd separate anti-submarine aviation squadron (Tu-142). But besides them, the Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft are in service (along with other aircraft) in three more mixed air regiments, and one of them (917th, Black Sea Fleet) also has Be-12 amphibious aircraft;

- ship-based anti-submarine aviation includes two ship-based anti-submarine regiments, and one separate squadron equipped with Ka-27 and Ka-29 helicopters;

5. Three mixed air regiments, in which, along with the previously mentioned Il-38 and Be-12, there is also a large number of transport and other non-combat aircraft and helicopters (An-12, An-24, An-26, Tu-134, helicopters). Apparently, the only tactical rationale for their existence was to bring the aviation that survived after the next round of "reforms" into a single organizational structure;

6. Transport aviation- two separate transport aviation squadrons (An-2, An-12, An-24, An-26, An-140-100, Tu-134, Il-18, Il18D-36, etc.)

7. Separate helicopter squadron- Mi-8 and .

And in total - 13 air regiments and 5 separate air squadrons. Unfortunately, there are no exact data on the number of aircraft as of 2008, and it is difficult to derive them "empirically". The fact is that the numerical strength of naval aviation formations “floats” to a certain extent: in 2008, there were no air divisions in the composition of naval aviation, but in the days of the USSR, an air division could consist of two or three regiments. In turn, the air regiment usually consists of 3 squadrons, but there may be exceptions. In turn, an air squadron consists of several air units, and an air unit may include 3 or 4 aircraft or helicopters. On average, an air squadron can have 9-12 aircraft, an air regiment - 28-32 aircraft, an air division - 70-110 aircraft.

Assuming the strength of an air regiment at 30 aircraft (helicopters), and an air squadron of 12, we get the number of naval aviation of the Russian Navy at 450 aircraft and helicopters as of 2008. There is a feeling that this figure is overestimated, but even if it is correct, then in In this case, it can be stated that the number of naval aviation has decreased in comparison with 1996 by more than one and a half times.

Someone could decide that this is the very bottom, from where there is only one way - up. Alas, this turned out not to be the case: as part of the reform of the armed forces, it was decided to transfer the aircraft of naval missile-carrying, attack and fighter aircraft (except carrier-based) to the jurisdiction of the air force, and later on the military space forces.

Thus, the fleet lost almost all of its missile carriers, fighters and attack aircraft, with the exception of the carrier-based aviation regiment, which then flew the Su-33, and the Black Sea assault aviation regiment, armed with the Su-24. In fact, the latter could also have been transferred to the Air Force, if not for a legal nuance - the air regiment was deployed in the Crimea, where, according to an agreement with Ukraine, only the navy could deploy its combat units, but the Air Force was forbidden. Thus, having transferred the air regiment of the Aerospace Forces, it would have been necessary to relocate it from Crimea to somewhere else.

Su-24 flying next to the US destroyer "Porter"

How reasonable was this decision?

In favor of the withdrawal of missile-carrying and tactical aviation to the Air Force (VKS was created in 2015), the completely disastrous situation in which domestic naval aviation found itself in the first decade of the 21st century spoke. The funds allocated for the maintenance of the fleet were completely miserable and in no way corresponded to the needs of the sailors.

In essence, it was not about saving, but about the survival of a certain number of forces out of their total number, and it is very likely that the Navy preferred to direct funds to preserve the holy of holies - strategic missile submarine forces, and in addition - to preserve in combat-ready condition of a certain number of surface and submarine ships. And it is very likely that naval aviation simply did not fit into the miserable budget that the fleet had to be content with - judging by some evidence, the situation there was even worse than in the domestic Air Force (although, it would seem, much worse) . In this case, the transfer of part of the naval aviation to the Air Force seemed to make sense, because it was possible to support the completely bled air forces of the fleet there, and nothing but quiet death awaited them as part of the fleet.

We said earlier that in 2008 naval aviation probably consisted of 450 aircraft and helicopters, and this seems to be an impressive force. But, apparently, for the most part, it existed only on paper: for example, the 689th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, formerly part of the Baltic Fleet, quickly “shrunken” to the size of a squadron (the regiment itself ceased to exist, now they are thinking of reviving it , well, God forbid, in a good hour ...). According to some information, from the materiel of the regiment and two squadrons of naval missile-carrying aviation, the Air Force managed to complete only two combat-ready Tu-22M3 squadrons. Thus, the number of naval aviation formally remained significant, only, apparently, no more than 25-40% of aircraft, and maybe less, retained their combat capability. Thus, as we said earlier, the transfer of missile carriers and tactical aircraft from the fleet to the Air Force seemed to make sense.

However, the key word here is "as if". The fact is that such a decision could be justified only in the context of the continuation of the budget deficit, but for him last days. It was during these years that a new era began for the domestic armed forces - the country finally found funds for their more or less worthy maintenance, at the same time they began to implement the ambitious state armament program for 2011-2020. Thus, the country's armed forces were supposed to revive, and with them, naval aviation, and it was simply not necessary to withdraw it from the fleet.

On the other hand, as we remember, it was a time of many changes, including organizational ones: for example, four military districts were formed, under the command of which all forces territorially located in the district are subordinate ground forces, Air Force and Navy. In theory, this is an excellent solution, as it greatly simplifies leadership and increases the coherence of the actions of various branches of the armed forces. But what will it be like in practice, because in the USSR and in the Russian Federation the training of officers was quite specialized and narrowly focused? After all, in theory, such a joint command will work well only if it is headed by people who perfectly understand the features and nuances of the service of military pilots, sailors, and ground forces, and where can we get such, if we even have in the Navy there was a division into "surface" and "underwater" admirals, that is, the officers spent their entire service on submarines or surface ships, but not on both in turn? How well can the commander of the district, in the past, for example, a combined arms officer, set tasks for the same fleet? Provide him with combat training?

But back to the joint commands. Theoretically, with such an organization, it makes absolutely no difference where specific aircraft and pilots are located - as part of the Air Force or the Navy, because any combat missions, including naval ones, will be solved by all the forces at the disposal of the district. Well, practically... As we said above, it is difficult to say how effective such command will be in our realities, but one thing is known for certain. History irrefutably testifies that whenever the fleet was deprived of naval aviation, and its tasks were assigned to the Air Force, the latter failed miserably in combat operations, demonstrating a complete inability to fight at least somewhat effectively over the sea.

The reason is that warfare at sea and ocean is extremely specific and requires special combat training: at the same time, the air force has its own tasks, and will always consider naval warfare as something, perhaps important, but still secondary, not related to the main functionality of the air force and will prepare for such a war, respectively. I would like to believe, of course, that in our case it will not be so, but ... perhaps the only lesson of history is that people do not remember its lessons.

Therefore, we can say that the naval aviation of the domestic fleet in 2011-2012. was, if not destroyed, then reduced to a nominal value. What has changed today? There is no information about the number of naval aviation in the open press, but using various sources, you can try to determine it "by eye".

As is known, naval missile-carrying aviation ceased to exist. Nevertheless, according to existing plans, 30 Tu-22M3 missile carriers should be upgraded to Tu-22M3 and be able to use the Kh-32 anti-ship missile, which is a deep modernization of the Kh-22.

Tu-22M3M

The new missile received an updated seeker, capable of operating in conditions of strong enemy electronic countermeasures. How effective the new GOS will be, and how effectively aircraft that are not part of the fleet will be able to use it is a big question, but after the completion of this program, we will receive a full-fledged missile-carrying aviation regiment (at least in terms of numbers). True, today, in addition to the "pre-production" aircraft, on which the modernization was "run in", there is only one aircraft of this type, the roll-out of which took place on August 16, 2018, and although it is said that all 30 aircraft must be upgraded to 2020, such dates are highly questionable.

In addition to two Tu-22M3Ms, we also have 10 MiG-31Ks converted into carriers of Kinzhal missiles, but there are too many questions regarding this weapon system that do not allow us to unambiguously consider this missile an anti-ship weapon.

Attack aircraft. As we said earlier, the 43rd Separate Naval Assault Aviation Regiment based in Crimea has been preserved in the Russian Navy. There is no exact number of Su-24Ms in service with it, but given the fact that the first squadron formed in Crimea became part of it, and regiments usually have 3 squadrons, it can be assumed that the number of Su-24M and Su-24MR in the composition naval aviation does not exceed 24 units. - that is, the maximum number of two squadrons.

Fighter aviation(multipurpose fighters). Everything is more or less simple here - after the last reform, only the 279th Okiap remained in the Navy, which currently has 17 Su-33s in service (approximate figure), in addition, another air regiment was formed under the 100th Okiap. Today it consists of 22 aircraft - 19 MiG-29KR and 3 MiG-29KUBR. As is known, further delivery of aircraft of these types to the fleet is not planned.

However, at present, the Su-30SM is entering service with naval aviation - the author finds it difficult to name the exact number of vehicles in the army (probably within 20 vehicles), but in total, under current contracts, 28 aircraft of this type are expected to be delivered to the fleet.

This, in general, is all.

reconnaissance aviation- everything is simple here. She is not there, with the possible exception of a few Su-24MR reconnaissance officers in the Black Sea 43rd omshap.

Anti-submarine aviation- its basis today is IL-38 in, alas, an unknown quantity. Military Balance claims that as of 2016 there were 54 of them, which more or less coincides with the 2014-2015 estimates known to the author. (about 50 cars). The only thing that can be said more or less accurately is that the current program provides for the modernization to the state (with the installation of the Novella complex) of 28 aircraft.

I must say that the IL-38 is already a rather old aircraft (production was completed in 1972), and, probably, the rest of the aircraft will be withdrawn from the naval aviation for disposal. It is 28 Il-38Ns that will soon form the basis of domestic anti-submarine aviation.

In addition to the Il-38, naval aviation also has two Tu-142 squadrons, which are usually also included in anti-submarine aviation. At the same time, the total number of Tu-142s is estimated as "more than 20" by domestic sources and 27 vehicles according to the Military Balance. However, according to the latter, out of this total number of 10 aircraft are the Tu-142MR, which is an aircraft for the relay complex of the reserve control system for naval nuclear forces. In order to accommodate the necessary communications equipment, the search and sighting system was removed from the aircraft, and the first cargo compartment was occupied by communications equipment and a special towed antenna 8600 m long. Obviously, the Tu-142MR cannot perform anti-submarine functions.

Accordingly, apparently, the composition of naval aviation includes no more than 17 anti-submarine Tu-142. Taking into account the fact that the regular strength of the air squadron is 8 aircraft, and we have 2 of these squadrons, there is almost complete correspondence of the size determined by us to the regular organizational structure.

In addition, the anti-submarine aviation includes a number of Be-12 amphibious aircraft - most likely there are 9 vehicles left, of which 4 are search and rescue (Be-12PS)

Special aircraft. In addition to the already mentioned ten Tu-142MR, naval aviation also has two Il-20RT and Il-22M. They are often recorded in electronic reconnaissance aircraft, but apparently this is erroneous. Yes, the IL-20 is indeed such an aircraft, but the IL-20RT is, in fact, a telemetry flying laboratory for testing rocket technology, and the IL-22M is command post"Doomsday", that is, a control aircraft in case of a nuclear war.

Quantity transport and passenger aircraft cannot be accurately counted, but probably their total number is about 50 cars.

Helicopters

Radar patrol helicopters - 2 Ka-31;
Anti-submarine helicopters - 20 Mi-14, 43 Ka-27 and 20 Ka-27M, 83 vehicles in total;
Attack and transport-combat helicopters - 8 Mi-24P and 27 Ka-29, 35 vehicles in total;
Search and rescue helicopters - 40 Mi-14PS and 16 Ka-27PS, total - 56 vehicles.

In addition, there may be about 17 Mi-8s in the version of transport helicopters (according to other sources, they were transferred to other power structures).

In total, today, domestic naval aviation has 221 aircraft (of which 68 are special and non-combat) and 193 helicopters (of which 73 are non-combat). What tasks can these forces solve?

air defense. Here, the Northern Fleet is doing more or less well - it is there that all of our 39 Su-33s and MiG-29KR / KUBR are deployed. In addition, this fleet probably received several Su-30SMs.

However, it is noteworthy that the typical "budget" air wing of one American aircraft carrier has 48 F/A-18E/F "Super Hornet" and it is possible to reinforce it with one more squadron. Thus, the naval tactical aviation of the entire Northern Fleet corresponds at best to one US aircraft carrier, but given the presence of AWACS and EW aircraft in the American air wing, which provide much better situational awareness than our aircraft can give, we should rather talk about American superiority. One aircraft carrier. Out of ten.

As for the other fleets, the Pacific and Baltic fleets today do not have their own fighter aircraft at all, so their air defense is completely dependent on the Aerospace Forces (as we said earlier, historical experience shows that the fleet's hope for the Air Force has never justified itself ). Things are a little better for the Black Sea Fleet, which received a squadron of Su-30SMs. But here the big question arises - how are they going to use it? Of course, the Su-30SM today is not only a strike aircraft, but also a fighter capable of "counting the spars" of almost any 4th generation fighter - numerous Indian exercises, during which aircraft of this type collided with various foreign "classmates", led to quite optimistic for us results.

However, to paraphrase Henry Ford: Designers, nice guys, created multi-functional fighters, but geneticists, these loose wise guys, could not cope with the selection of multi-functional pilots". The point is that even if it is possible to create a multi-role fighter that can equally well fight both air and surface and ground targets, then to train people who can equally well fight enemy fighters and perform strike functions, probably , still not possible.

The specifics of the work of a pilot of long-range, fighter or ground attack aircraft vary greatly. At the same time, the pilot training process itself is very lengthy: in no case should one think that military educational institutions produce pilots prepared for modern combat operations. We can say that the flight school is the first stage of training, but then, in order to become a professional, a young soldier has to go a long and difficult path. As the Commander of Naval Aviation of the Navy, Hero of Russia, Major General Igor Sergeevich Kozhin said:

« Pilot training is a complex and lengthy process that takes about eight years. This is, so to speak, the path from a cadet of a flight school to a pilot of the 1st class. Provided that he goes to study at the flight school for four years, and over the next four years the pilot will reach the 1st class. But only the most talented are capable of such rapid growth.».

But “Pilot 1st Class” is high, but not the highest level in training, there is also an “ace pilot” and a “sniper pilot” ... Thus, becoming a true professional in the chosen type of aviation is not easy, this path will require many years of hard work. And yes, no one argues that, having achieved high professionalism, for example, on the MiG-31, the pilot is able to retrain on the Su-24 in the future, that is, to change the “type of activity”. But this, again, will require great effort and time, during which the skills of a fighter pilot will gradually be lost.

And yes, there is absolutely no need to blame educational institutions for this - alas, in almost no case is a university graduate a professional with a capital letter. Doctors, despite the 6-year training period, do not start independent practice, but go to an internship, where they work for another year under the supervision of experienced doctors, while they are forbidden to make independent decisions. And if a young doctor wants an in-depth study of any area, he is waiting for a residency ... But what is there, the author of this article, being a graduate of an economic university in the distant past, soon after starting work, heard an absolutely wonderful phrase in his address: “When a big part of the theory will fly out of your head and practical knowledge will take its place, perhaps you will justify half of your salary ”- and this was the absolute truth.

Why are we talking about all this? And besides, the Black Sea Su-30SMs were included in the attack aviation regiment and, apparently, the fleet is going to use them precisely as strike aircraft. This is confirmed by the words of the representative of the Black Sea Fleet Vyacheslav Trukhachev: "Su-30SM aircraft have proven themselves excellently and today they are the main strike force of the naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet."

Interestingly, the same can be seen in the aviation of other countries. Thus, the US Air Force has F-15C air superiority aircraft and its two-seat strike "version" F-15E. At the same time, the latter is not at all devoid of fighter qualities, it remains a formidable air fighter, and it can perhaps be considered the closest American analogue of our Su-30SM. However, the F-15E in modern conflicts was almost never assigned the task of gaining / maintaining air superiority - this is done by the F-15C, while the F-15E is focused on implementing the strike function.

Thus, we can assume that even in the Black Sea Fleet, despite the presence of a Su-30SM squadron (which in any case would be hopelessly small), naval aviation is unable to solve the tasks of air defense of ships and fleet facilities.

Impact features. The only fleet that can boast of the ability to somehow solve them is the Black Sea fleet, due to the presence of an attack aviation regiment in the Crimea. This connection is a serious deterrent and practically excludes the "visits" of Turkish surface forces or small detachments of NATO surface ships to our shores in wartime. However, as far as the author knows, such visits were never planned, and the US Navy intended to operate with its aircraft and cruise missiles from the waters mediterranean sea, where they are absolutely inaccessible to the Su-30SM and Su-24 of the domestic Black Sea Fleet.

Other fleets do not have tactical attack aircraft (except perhaps a few Su-30SMs). As for our long-range aviation of the Aerospace Forces, in the future it will be able to form one regiment (30 vehicles) of modernized Tu-22M3M with Kh-32 missiles, which can act as a means of reinforcing any of our four fleets (the Caspian flotilla clearly does not need this). But… what is one missile regiment? During the Cold War, the US Navy had 15 aircraft carriers, and the Soviet MPA had 13 missile-carrying aviation regiments, which included 372 vehicles, or almost 25 aircraft per aircraft carrier (this is not counting a separate instructor-research missile-carrying regiment).

Today, the Americans have only 10 aircraft carriers, and we will have (will we?) 30 modernized Tu-22M3Ms - three aircraft per enemy ship. Of course, the Tu-22M3M with the Kh-32 has much greater capabilities than the Tu-22M3 with the Kh-22, but the quality of the American air groups does not stand still - their composition was replenished with Super Hornets with AFAR and improved avionics, on the way F-35C... The USSR never considered the Tu-22M3 a wunderwaffe capable of destroying all enemy aircraft carriers, and today our capabilities have been reduced not even at times, but by an order of magnitude.

True, there are ten more MiG-31Ks with Kinzhal.

But the problem is that it is completely unclear whether this missile can hit moving ships at all. There is a lot of talk about the fact that the Kinzhal is a modernized missile of the Iskander complex, but the aeroballistic missile of this complex cannot hit moving targets. This, apparently, is capable of the R-500 cruise missile (in fact, it is a land-based "Caliber", or, if you like, "Caliber", this is a seared R-500), and it is quite possible that the Dagger complex is also , like the Iskander, is a "two-rocket" and that the defeat of naval targets is possible only when using a cruise, but not an aeroballistic missile.

This is also hinted at by the exercises, in which the Tu-22M3 with Kh-32 and MiG-31K with the aeroballistic "Dagger" took part - at the same time, the defeat of sea and ground targets was announced, and it is obvious that the Kh-32, being an anti-ship missile, used on the target ship. Accordingly, the "Dagger" was fired at a ground target, and who would do this with an expensive anti-ship missile? If all this is true, then the capabilities of a dozen MiG-31Ks are reduced from “an invincible hypersonic wunderwaffe that easily destroys US aircraft carriers” to a rather weak ten-missile salvo with conventional anti-ship missiles, which are unlikely to be able to overcome the air defense of a modern AUG.

Intelligence and target designation. Here, the capabilities of naval aviation are minimal, since for everything we have only two specialized Ka-31 helicopters, which, in terms of their capabilities, are many times inferior to any AWACS aircraft. In addition, we have at our disposal a certain number of Il-38 and Tu-142, which theoretically can perform reconnaissance functions (for example, the modernized avionics of the Il-38N aircraft is capable, according to some reports, of detecting enemy surface ships at a distance of 320 km).

However, the capabilities of the Il-38N are still very limited in comparison with specialized aircraft (Il-20, A-50U, etc.), and most importantly, the use of these aircraft for solving reconnaissance tasks reduces the already unimpressive strength of anti-submarine aviation.

Anti-submarine aviation. Against the background of the frankly plight of other naval aviation, the state of the anti-submarine component looks relatively good - up to 50 Il-38 and 17 Tu-142 with a certain number of Be-12s (possibly 5). However, it should be understood that this aircraft has largely lost its combat value due to the obsolescence of search and sighting equipment, caused, among other things, by the replenishment of the US Navy with 4th generation nuclear submarines. All this is not a secret for the leadership of the Russian Navy, so now 28 Il-38s and all 17 Tu-142s are being modernized.

The updated Il-38N and Tu-142MZM, apparently, will fully meet the tasks of modern warfare, but ... This means that all anti-submarine aviation is being reduced to one and a half regiments. Is it a lot or a little? In the USSR, the number of anti-submarine aviation Tu-142, Il-38 and Be-12 was 8 regiments: thus, we can say that our future one and a half regiments, taking into account the growth of aircraft capabilities, are quite sufficient for one fleet. The problem is that we have not one fleet, but four. Perhaps the same can be said about our anti-submarine helicopters. Generally speaking, 83 rotorcraft represent a significant force, but we must not forget that ship-based helicopters are also counted here.

Perhaps the only types of naval aviation that have more or less sufficient numbers to solve their tasks are transport and search and rescue aviation.

What are the prospects for domestic naval aviation? We will talk about this in the next article, but for now, summarizing its current state, note 2 points:

• Positive aspect is that the worst times for Russian naval aviation are behind us, and it has survived, despite all the troubles of the 90s and the first decade of the 2000s. The backbone of carrier-based and base aviation pilots has been preserved, so today there are all the necessary prerequisites for the revival of this type of troops;
• Negative aspect is that, taking into account the existing strength, our naval aviation has actually lost the ability to perform its inherent tasks, and in the event of a somewhat large-scale conflict, “it is unlikely that it will be able to do more than show that it knows how to die bravely” (a phrase from the memorandum Grand Admiral Raeder of September 3, 1939, dedicated to the German surface fleet).

The origin of aviation in Russia became possible thanks to the initiative of military sailors. It was the sailors who were the first to see in aircraft an important means of increasing the power of the navy and put a lot of effort and money into the training of aviation personnel, the acquisition of aircraft and the organization of domestic aircraft construction.

The world's first proposal, in which the interaction of a ship and an aircraft was predetermined, was also born in the Russian Navy. Its author was the captain of the corps of engineers of the fleet Lev Makarovich Matsievich. As early as October 23, 1909, in his first memorandum to the Main Naval Staff, he predicted the future of naval aviation, proposed to start building an aircraft carrier, a seaplane and a catapult to launch it from the deck of a ship. It is no coincidence that in Russia the very process of the movement of aircraft is called aeronautics, aviation is called the air fleet, the sky is the fifth ocean, and heavy aircraft are called ships.

Hydroaviation in Russia began to emerge in 1911. At first, seaplanes were purchased abroad, but soon Russian engineers V.A. Lebedev and D.P. Grigorovich created several models of flying boats, which allowed the Russian Military Department in 1912-1914. on the basis of domestic seaplanes, to form the first aviation units as part of the Baltic and Black Sea fleets. At the same time, the flying boat designed by Grigorovich M-5 surpassed foreign models of similar types in terms of its flight performance.

At first, naval aviation was used mainly in the interests of reconnaissance, that is, as a means of supporting the combat activities of the fleet. However, the experience of using aviation in the very first months of the outbreak of the First World War showed that the combat capabilities of aircraft go far beyond reconnaissance. They began to be used for bombardment and shelling from the air of objects in the bases of the fleet and in ports, ships and ships of the enemy at sea.

In the Russian Navy, the first aircraft-carrying ship Orlitsa was based on Grigorovich M-9 seaplanes, which had machine guns and were capable of carrying bombs. On July 4, 1916, four planes from Orlitsa carried out an air battle over the Baltic Sea with four German planes, which ended in victory for Russian naval pilots. Two of the Kaiser's airplanes were shot down and the other two fled. Our pilots returned to their aircraft without loss.

This day - July 4, 1916 - the day of the first victory in an air battle over the sea by naval pilots on domestic seaplanes based on the first domestic aircraft carrier, is rightfully considered the birthday of naval aviation.

By the middle of 1917, a turning point for the history of Russia, the Russian Navy had the prerequisites for turning aviation into one of the main forces of the fleet, which served as the basis for the establishment of a special body in the Naval Department - the Directorate of Naval Aviation and Aeronautics.

After the October Revolution, the Soviet military leadership, in the course of the armed struggle against the interventionists and the White Guards on the fronts adjacent to the sea, in regions with lakes and along large rivers, could not do without hydroaviation. The creation of new formations of naval aviation began.

April 27, 1918 was the birthday of the aviation of the Baltic Fleet. Then the Special Purpose Air Brigade was formed in its composition.

March 3, 1921 is considered the birthday of the aviation of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR. On this day, the formation of the Headquarters of the Air Fleet of the Black and Azov Seas was completed. On April 4, 1932, the aviation of the Pacific Fleet was born, and on August 18, 1936, the aviation of the Northern Fleet.

History shows that in the 20s and 30s, when naval aviation was organizationally part of the Red Army Air Force, the top leadership of the country and the leadership of the People's Commissariat of Defense assigned aviation tasks to support ground forces, cover troops and rear facilities from strikes from the air, as well as to combat enemy aerial reconnaissance. In accordance with this, the development and construction of aircraft and their weapons were carried out, and pilot training programs were drawn up in aviation educational institutions. The operational-tactical training of leading military personnel and the entire combat training of military aviation was also aimed at this. At the same time, naval aviation was assigned a secondary role, so the fleet of naval aviation in these years was replenished only with seaplanes, intended mainly for conducting aerial reconnaissance at sea. Flight personnel for her were prepared only at the Yeisk School of Naval Pilots and Letnabs.

Flying boat Grigorovich M-9

The 1930s witnessed the triumph of aviation, design ideas and, above all, naval pilots, who showed outstanding examples of flying skills, courage, courage and heroism.

They were repeatedly involved in the performance of special and government assignments. The polar aviation was recruited from naval pilots, which played a huge role in the development of the Northern Sea Route, the importance of which for our country can hardly be overestimated.

The pilots especially showed themselves when rescuing the Chelyuskinites in 1934. Their courage and heroism, their willingness to take risks in order to save the lives of people in trouble, became a convincing basis for the establishment in our country the highest degree state distinction - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The Gold Star of the Hero number one was awarded to naval pilot Anatoly Vasilievich Lyapidevsky. At the same time, naval pilots I. Doronin, S. Levanevsky and V. Molokov were awarded this title.

The country lived with great construction projects. The state took measures to strengthen the country's defense capability. The Navy received new warships, including those capable of taking seaplanes on board. But this was far from enough.

The situation changed dramatically for the better with the formation of the People's Commissariat of the Navy, when naval aviation became organizationally part of it. By this time, the views on naval aviation as one of the main branches of the fleet's forces were finally established. Commander Semyon Fedorovich Zhavoronkov was the first to be appointed to the post of Chief of Aviation of the USSR Navy, who received the profession of a military pilot at a relatively mature age (34 years) and successfully commanded the aviation of the Navy until 1947. In 1944 he was promoted to air marshal.

The Aviation Flight Test Institute played a positive role in the further development of naval aviation. Its specialists developed tactical and technical requirements for the equipment and armament of naval aviation, tested prototypes and modernized models of aviation equipment and weapons, and also provided retraining of the leading flight and technical staff.

On a large scale, fleets began to receive heavy aircraft of the same type as those in service with the Red Army Air Force TB-1, TB-3 and DB-3, specially converted for the use of mine-torpedo weapons - a traditional naval means of destroying the underwater part of ships and vessels at sea .

Soon, mine and torpedo aviation stood out from bomber aviation and was organized into an independent branch of naval aviation.

With the transfer of aviation educational institutions to the fleet, the system of training naval aviation personnel became more perfect and purposeful. The School of Naval Pilots and Flyers in Yeysk and the School of Naval Pilots of the Polar Aviation Directorate of the Glavsevmorput in Nikolaev were transformed into Naval Aviation Schools, and the Military School of Aviation Technicians in Perm into the Naval Aviation Technical School. During the first three years, the number of cadets in these educational institutions increased several times.

For the training of command personnel of naval aviation, a command and aviation faculty was established at the Naval Academy, and one-year advanced training courses for the leadership of fleet aviation were opened at it.

Aviation design bureaus and enterprises focused on the production of equipment and weapons for naval aviation also began to work purposefully. All this could not but contribute to the fact that by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation had grown significantly in quantitative and qualitative terms; this subsequently affected the effectiveness of its use in hostilities.

At the same time, the uncertainty of the organizational structure was reflected in the nature of the views of its operational-tactical application. For a long time it was believed that air combat at sea would be carried out mainly by operational formations (air corps) of the Red Army Air Force. In accordance with this, in operational training, the interaction of fleets and air corps was worked out, and naval aviation was entrusted with providing the fleet with air reconnaissance and air defense of the basing of the fleet and ships at sea.

In practice, this did not happen. Neither front-line aviation nor long-range aviation formed in 1942 took any significant part in any operation of the fleets, and naval aviation became one of the main strike forces of the fleet.

From the first days of the war, due to the situation on the coastal fronts, naval aviation was used to deliver strikes against the combat formations of the advancing enemy. And this task became the main one for a long time, although naval aviation did not prepare for its solution in the prewar years.

Apparently, this lesson of history should be fully taken into account in the combat training of naval aviation in our peacetime as well.

The book convincingly shows that the combat operations of naval aviation against enemy ships and vessels at sea were especially effective, which is fully consistent with its main combat mission.

The sections of the book devoted to the combat operations of the naval aviation during the Great Patriotic War are full of facts of the exploits of naval aviators. The first among naval pilots in this war to achieve success was the fighter air squadron of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, attached to the Danube Flotilla, under the command of Captain A.I. Korobitsyn.

In the Baltic, the account of downed enemy aircraft was opened by the deputy squadron commander, Captain A.K. Antonenko, and in the Northern Fleet, by the air squadron commander, Senior Lieutenant B.F. Safonov.

The pilots of the Baltic under the command of Colonel E. N. Preobrazhensky, who delivered the first blow to Berlin on the night of August 7-8, 1941, gained worldwide fame.

During the years of the Great Patriotic War, naval aviation made more than 350,000 sorties, destroyed more than 5,500 enemy aircraft in the air and at airfields. As a result of the actions of naval aviation, fascist Germany and its satellites lost 407 warships and 371 transports with troops and cargo, which is two-thirds of the enemy's total losses from the impact of fleet forces.

The motherland highly appreciated the combat activities of naval aviation. 57 state awards adorned the banners of regiments and divisions, 260 naval aviators were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and five of them - B. F. Safonov, A. E. Mazurenko, V. I. Rakov, N. G. Stepanyan and N. V. Chelnokov - twice.

Among the naval pilots there are heroes who repeated the feat of Alexei Maresyev. In the Baltic, this is L. G. Belousov, in the Black Sea - I. S. Lyubimov, in the Northern Fleet - 3. A. Sorokin.

The combat experience gained during the war formed the basis for the development of plans and directions for the further development of naval aviation, the improvement of the principles and methods of its application in naval warfare. This is what the real work is about. The post-war development of naval aviation was characterized by the specialization of the created aircraft and weapons systems, the transition to jet technology with greater capabilities in terms of speed and range of impact. Aircraft and helicopters were equipped with effective means of search and destruction, electronic equipment; most flight control and weapon use processes are automated.

It should be borne in mind that this work was headed by the most experienced aviation commanders, who personally experienced the bitterness of failures and the joy of victories during the war years, who deeply knew the needs and capabilities of the fleets. Among them were the famous aviation commanders E. N. Preobrazhensky, I. I. Borzov, M. I. Samokhin, N. A. Naumov, A. A. Mironenko, G. A. Kuznetsov, S. A. Gulyaev, V. I. Voronov and others. Their ideas, plans and undertakings in the development of naval aviation were understood and fully supported by the senior leadership of the navy, headed by N. G. Kuznetsov, and then S. G. Gorshkov.

In the fleets, the problems of countering the forces of a potential enemy, acting covertly from under water, were brought to the fore. Therefore, already in the 50s, a long-range seaplane Be-6 designed by G. M. Beriev was created and delivered to the unit. To combat submarines, the aircraft had radio-acoustic buoys and magnetometers as means of searching for an underwater enemy, and depth charges and torpedoes for destruction. The Mi-4 base helicopters and the firstborn of shipborne helicopter aviation, the Ka-15 shipborne helicopter designed by N.I. Kamov, were equipped with anti-submarine weapons.

In the course of their flight operation, extensive research was carried out and the foundations were laid for the tactics and combat use of anti-submarine aviation, which soon switched to more advanced anti-submarine systems such as Be-12, Ka-25, Ka-27, Mi-14, Il-38 and Tu-142 of various modifications.

The development of missile systems with aviation cruise missiles has significantly increased the combat capabilities of strike aviation fleets in the fight against ship groups of a potential enemy at sea.

At the beginning of the 1960s, anti-submarine and naval missile-carrying aviation took shape organizationally into independent branches of the naval aviation. In parallel, the reconnaissance aviation of the fleets was also being transformed.

The fleets of the high seas - the Northern and Pacific - received long-range reconnaissance aircraft Tu-95rts with an automated target designation system for missile weapons of the strike forces of the fleet, including missile submarines carrying military service in the sea. This also allowed naval aviation to go to remote areas of the oceans to monitor the naval forces of a potential enemy and timely warn of the threat of their impact on our forces and facilities.

In the Baltic and the Black Sea, reconnaissance began to be carried out by Tu-22r supersonic reconnaissance aircraft.

The combat capabilities of the USSR naval aviation were significantly expanded due to the introduction of the anti-submarine cruisers Moskva and Leningrad into the navy. It was from that time that naval aviation officially took shape as a new branch of aviation in the navy.

The anti-submarine cruiser Moskva with Ka-25 helicopters on board made its first trip to combat service in the Mediterranean Sea from September 19 to November 5, 1968. In subsequent years, the anti-submarine cruisers Moskva and Leningrad repeatedly carried out combat service in various areas of the oceans.

According to the then Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov, helicopters have become an integral part of modern surface ships for various purposes, they have given them a completely new combat quality. A fundamentally new direction in the development of naval aviation was opened by the creation of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and the construction of aircraft-carrying cruisers of the Kyiv type.

The first aviation regiment of ship attack aircraft Yak-38 was formed in the Black Sea Fleet. Its first commander was F. G. Matkovsky. He was the first to head an aviation group and taught pilots to fly from a ship on a long voyage of the Kyiv aircraft-carrying cruiser.

In the Northern Fleet, V. N. Ratnenko became the first commander of the aviation regiment of ship-based attack aircraft. V. M. Svitochev was the first to command a regiment of naval attack aircraft in the Pacific Fleet.

Aircraft-carrying cruisers "Kyiv", "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk" repeatedly carried out military service in various regions of the World Ocean, and ship aviators - pilots, engineers and technicians - showed courage, skill and high moral and psychological qualities.

Particular attention in the book is given to naval fighter aircraft of the fleet. Such aviation was created on the basis of fourth-generation fighters of the Su-27 and MiG-29 types, recognized today as the best modern fighters in the world. The first aircraft carrier built in our country is capable of providing basing and combat operations for ski-jump take-off and arrest landing fighters.

One of the leading test pilots, Viktor Georgievich Pugachev, is a great merit in the birth and development of naval fighter aviation. Timur Avtandilovich Apakidze became one of the first enthusiasts in the development of a new kind of naval aviation. His courage and professional skills are evidenced by the fact that back in 1991 he was awarded the Honorary Diploma and the International Aviation Safety Foundation Prize for decisive and competent actions in an emergency in flight. Rescuing an experimental aircraft, T. A. Apakidze left the uncontrolled falling apparatus for last second. Soon after the accident he experienced, he took a new risk and was the first of the pilots of combat units of military aviation in our country to land on the deck of the cruiser "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" on the first Russian shipborne Su-27k fighter without carriage on a twin. It was September 29, 1991 in the Black Sea Fleet.

During flight and design tests of the Su-27k aircraft, the first leading group of pilots of the Northern Fleet Air Force was successfully prepared for flights and combat operations from the deck of the ship. Thus, in 1994, a new elite of military pilots was born in the naval aviation of Russia - the elite of carrier-based pilots.

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Naval aviation- In the service of the fleet

Naval exercises of the 70s. Hundreds of ships, thousands of naval aircraft. The place of action is the seas and oceans. Amphibians conducting reconnaissance, anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters carrying equipment to search for and destroy submarines. Missile carriers operating from the shore are capable of destroying a potential enemy aircraft carrier. And carrier-based aircraft are about to be adopted. Soviet naval aviation in the 70s. represented a formidable force.

Aviation of the Russian Navy is currently going through a difficult period of reform. In accordance with the order of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, issued in March 2011, the aviation of the fleet in a short time had to transfer to the Air Force all missile-carrying aviation consisting of three squadrons of Tu-22M3 long-range bombers, the main part of the strike and fighter units, as well as a large part of transport aviation. As a result of such dramatic changes, Russian naval aviation is currently concentrating on anti-submarine defense (ASD), patrolling, and search and rescue missions, while maintaining a single ship-based fighter regiment and limited capabilities to perform strike missions from land airfields.

By the middle of 2011, the Russian naval aviation included more than 300 aircraft, of which about 130 were combat-ready, so the combat readiness level was 43%. Mostly average age Navy aircraft fleet is rapidly approaching the 30-year milestone, approximately half of the aircraft fleet was produced more than 25 years ago.

Naval aviation is available in all four fleets - the Northern, Pacific, Baltic and Black Sea, in addition, there are several parts of the central subordination. Each fleet in the structure of its headquarters has a Naval Aviation Directorate, which is responsible for combat training and supply of air bases subordinate to it.

An assessment of the capabilities of the reformed naval aviation allows us to conclude that it is still combat-ready. With a number of Il-38 and Tu-142MK/MZ combat-ready patrol aircraft in service, the Navy's aviation can show its capabilities as an element of Russian foreign policy, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region, by demonstrating its presence, muscles and strength. High political significance has recently been demonstrated during patrol flights in the North Pole region, when naval aviation was tasked with monitoring environment and ice conditions, as well as monitoring the activities of foreign ships. This was a direct result of recent Russian efforts to move their borders north in order to expand their control over the continental shelf that stretches from northern Siberia to the mineral-rich and still unexploited areas around the North Pole. This should allow Russia to establish control over vast areas in the Arctic, and fleet aviation plays an important role in this.

The 1990s - the time of a deep crisis in naval aviation

By the time of the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the powerful naval aviation of the Soviet Navy consisted of 1,702 aircraft, including 372 long-range bombers equipped with anti-ship cruise missiles, 966 tactical combat aircraft and 455 helicopters. These aircraft constituted the combat power of 52 aviation regiments and ten separate squadrons and groups. The new Russian naval aviation inherited the lion's share of the Soviet legacy, but almost immediately began a series of large-scale reductions, removing obsolete aircraft from service.

By the beginning of 1995, the naval aviation included 63 Tu-22M2 long-range bombers (of which 52 were combat-ready), 82 Tu-22M3 bombers (52 combat-ready), 67 Tu-142 patrol aircraft (19 combat-ready), 45 Il-38 patrol aircraft (20 combat-ready), 95 Ka-27 helicopters (75 combat-ready) and 128 Mi-14 and Ka-25 helicopters (68 combat-ready).

By 1997, the level of combat readiness fell to 35%, but by 2000 the situation began to improve, and it rose to 45-50%. These indicators remain more or less stable to the present day.

But by the start of the new millennium, the combat capabilities of naval aviation had fallen to a critical point due to insufficient flight training caused by limited fuel limits, which were 10 times less than needed. As a consequence, only one-third of the crews could be considered combat-ready, and even achieving this modest level required great effort.

Organizational structure and challenges

Since 2009, all flying units and subunits of each of the four Russian fleets have been transformed into air bases, replacing the old system of regiments and separate squadrons, which, in turn, consist of air squadrons and subunits. Carrier-based fighter aviation is still organizationally reduced to the only separate regiment of naval aviation - the 279th OKIAP. The Naval Aviation Headquarters in Moscow is directly subordinate to the 859th Naval Aviation Training Center in Yeysk on the Sea of ​​Azov. It is intended for retraining for new types of aircraft and in-depth training in the use of all types of weapons and tactics for all structures of naval aviation, as well as training and qualification of ground personnel.

The 7055th Aviation Base (formerly the 46th OTAP - a separate transport aviation regiment), located in Astafyevo near Moscow, is responsible for carrying out transport operations in the interests of the naval aviation command within Russia.

In the 1990s and 2000s the main challenge facing the Russian Navy and its aviation was to maintain their potential while avoiding a deep transformation. This era was characterized by a constantly declining amount of aviation equipment, as well as very limited financial resources, which did not allow adequate funding even basic education flight personnel and maintenance of the flight fleet. The then commanders of naval aviation proved unable or unwilling to initiate realistic long-term reforms and develop plans to develop the declining body of naval aviation. Instead, they tried to find temporary half-way solutions to solve the combat capability problems that arose due to underfunding. In order to maintain a sufficient level of aircraft combat readiness, the Navy Aviation Command allowed to extend both the assigned and overhaul life of aircraft. This caused a massive "cannibalization" of aircraft in order to maintain the degree of combat readiness at the level of 50%.

The modernization of the main types of aircraft in the aviation of the Navy proceeded at a minimal pace, as a result of which not a single seriously modernized helicopter or naval aircraft entered service. With rare exceptions since the late 1990s. (when the last carrier-based Su-33 fighter was handed over) there were no deliveries of new aircraft either; a small number of Ka-31 AWACS helicopters were delivered in 2011 and 2012. [probably, we are talking about the 2009 contract for the supply of two Ka-31s. However, there was no information about the transfer of helicopters in the open press - P.2].

Naval aviation went through a difficult time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when due to a lack of fuel, flight hours were sharply reduced, and combat readiness was maintained due to the skills and abilities of the flight personnel acquired back in Soviet times. However, the training of new crews was practically not carried out, as a result of which by 2001 the average age of the flight crew exceeded 40 years.

Looking to the future, it should be noted that the Navy aviation will not only have to solve the problems associated with a rapidly aging aircraft fleet, but also answer questions related to providing quality initial flight training for crews and maintaining the combat readiness of pilots recently graduated from schools, designed to replace the current generation. naval aviators who endure the brunt of the service, but whose age is rapidly increasing. The inevitable retirement of many experienced pilots, navigators and weapons system operators trained to high Soviet standards threatens the combat readiness of naval aviation. A partial solution to the problem may be to use the experience of the best pilots after their demobilization, by hiring them at the training center in Yeysk as civilian instructors, where they will serve as reservists.

Today, thanks to the dramatic increase in fuel limits and fleet maintenance funds seen since the beginning of this decade, the average flight time in naval aviation is 100-120 hours. And although this figure is significantly less than the levels recommended for NATO pilots, it is still a huge step forward compared to the early post-Soviet period.

Ship-based aviation

Both the carrier-based aviation regiment and the only Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, are assigned to the Northern Fleet. The main task of the Su-33 naval fighters, which lack strike capabilities, is the long-range defense of an aircraft carrier group. The main striking force of the Admiral Kuznetsov is 12 anti-ship missiles P-700 Granit, with a firing range of 550 km. The requirement for long-range air defense comes from the opinion of the leadership of naval aviation, which considers it necessary for naval strike groups operating in the ocean beyond the firing range of land-based air defense systems. Another important task of the Russian aircraft carrier, according to the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy V. Vysotsky, is to control the airspace over the areas of combat patrols of Russian SSBNs, which otherwise will be threatened by the patrol aircraft of a potential enemy.

Su-33, which are in service with the 279th OKIAP, were received in 1993-1998. in the amount of 24 units, of which four were lost in accidents and disasters. The regiment is based at the Severomorsk-3 airfield, 25 km north of Murmansk. In addition to the Su-33, it is armed with several Su-25UTG carrier-based training aircraft and several Su-27UB land-based training aircraft intended for retraining and training. Despite the fact that a two-seat modification of the Su-27KUB, in the cockpit of which the pilots sit next to each other, was developed and tested, no order was received for it and the future of this aircraft remains unknown.

Since its founding, the only regiment of naval aviation has experienced serious difficulties with the training of flight personnel, mainly due to a combination of factors: the limited combat capability of the Admiral Kuznetsov and the complex weather conditions in the Barents Sea. In addition, the pilots of the regiment had a three-year period when they could not use the ground training center NITKA, located in the Crimea, due to political disagreements with Ukraine, and only in 2010 did they manage to resume training flights.

It should be noted that, with rare exceptions, young recruits must first undergo takeoff and landing training on NITKA, after which, if weather conditions are favorable, they are allowed to fly from the deck of the Admiral Kuznetsov. Due to the unfavorable environment for training new pilots, their training is very slow. According to the Commander of Naval Aviation, Major General I. Kozhin, the main efforts in the field of training flight crews in the near future will be aimed at maintaining a constant number of carrier-based aviation pilots at the level of 15-18 people. Currently, the most experienced pilots have over 200 carrier landings. The 279th OKIAP is considered the most trained naval aviation unit and has the largest percentage of fully trained pilots and combat-ready aircraft.

In order to get away from dependence on the Ukrainian NITKA, it is planned to build a new carrier-based pilot training center in Yeysk, but it will not be fully ready until 2015.

In addition to the carrier-based fighter aviation regiment, the naval aviation included two regiments of land fighters - the 698th OGIAP and the 865th IAP. The first regiment in 2009 was renamed the 7052nd air base and assigned to the Baltic Fleet based in Chkalovsk (near Kaliningrad). The regiment is armed with Su-27 fighters. The 865th regiment was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and in 2009 became the 7060th air base. It is armed with MiG-31 fighter-interceptors, it is deployed in Yelizovo on the Kamchatka Peninsula. In March 2011, both formations were transferred to the Air Force.

Maritime patrol and anti-submarine aviation

The once very powerful anti-submarine aviation has retained its pre-reform structure more or less in its original form and continues to operate two types of aircraft, the Il-38 and Tu-142MZ/MK. These four-engine aircraft are in service with two "large" fleets - the Northern and Pacific. Their main task is to search for, detect, track and destroy enemy submarines. It should be noted that these functions also involve the performance of real peacetime tasks - the so-called "combat patrol sorties", in which aircraft search and track submarines in international waters. These sorties can be "offensive" and "defensive". The former include patrol areas for SSBNs of a potential enemy, primarily American submarines. In the second case, Russian anti-submarine aviation covers the likely patrol areas of its strategic missile carriers, observing the activity of enemy submarines, which may pose a threat to Russian SSBNs when they are on combat duty.

For example, Tu-142s and Il-38s fly around the Kamchatka peninsula, where Russian SSBNs are usually stationed. According to Russian sources, in the 1990s. there was a high activity of American submarines that tracked the movements of Russian SSBNs during their combat services in the Barents and Japan Seas.

Anti-submarine aircraft also have the task of displaying the flag at remote points, such as North Pole and the waters around the Kamchatka Peninsula, where Russia has serious political and economic interests. Il-38 and Tu-142 from the Northern and Pacific Fleets make these patrol flights on a regular basis several times a month.

The Tu-142 patrol and anti-submarine aircraft was developed on the basis of the Tu-95 strategic bomber specifically for long-range operations in ocean waters. The range is 4500 km. The aircraft entered service in 1972, the current modifications of the Tu-142MK and Tu-142MZ entered service in the 1980s. and were in production until the early 1990s. Both fleets have one squadron of these aircraft. The resource of the airframe of the aircraft is still very significant, but their modernization is not planned. The last Tu-142s will most likely be decommissioned by 2020.

Il-38 is the second type of Russian anti-submarine and patrol aircraft. Initially intended for operations in the "middle ocean zone", it was put into service in 1968, and the remaining copies built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. are in service with one squadron of the Northern Fleet and two - the Pacific. Despite their age, the resource of gliders remains very significant, and the cost of operation is relatively low. Part of the park is supposed to be modernized (the total number has not yet been announced) in order to increase their capabilities.

Helicopters

Shipborne PLO and PSO helicopters are represented by durable and reliable Ka-27 helicopters, whose resource remains very significant, and the helicopters themselves in both versions will be operated at least until 2020, and possibly even further. The Ka-27PL modification is a specialized anti-submarine version, while the Ka-27PS performs search and rescue and transport functions. Most of the Ka-27s in operation were produced in the early to mid-1980s, with just over 70 vehicles in service, assigned to four helicopter regiments (for each of the fleets), as well as a recently created training center in Yeysk.

Ka-27PLs are also involved in combat services, mainly in Russian territorial waters, based on ships or coastal airfields. There is also a small number of Ka-29 transport and combat helicopters, several copies are assigned to each of the fleets and are part of the structure of mixed helicopter regiments, where they serve together with the Ka-27PL and Ka-27PS. In 2001, at least 16 "surplus" Ka-29s were transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs aviation.

In addition, the Navy aviation has about a dozen Mi-8T/P/MT/MTV helicopters, which are mainly used for transportation and search and rescue operations. They are included in the structure of individual transport or helicopter regiments, or groups assigned to each of the fleets. In addition, eight Mi-8s equipped with electronic warfare equipment fly in the Black Sea Fleet. Until 2011, the structure of the aviation of the Navy included one separate helicopter regiment assigned to the Baltic Fleet. It was armed with attack helicopters Mi-24VP / P and Mi-8MT, its tasks included fire support for marine units, as well as transport in the interests of the fleet. The regiment's Mi-24s were also given the secondary task of providing low-altitude air defense and intercepting low-flying aircraft. However, it is believed that in the course of the reforms, this regiment was transferred to the Russian army aviation.

Coastal strike aircraft

After March 2011, only one strike aviation squadron remained in the naval aviation. This remnant of the former power of naval aviation has been preserved due to basing on the territory of the Crimea. In 1997, Russia and Ukraine entered into an agreement, according to which Russia was allowed to keep the 43rd Separate Naval Attack Aviation Squadron (OMSHAE) of the Black Sea Fleet at the Gvardeyskoye airfield, as a result of which the squadron could not be transferred to the Air Force without serious international complications. This agreement is designed for a period of 20 years, and allows only 22 Russian combat aircraft to be based in Crimea at the same time, and the maximum number of aircraft that can be located at two airfields leased by Russia is 161. Currently, the squadron has 18 Su- 24. They are the oldest representatives of this type in Russian aviation, in addition, they have lost equipment that allows them to use nuclear weapon, before being transferred to the 43rd OMSHAE in 2000 to replace the Su-17M3s it had. In addition, the squadron is armed with four Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft.

Crimean Su-24s became the first Russian combat aircraft to receive the state registration "RF-", which is considered mandatory for Russian aircraft operating abroad.

Also equipped with the Su-24, the 4th Separate Naval Assault Aviation Regiment (OMSHAP), stationed in Chernyakhovsk (Kaliningrad region), became the 7052nd air base in 2009, but was transferred to the Air Force in March 2011.

Transport aviation and special purpose aircraft

This part of the naval aviation is responsible for the transportation of troops and cargo between bases, the implementation of support operations, including search and rescue, in the area of ​​​​responsibility of the regiment, parachute training Marines and units of combat swimmers, evacuation of the wounded and sick, as well as rescue of descent vehicles with astronauts. In addition, the Northern and Pacific Fleets have a number of An-12PS aircraft specially designed for sea rescue operations.

An-26 and An-12 military transport aircraft are the workhorses of the fleet's transport aviation, their number reached three dozen before the March 2011 reforms. There is also a single An-72 short takeoff and landing aircraft, as well as several passenger Tu-134s. There were two Tu-154s for long-distance transportation and transportation of VIPs, but it remains unclear whether they have survived today. It also remains unknown how many aircraft were transferred to the Air Force in March 2011. The Pacific Fleet and the Northern Fleet have two Il-20RTs used for passenger and transport transportation, as well as one Il-18 for training Il-38 pilots.

The Black Sea Fleet has three to four Be-12PS amphibious turboprops, which are mainly used for search and rescue and patrol operations. These obsolete aircraft are almost out of service and will need to be extended if a decision is made to keep them in the fleet.

New purchases

All units of naval aviation will receive new equipment in the coming years, but the largest orders are associated with the acquisition in June 2011 of four French amphibious assault ships (UDC) Mistral. The aviation group of each of these ships will include eight attack and eight transport-combat helicopters. Naval modification of the Ka-52 helicopter - Ka-52K was chosen as a naval attack helicopter. It will be distinguished by folding blades, a wing, life support systems for the crew, which will fly in wetsuits. The fuselage and equipment will be covered with a special anti-corrosion coating, the helicopter will also receive new anti-ship missiles and fire control radar. The Russian fleet needs at least 40 Ka-52K helicopters, the first of which should be delivered to the customer by the end of 2014-beginning of 2015. simultaneously with the delivery of the first UDC.

The tested and proven Ka-29 will act as a transport and attack helicopter. Helicopters of the new construction should receive updated avionics, similar to those installed on the Ka-52K. The total number of purchased helicopters for the Mistral UDC will be at least 100 units, which will be distributed between the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, a certain number will also go to the training center in Yeysk.

A program is also underway for the purchase of Ka-31 AWACS helicopters, which will go to the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet. The first batch of two helicopters has been ordered and the purchase of small batches of these helicopters is expected.

According to information in the Russian media, announced at the end of 2009, the aviation wing of the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" in the future may consist of at least 24 MiG-29K fighters. In mid-July 2011, the commander of the naval aviation, Major General I. Kozhin, announced that the Russian Ministry of Defense planned to place an order for the MiG-29K by August 2011, and the first aircraft should be delivered to the customer in 2012. However, it was not possible to place the order on time , as a result of which the first deliveries are postponed until 2013, but it is believed that the production of the MiG-29K for the Indian aircraft carrier Vikramaditya is given priority.

In July, sources in the Russian aviation industry also announced that an order for 12 Su-30SM fighters (a variant of the export Su-30MKI fighter manufactured by Irkut Corporation) for the Navy aviation is expected to replace the obsolete Su-24 bombers of the Black Sea Fleet. However, this order was not confirmed by sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense.

There are plans to modernize search and rescue and patrol aviation, in 2008 an order for four A-42 amphibians (development of the A-40 Albatross project) was reported, but not a single aircraft was delivered and the future of the program remains in question.

Talking about long-term prospects in procurement new technology, I. Kozhin noted that they will include new generation patrol aircraft based on Tu-214 to replace both Tu-142 and Il-38/38N. In addition, a new multi-purpose shipborne helicopter was mentioned.

Modernization of the existing fleet

There are three modernization programs underway in the Navy's aviation. The first concerns the Il-38, which will receive a new on-board electronic system and will receive the Il-38N index. The first Il-38 received the Novella sighting and search system (PPK) developed by the Leninets holding in 2001, the second machine began testing in mid-2011. The Il-38 modernization program provides for work on one aircraft per year, remains it is unclear when the upgraded Il-38s will enter service.

The integrated PPK "Novella" was developed with the aim of turning the Il-38 into an effective multi-purpose patrol and reconnaissance complex. The modernized Il-38N is equipped with a high-resolution radar, an optical-electronic reconnaissance system, infrared sensors and a fundamentally new sonar system, a new magnetometer and a new communication system. The Il-38N can also use the new APR-3 high-speed anti-submarine torpedoes and is equipped with a new electronic warfare system.

The second ongoing modernization program is provided for Ka-27PL helicopters. The basic version proposed by the Kamov Design Bureau provides for the replacement of the Octopus PPK with a new Lira PPK developed by the Leninets holding. It was developed on the basis of the Novella PPK for use on helicopters and allows increasing the detection range and integrating new anti-submarine torpedoes and guided depth charges, as well as new anti-ship missiles into the Ka-27 arsenal. With the installation of a new complex, a previously exclusively anti-submarine helicopter becomes truly multifunctional, capable of being used to perform various tasks: combating piracy, conducting shore-to-ship transportation, optical and radar reconnaissance. The modernization of the avionics is planned to be combined with a large-scale program to increase the resource in order to maintain a high level of upgraded helicopters with the Ka-27M index for 15 years of operation.

According to information published in the Russian media, the Ka-27PL modernization program was launched in March 2003, but faced significant delays, primarily due to insufficient funding (this happened with all Russian aircraft modernization programs in the 1990s). - early 2000s). However, in 2005-2006 the Ka-27 modernization program entered the flight test phase, and by 2011 there were photographs showing at least one Ka-27M being tested in the air. But the modernized Ka-27 is still far from deliveries to combat units.

Thus, the only program for the modernization of fleet aviation equipment, which is moving forward at a rapid pace, is associated with work on Su-33 fighters. This is not a very large program, which is aimed at improving the capabilities of the airborne defense complex by replacing the SPO-15 Bereza radiation warning system with the L-150 Pastel system. In addition, the navigation equipment of the aircraft and monitors in the cockpit were upgraded.

Original publication: Russian Naval Aviation Service Today: A rapidly shrinking force – Air Forces Monthly, January 2012

Translation by Andrey Frolov

In the second half of 1945, new mine and torpedo aviation units of the Navy Air Force began to enter service. The first to receive them was the 5th Guards. MTAP Air Force Black Sea Fleet and 64th DBAP Air Force Pacific Fleet. In the next two years, the regiments of the 8th and 19th MTAD of the BF Air Force and the 567th Guards were re-equipped with these aircraft. MTAP VVS Pacific Fleet.

On February 16, 1946, the NK Navy was abolished by decree of the USSR PVS. Navy, subordinate to the Minister of the Armed Forces, became known as the Naval Forces (Navy). In accordance with this order of the Civil Code of the Navy No. 0100 of March 26, 1946, the Air Force of the Navy was renamed into Aviation of the Naval Forces, and the main directorate of the Air Force of the Navy was transformed into "obscure" controls of the Naval Aviation Commander. They included: command, secretariat, headquarters, air defense department, IAS department, Navy Air Force supply department, airfield department and several departments (inspector, VMAUZ, personnel, financial and general). The same order made the transition to peacetime states. In the same year, they were subject to decommissioning and, as a result, the flight units armed with aircraft of this type were disbanded. So only in the Pacific Fleet Air Force, by 1947, the 117th OMDRAP, 31st, 47th, 57th, 63rd OMBRAE and 5th BRAZ were disbanded. A similar picture was observed in the air forces of other fleets.

As of July 1, 1946, there were 5252 aircraft in Naval Aviation, including 1059 imported all types, including domestic fighters - 1159, bombers and torpedo bombers - 727, attack aircraft - 482. domestic boat aircraft - 330. Another 1455 aircraft were in educational institutions and parts of the Naval Aviation.

In 1946-1950. there was an urgent need to streamline and reduce the vast post-war army economy, in light of which, a wave of renaming of units, formations and associations swept through the entire Armed Forces. She did not bypass the Naval Aviation either. The end of 1947 was marked for Naval Aviation by significant organizational and staffing changes. On December 15, 1947, in accordance with the circular of the NGSh of the Navy No. 0036 of 07.10.1947, the Naval Aviation switched to the standard organization of the Soviet Army Air Force. From now on, a unified system of unit and formation numbers was established for them. On the basis of the same document, a number of units of the Navy Air Force were renamed, having received the numbers of the assault and fighter regiments of the SA Air Force that had been disbanded by that time. So, the 29th and 40th APBP of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet became the 565th and 569th DBAP, the 17th Guards, the 55th APBP and the 64th DBAP of the Air Force of the Pacific Fleet - respectively, the 567th Guards, 568- m and the 570th MTAP, and the 95th AP of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet - the 574th MTAP. Two divisions of dive bombers (the 13th ADPB of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet and the 10th ADPB of the Air Force of the Pacific Fleet) were also reorganized. They became, respectively, the 88th DBAD (MTAD) and the 89th MTAD. "As unnecessary", attack aircraft were abolished (although this was done a little later in the SA Air Force). Divisions and regiments of attack aircraft were disbanded or reorganized into fighter and bomber regiments. Since that time, aviation regiments have been transferred from three-squadron to four-squadron states. Such enlargement was not very successful, given that the airfields based on the air force of the fleets, as a rule, housed several flight units, and there were difficulties in organizing joint flights.

Another important organizational event for the Naval Aviation was the division in 1946 of the Baltic Fleet, and in 1947 - of the Pacific Fleet, into two independent operational-strategic formations each. This is how the 4th and 8th Navy appeared in the Baltic and the 5th and 7th Navy in pacific ocean. Each such fleet had its own air force. There are suggestions that the same fate was to befall the Northern Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet, but, for a number of reasons, this was not done.

In the first post-war five-year period, the process of reducing Naval Aviation proceeded steadily: out of 19 aviation divisions, 16 remained (at the end of 1947, the 12th ShAD, the 14th and 17th SAD were disbanded). The Air Force of the Fleets then had 75 aviation regiments (of which 11 regiments were mine-torpedo regiments). The personnel and equipment of the disbanded units became part of the regiments that were not subject to disbandment.

In 1947-1948. the aviation of all military flotillas, naval defense areas and bases was liquidated. This, in general, did not particularly affect the quantitative and qualitative composition of Naval Aviation, since, often, the entire aviation of a flotilla consisted of a single squadron or auxiliary aviation unit.

On the basis of the circular of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR dated 08/28/1948, the Air Defense Directorate and the General Department were abolished in the structure of the Control Bodies of the Commander of the Naval Aviation. However, the task of air defense in the coastal areas continued to be assigned to the formations and units of the fighter aviation of the fleets.

In April 1949, in accordance with the circular of the NSSh Naval Forces No. 0119 dated 03/09/1949, the flight units of the Naval Aviation returned to the old, time-tested three-squadron system.

By the beginning of the 1950s, despite its impressive numerical strength, Naval Aviation had a morally and physically obsolete aircraft fleet. It was necessary to take immediate measures to re-equip it with modern types of aircraft. The piston era was replaced by the era of jet aviation. For the speedy retraining of combat units for new equipment, at the end of 1950, training squadrons were formed in all fleets under the control of aviation divisions of the MTA and IA. They existed until mid-1953 - early 1954, and, having completed their task, were disbanded.

On February 26, 1950, the main command of the Navy was renamed the Naval Ministry of the USSR. In early March, on the basis of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 804/293, the Main Naval Headquarters became known as the Naval General Staff. In accordance with the MGSH circular dated March 16, 1950, the controls of the Naval Aviation Commander underwent another transformation. Their structure began to include: command, secretariat, headquarters, management of the IAS, engineering and airfield management, rear of the Navy Air Force, management of the VMAUZ and departments (flight service, aeromedicine, stock and financial, qualification commission). In addition, the Naval Air Force Headquarters included directorates (operational, combat training, communications, experimental construction of aircraft) and departments (intelligence, navigational, military scientific, meteorological, secret office work, general and encryption).

Since 1951, fighter aviation, armed mainly with Yak-9, La-7, La-9, La-11, R-63 aircraft, was the first in the Navy to begin retraining for MiG-15 jet aircraft, and since 1953. - on the MiG-17. At the beginning of the same year, a number of regiments of the Navy MA again changed their numbers, this time to four-digit ones.

The next stage of reforms began on April 21, 1951, when the Minister of Defense of the USSR, by his order No. 0188, set the terms for re-equipping MTA units with Tu-14t and Il-28t jet torpedo bombers. In 1951-1953. the regiments, previously armed with , and , were completely retrained and re-equipped from piston aircraft to jet technology. The first regiment to retrain on the Il-28 in August 1951 was the 1531st Guards. MTAP of the Air Force of the 8th Navy, and in October the 1676th MTAP of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet began retraining. At the end of 1951, he began retraining the 567th Guards. MTAP Air Force of the 5th Navy. In April and May 1952, the newly formed 1941st MTAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force also retrained on the Tu-14t. In total, by the second half of 1952, eight mine-torpedo regiments had already been re-equipped on the Il-28t and Tu-14t.

Reconnaissance aviation units began to master the reconnaissance version of the Il-28 aircraft from March 1952 (1733rd ORAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force, AE of the 15th ODRAP of the Air Force of the 8th Navy and AE of the 50th Guards ODRAP of the Air Force of the 5th Navy).

Late 1940s - mid 1950s. a number of units and formations of fighter aircraft of the SA Air Force were transferred to the Air Force of the Navy. So, in the Baltic, the 60th, 108th and 237th Guards were adopted. OVER, in the North - the 107th and 122nd IAD, on the Black Sea - the 181st IAD, in the Pacific Ocean - the 147th and 249th IAD. In addition, a number of units and formations of the bomber aviation of the SA Air Force were also transferred to the Naval Aviation. In the Baltic, the 4th Guards was transferred to the Air Force of the Fleet. BAD and 57th TBAD, on the Black Sea - 819th Guards. BAP, in the Pacific Ocean - 169 Guards. TBAP and 194th dietary supplement. This tried to save them from the coming reduction. At the same time, they, as a rule, changed their numbering, and sometimes their purpose (bomber regiments and divisions became mine-torpedo).

In 1952, a new aviation technique, helicopters, entered service with the Naval Aviation. The first part armed with them was the 220th separate aviation detachment of Ka-10 helicopters, formed in Sevastopol. These machines could hardly be called full-fledged aircraft, but time has shown that they are the future. Already by the mid-1950s. separate squadrons of base (on the Mi-4) and shipborne helicopters (on the Ka-15) were created in the fleets: the 255th, 507th and 509th UAE in the Baltic, the 1222nd and 272nd UAE in the Black Sea, 504th UAE in the North.

On the basis of the directive of the MGSH Naval Forces dated February 21, 1953, the military-scientific, navigational department and some other units were liquidated in the governing bodies of the Naval Air Force.

By June 1953, in the Far East, the 5th and 7th Navy were merged into a single Pacific Fleet, and, accordingly, a single Pacific Fleet Air Force reappeared on the basis of their Air Force. In the Baltic, this process took place somewhat later: in February 1956, the two fleets merged, and on the basis of the Air Forces of the 4th and 8th Navy, a single Air Force of the Baltic Fleet was formed.

By January 1, 1954, the Naval Air Force had 10 mine-torpedo, 20 fighter and 10 reconnaissance regiments, as well as 29 separate squadrons and detachments.

In 1955, modern Tu-16 jet aircraft began to arrive in the mine-torpedo aviation unit. Although often the IL-28 and Tu-14 continued to be used in combat units, until 1960. The first regiment to retrain on the Tu-16 was the 240th Guards. MTAP 57th MTAD VVS BF. Initially, the new aircraft were used in the bomber, torpedo and anti-submarine, and since 1957 - in the missile-carrying version.

It should be noted that, unlike the SA Air Force, where Long-Range Aviation was massively re-equipped with the Tu-4 piston long-range bomber in the mid-1950s, this did not happen in the Navy Aviation. In addition to the 124th TAP (MTAP) of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, the 240th Guards. TAP of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet and a separate control detachment of the 143rd MTAD of the Air Force of the Pacific Fleet, these aircraft did not enter service, and even those that did were taken from the Air Force units.

In 1956, the Central Office of the Naval Aviation once again changed its name. Now he has been named aviation authorities of the Navy.

On the basis of the directive of the USSR Ministry of Defense dated April 20, 1956, attack aircraft in the Air Force and Navy were to be disbanded. But Naval Aviation lost it two years earlier, when the last assault formation - the 601st ShAD of the Air Force of the 4th Navy, was reorganized into a fighter division.

The intensive development of submarine forces in the United States, especially the construction of submarines with nuclear power plants, has significantly increased the combat capabilities of the latter. Under these conditions, Naval Aviation faced the task of searching for and destroying them. To successfully solve it, it was necessary to create a special kind of aviation - anti-submarine, since until 1956 this was mainly done by reconnaissance and mine-torpedo aviation. The first anti-submarine aircraft of the Aviation of the Fleet was the Be-6 flying boat, and helicopters of a similar purpose - Mi-4, shore-based, and Ka-15, ship-based. The creation of anti-submarine aviation required the creation of new means of detecting submarines. Therefore, in 1953, the Baku radio-hydroacoustic system was created, which was equipped with Be-6 aircraft and Mi-4, Ka-15 helicopters. In the late 1950s it was also equipped with a small number of Tu-16pl aircraft. The "Baku" system consisted of passive non-directional buoys RSL-N ("Iva") and aircraft on-board equipment that received, analyzed and processed information from the RSL. In parallel with the development of aviation RSL, the creation of a helicopter descending sonar station (OGAS "AG-19") was going on. She was originally armed with Mi-4 and Ka-15 helicopters. In 1950, aviation search magnetometers - APM-50, and in 1960 - APM-60 were developed and put into service.

From December 1, 1957, based on the directive of the Civil Code of the Navy No. OMU / 4/30250 of July 20, 1957, linear training is introduced in Naval Aviation. From now on, all regiments are divided into parts of the 1st and 2nd line. The units and subunits of the 1st line were planned to have large flight quotas for the training of flight personnel, and the 2nd line was to maintain the already achieved level of flight training.

In the spring of 1958, separate squadrons of base and ship-based Mi-4m and Ka-15 helicopters in all fleets were reorganized into helicopter regiments. Thus, the 853rd and 872nd OAPV appear in the Black Sea, the 830th OAPV appears in the North, the 413th and 437th OAPV appear in the Baltic, and the 710th and 720th OAPV appear in the Pacific Fleet. The flight and technical staff of the fighter units being disbanded this year turned to their staffing.

In the period 1956-1960. Naval Aviation, which was then entrusted with the solution of air defense tasks in the coastal zone, was called Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy. But already in 1957, in connection with the reorganization of the country's air defense system, the first wave of units and formations of fighters from the Air Force of the Fleets was transferred there.

Naval Aviation continued to improve continuously in the second half of the 1950s. A new formidable weapon began to enter its arsenal - an aviation cruise missile. In 1957-1961. mine-torpedo aviation successfully mastered new missile systems. Following the Tu-16ks missile system, in 1959, the Tu-16k-10 missile system was adopted, designed mainly to destroy large surface ships. It consisted of a Tu-16k carrier aircraft and one K-10 missile. The first to re-equip the new missile system were the 170th Guards. MTAP DD VVS BF, 924th Guards. and 987th MTAP AD VVS SF. They were followed by the 240th Guards. MTAP DD VVS BF, 5th Guards. and 124th MTAP DD Air Force Black Sea Fleet, 169th Guards. and the 570th MTAP DD VVS Pacific Fleet, which received these weapons in 1960-1961.

In 1960, the Armed Forces of the USSR underwent a new catastrophic "reform" associated with the name of the then leader of the country, N.S. Khrushchev. 1.2 million people were dismissed from the army. went under the knife newest ships and planes that gave way to another fashionable toy - a rocket. All fighter aviation was excluded from the Navy Air Force, and most of the mine-torpedo units and formations were also disbanded; at the same time, in fact, many thousands of people of flight and technical staff were left to the mercy of fate. At the end of 1960, the Air Force and Air Defense fleets began to be called fleet aviation(and the Air Force and Air Defense Directorate of the Navy was renamed Naval Aviation Administration); the administrations themselves were cut in half.

With these sad processes, a new strike force of the Soviet Navy was born - its naval missile-carrying and anti-submarine aviation. Since May 1961, on the basis of the order of the USSR Ministry of Defense No. 0028 of 03.20.1961 and the order of the Civil Code of the Navy No. 048 of 04.13.1961, all mine-torpedo regiments and divisions began to be called naval missile-carrying (while in the Air Force SA similar units and formations retained the name of heavy bombers).

After 1961, the structure of Naval Aviation was completely defined. The Air Force of each fleet had a naval missile-carrying aviation division (except for the Pacific Fleet, where there were two MRADs), one reconnaissance regiment, 1-2 helicopter regiments (squadrons), anti-submarine and transport regiments. There were also separate squadrons for special purposes. This composition remained practically unchanged until the mid-1980s, when the aviation of the fleets was replenished with assault regiments.

In 1962, the combat capabilities of anti-submarine aviation expanded significantly, with the adoption by the Naval Aviation of the new aviation anti-submarine complex Il-38, which has an automated search and targeting system "Berkut". But this aircraft began to enter the combat units of the Air Force of the Fleets a little later: in 1967, to the air. Kipelovo (SF) was formed by the 24th OPLA DD, armed with Il-38 aircraft. Behind him in 1969 on the air. Nikolaevka (TOF) was formed by the 77th OPLAP DD, and in 1975 these aircraft were received by the 145th OPAAE DDAaviationBF, based on the air. Skulte (Riga).

In 1962, the MRA received another aviation missile system, the Tu-16k-16 with the KSR-2 missile, designed to destroy destroyer-frigate class ships. The carrier aircraft could hang and use two such missiles. A significant difference between the KSR-2 AKP and older types of missiles was that after its uncoupling, the Tu-16 could turn back on its course, and the missile itself followed the target, while the K-10 AKP and the KS needed continuous “illumination” of the target onboard RAS of the aircraft. The first to re-equip with the new missile system were: in 1963 - the 540th MRAP (II) of the 33rd TsBP and PAS and the 568th MRAP of the Pacific Fleet Air Force, then, in 1964 - the 12th OMRAP of the BF Air Force, and in 1967 - 49th MRAP Air Force Pacific Fleet. The adoption of the new missile system significantly expanded the combat capabilities of missile-carrying divisions. Now it was possible to use two types of missiles with different speed and altitude characteristics in a missile salvo, which created serious problems for the air defense system of the enemy ship grouping. It should be said that later, on the basis of the K-10 and KSR-2 missiles, specialized AKR K-Yusp and KSR-11 were developed and put into service, the first of which was an unmanned radio-electronic jammer, and the second was an anti-radar missile that hit sources of radio emission . In parts of the MRA, the development of the integrated use of these new types of weapons began.

In 1962, the reconnaissance aircraft of the Navy received the Tu-22r supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. He first entered the 15th ODRAP of the Air Force of the Baltic Fleet, and then - in the 30th ODRAP of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet. This aircraft, although it was in service with several DA bomber and reconnaissance regiments, did not win much love from the flight crew, due to the high accident rate. Perhaps that is why it did not enter the aviation of the Navy in the missile-carrying version (although there were plans to re-equip one of the regiments of the 3rd MRAD in the Air Force of the Pacific Fleet).

In 1963, the Tu-16k-26 complex, with the KSR-5 supersonic missile, was adopted by the MRA. Two missiles could be suspended on the carrier aircraft. Later, after refinement, the Tu-16k-10 complex could be armed with three missiles (one K-10 and two KSR-2, KSR-5 or KSR-11, in various combinations). He received the name Tu-16k-10-26. In the early 1970s in part of the MRA, armed with the Tu-16k-26 aviation systems, the KSR-5p anti-radar missile began to arrive, capable of hitting the enemy’s ship-based and ground-based RASs.

It can be said without exaggeration that with the arrival of all this missile technology, the combat power of naval missile-carrying aviation has increased significantly, without increasing the number of carrier aircraft. And even in the late 1990s, having re-equipped with the Tu-22mZ supersonic missile carrier with the Kh-22 missile, MRA pilots recalled with nostalgia the good old and practically trouble-free Tu-16.

Reconnaissance aircraft also continued to develop. In 1963, at the air. Severomorsk-1 (VVS SF) the 392nd ODRAP was formed, armed with the latest strategic reconnaissance aircraft Tu-95rts at that time, equipped with electronic and radio reconnaissance systems, as well as target designation equipment "Success". By 1965, this regiment was relocated to the place of permanent deployment, to the air. Kipelovo. In 1965, the 867th Guards was re-equipped with the Tu-95rts. ODRAP Air Force Pacific Fleet on air. Khorol. The Tu-95rts aircraft in one flight was able to reveal the situation in an area of ​​​​8-10 million km2, to detect and identify surface targets in it, which corresponded to the survey of the same area by 10 Tu-16r aircraft. In addition, he could automatically issue target designation data in missile systems strike forces of the fleet.

In 1965, the aviation short-range anti-submarine complex - Be-12 was adopted by the Navy Aviation. The aircraft of this type were re-equipped: in 1965 - the 318th OPLA DD (air. Donuzlav), in 1967 - the 122nd OPLA DD (air. Yelizovo), in 1968 - the 403rd OPLA DD (air . Severomorsk-2), in 1969 - the 289th OPLAP DD (aero. Nikolaevka), in 1970 - the 17th OPLAE DD (aero. Spit). Previously, all these flying units were armed with Be-6 flying boats.

Since 1965, the Ka-25pl ship helicopter has been mass-produced for Naval Aviation. The helicopter began to enter the combat units in the same year - in the 872nd OVP Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet and the 710th OVP Aviation of the Pacific Fleet. The aviation of the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet received Ka-25pl helicopters: in the 830th ORP and the 745th ORP - in 1967 and 1969, respectively.

In 1969, the leadership of the Navy decided to mass-produce a more advanced ship-based anti-submarine helicopter Ka-27pl, and since 1973 it began to enter service with combat units. The first to receive it in the same year was the 872nd OKPLVP Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet.

In 1969, in order to expand the zone of operation of our anti-submarine forces into the ocean, a long-range aviation complex, the Tu-142, was adopted by the PLA. Although the anti-submarine armament of the Tu-142 was similar to the equipment of the Il-38 aircraft, however, its tactical radius was up to 4000 km, against 2300 km for the latter. Aircraft of this type entered service with the newly formed: at the air. Kipelovo - 76th OPLAP AD VVS SF (1969), and on the air. Khorol - 310th OPLA AD VVSTOF (1976).

Since the late 1960s to the beginning of the 1990s Naval Aviation successfully carried out combat service in the advanced areas of the world's oceans. The tasks of the Armed Forces were solved both from the decks of aircraft-carrying ships of single and group basing (the 745th ORP of the BF Air Force, the 78th and 872nd OKPLVP of the Black Sea Fleet, the 38th and 830th OKPLVP, the 279th OKShAP of the Northern Fleet Air Force, the 207th , 710th OKPLVP, 175th OKPLVE, 311th OKSHAP Air Force Pacific Fleet), and from airfields of foreign countries. The geography of basing naval aviators on foreign airfields is quite extensive: Egypt and Syria in the Mediterranean, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen in the Indian Ocean, Cuba, Guinea and Angola in the Atlantic, Vietnam in the Pacific Ocean. At the airfields of these countries: Cairo, Aswan, Mersa Matruh, Asmara, Hargeisa, Aden, El Anad, Dahlak, Havana, Conakry, Luanda, Cam Ranh, Da Nang, aviation units and support units from the Air Force of the fleets were based. The areas of responsibility were also divided between the fleets. The crews of the 318th OPLAP and the 30th ODRAP of the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, the 967th ODRAP and the 912th OTAP of the Air Force of the Northern Fleet worked in the Mediterranean Sea. The crews of the 392nd ODRAP Air Force of the Northern Fleet flew to the Atlantic for combat service, the crews of the 145th OPLAE of the BF Air Force, the 77th OPLAP, the 710th OKPLVP and the 304th Guards flew to the Indian Ocean. ODRAP Air Force Pacific Fleet.

In Vietnam until 1982 on the air. Da Nang was based a mixed detachment of Tu-95rts and Tu-142m aircraft, from the 304th Guards. ODRAP and 310th OPLAP Air Force Pacific Fleet. Since 1982, by agreement with the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the air. Cam Ranh was deployed on a permanent basis by the 169th Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment (former 169th Guards MRAP), in which, in addition to a squadron of Tu-142 and Tu-95rts aircraft, there was a squadron of Tu-16k-10 missile carriers and EW Tu aircraft -16sp. Since 1984, a squadron of MiG-23mld fighters, formed from the personnel and aviation equipment of the 1st Air Force Air Force, has been added to them. This was the only case in the history of the Navy Air Force, since the withdrawal of our troops from China in 1955, the deployment of an entire aviation regiment at a foreign airfield, along with support units. However, in 1993, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a foreign page was closed in the history of the Navy Aviation when the 362nd Guards was disbanded. OSAE (in 1989, the 169th Guards OSAP was reorganized into it), and in 2000, the 128th Aviation and Technical Commandant's Office for the air. Cam Ranh.

In 1974, the MPA entered service with the Tu-22m2 supersonic aircraft with variable wing geometry, capable of carrying three Kh-22m AKRs. The first regiments to retrain for a new type of aircraft were the 943rd MRAP of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force and the 240th Guards. MRAP Air Force BF. The Pacific received a new aircraft much later: in 1980. - 568th MRAP, in 1982 - 570th MRAP, and only in 1991 - 183rd MRAP.

In the mid 1970s. heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers (TAKR) pr. 1143 were introduced into the combat structure of the USSR Navy, capable, unlike the Moskva-type anti-ship missiles, of carrying not only helicopters, but also Yak-38 vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. At the same time, attack aviation was revived as part of the Naval Aviation. For the Northern Fleet, the Kyiv TAKR was built. The Pacific Fleet received two other ships: TAKR "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk". For basing on them, in addition to shipborne helicopter regiments, shipborne assault aviation regiments were formed as part of the Northern Fleet and Pacific Fleet Aviation. In December 1973, at the air. Saki, the formation of the 279th separate shipborne assault aviation regiment, armed with Yak-38 aircraft, began for the Northern Fleet Air Force. To train flight personnel for new aircraft, in September 1976 at the air. Saki, the 299th separate ship-based instructor-research assault aviation regiment is being formed. In October 1976, as part of the Pacific Fleet Air Force, at the air. The pier is formed by the 311th separate shipborne assault aviation regiment.

Since 1975, coastal-based assault units have appeared in Naval Aviation. Then the 846th Guards. The BF Air Force OPLAP was reorganized into the 846th Guards Separate Naval Assault Aviation Regiment. In December 1982, at the air. The pier was formed by another assault unit - the 173rd separate naval assault aviation regiment. Both regiments were armed with Su-17m aircraft.

In 1975, the next large-scale exercises of the USSR Navy "Ocean-75" were planned and carried out. For the first time, joint operations of reconnaissance and anti-submarine aviation from foreign airfields in Cuba, Africa and Asia were practiced on them. The missile-carrying aviation of the Baltic Fleet and the Black Sea Fleet performed inter-theater maneuvers during the exercises.

In March 1980, the Fleet Aviation was once again renamed to Air Force fleets. At that time, Naval Aviation was an impressive force and had five naval missile-carrying divisions (13 missile-carrying regiments on Tu-16 and Tu-22m aircraft). There were also two reconnaissance regiments on the Tu-95rts, two regiments on the Tu-22r, a regiment and two squadrons on the Tu-16r. In 1983, the first and only 35th anti-submarine aviation division of the Northern Fleet Air Force was formed (two regiments on Tu-142 aircraft). Two regiments and one squadron flew on Il-38 aircraft, and three more regiments and two squadrons were armed with Be-12 amphibians. Helicopters were armed with six regiments and three squadrons. As part of special aviation, there was a separate electronic warfare regiment and four transport regiments. Ground attack aviation was represented by two naval assault and two naval assault regiments. In addition, a separate transport regiment was directly subordinate to the commander of the Navy Air Force, and the 33rd PPI and PLS included instructor and research units: a missile-carrying regiment, a naval assault regiment, a helicopter regiment and an anti-submarine squadron.

In 1989, under the Treaty on the Reduction of Conventional Arms in Europe, a number of units and formations of bomber, attack and fighter aircraft were transferred from the country's Air Force to Naval Aviation. So, the Black Sea Fleet Air Force was transferred to the 119th IAD (86th Guards IAP, 161st IAP, 841st Guards MAPIB) and the 43rd OMSHAP, Air Force BF - 132nd BAD (4th Guards BAP , 321st BAP, 668th BAP) and 66th APIB, Air Force of the Northern Fleet -88thAPIB.

The experience of operating the Yak-38 attack aircraft from the deck of the Kyiv, Minsk and Novorossiysk aircraft carriers helped to find a fundamentally new way to use conventional aircraft. We are talking about a springboard takeoff of an aircraft with an arresting landing. A ship capable of carrying such aircraft was the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser pr. 1143.5, which at the end of 1991 became part of the Northern Fleet under the name "Admiral Kuznetsov". As aviation complexes of this ship, domestic front-line aircraft MiG-29 and Su-27 were chosen in a marine version. The basis of his carrier-based aviation was the 279th OMSHAP. In March 1993, the first 4 Su-27k aircraft were transferred from the aircraft factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur to the air. Severomorsk-3. By the end of the tests, the regiment already had 24 aircraft of this type. At the same time, the regiment was reorganized into the 279th separate naval fighter aviation regiment, which was supposed to be armed with Su-27k, MiG-29k, Su-25utg aircraft. Together with the 830th OKPLVP, he made up the 57th mixed ship aviation division Air Force SF. The new division adopted the number and honorary names from the 57th MRAD of the BF Air Force, disbanded in December 1991.

By the beginning of the 1990s. decisive changes in the socio-political and economic spheres are ripe for the country. But they have so far little affected Naval Aviation. Moreover, by January 1, 1991, the Naval Aviation Headquarters planned to have 45 air regiments and several separate squadrons in the Naval Aviation, which were supposed to contain 1388 aircraft and 542 helicopters. In reality, by this time, Naval Aviation had 52 regiments, 10 separate squadrons and air groups with 1,701 aircraft and 363 helicopters, including 372 missile carriers, 966 fighters, attack aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft.

But then came December 1991, and the Soviet Union collapsed. For almost a year, the destructive whirlwinds of collapse almost did not touch the Naval Aviation, but, in the end, they got to it. The basing system began to collapse first. The aviators had to leave long-established airfields in Belarus (together with the 57th MRAD), Georgia (841st OPLVVE) and the Baltic states (132nd MSHAD). The airfields of the MA Navy in Ukraine also became a stumbling block. In addition to them, two training centers- in Nikolaev and Saki.

In September 1992, the Air Force Directorate of the Navy was renamed into Naval Aviation Commander.

In 1993, another landslide reduction in Naval Aviation began. Under a far-fetched pretext - due to "low reliability" - aircraft with one engine were decommissioned: Su-17, MiG-27, MiG-23, and, accordingly, the flight units armed with them were disbanded. (It should be noted that these and similar aircraft continue to fly successfully abroad to this day). Then came the turn of the Tu-16 and Tu-95rts aircraft, which formed the basis of naval missile-carrying and reconnaissance aviation. At the same time, due to the high accident rate, a ban was given on the flights of Tu-22m2 aircraft. They were placed in storage with subsequent disposal. Thus, the following types of aircraft remained in service with the Naval Aviation:

• MRA -Tu-22mZ;
• RzA - Su-24m, Su-24mr, An-12rr;
• PLA - Be-12pl, Il-38, Tu-142mz, Tu-142k, Ka-27pl, Mi-14pl;
• SHA - Su-24m;
• TRA - Tu-134, Tu-154, Il-18, An-12, An-26, An-72, Mi-8;
• SpA - Il-20rt, Il-22, Tu-142mr, Be-12ps, Mi-14ps, Mi-14bshz, Ka-27ps, Ka-27tl, Ka-27e.

In 1994, all military formations of the Navy, Air Force, Air Defense and Ground Forces stationed in the Kaliningrad region were united into the Joint Group of Troops and Forces of the Baltic Fleet. The aviation component of this grouping became known as the BF Air Force and Air Defense.

By the beginning of 1995, Naval Aviation had 2 two-regiment air divisions, 23 separate regiments, 8 separate squadrons, a group of ekranoplanes and 2 training centers. This year she lost reconnaissance aviation. Separate reconnaissance squadrons were disbanded, and the entire fleet of reconnaissance aircraft over the next two years consisted of several An-12rr aircraft that were part of the transport regiments, and even then they were used mainly for transport and "commercial" transportation.

By mid-1996, the strength of the Navy Aviation was 695 aircraft, including 66 missile carriers, 116 anti-submarine aircraft, 118 fighters and attack aircraft, and 365 helicopters and special aviation aircraft.

At the beginning of 1997, the regular strength of Naval Aviation was 619 aircraft and 716 crews. In February, 13 Ka-29tb helicopters were transferred to the Aviation of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which became unnecessary for the Navy Air Force. The remaining helicopters of this type quietly lived out their lives in a semi-disassembled state in the so-called "storage groups", in the backyards of airfields (although in the states of the 289th OPLAP and the 317th SAP until 2007 they were still listed - respectively, 2 and 1 units ). Sailors recalled these specialized helicopters with “quiet sadness” at the end of 2008, when they had to use Ka-27ps helicopters with an impromptu installation of a machine gun on board to fight pirates in the Gulf of Aden ...

On November 1, 1997, the Directorate of the Navy Aviation Commander was once again renamed to management of the Commander of Naval Aviation.

In 1998, Naval Aviation in the Far East was reorganized. In Kamchatka, the 6th Air Defense Division and the 317th OSAP of the Pacific Fleet Air Force were transformed into the Aviation and Air Defense Group of the Joint Command of Troops and Forces in the North-East of the Russian Federation (Aviation and air defense OKVS). The MA Navy included one missile-carrying division of two regiments, 12 separate regiments and 7 separate squadrons.

Further, the leapfrog of renaming continued. Since 2000, Naval Aviation has become known as Naval Aviation of the Navy(at the same time, no one could intelligibly say what the essence of this renaming was), but already on September 1, 2002, the department of the commander of the Navy MA was renamed into Office of the Chief of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy(for the second time since the mid-1950s, having received such a name). Now in Naval Aviation again, instead of the position of commander, the position of chief was introduced. How sadly they joked in the troops: "So soon we will live to the head of aviation." It should be said that such a change in the name of the head of the Navy Aviation had another negative side. His status in the hierarchy of the leadership of the Navy and the job category went down. Now she was reduced from Colonel General to Lieutenant General. Corresponding changes have also taken place in the fleets. Since that time, there have been aviation associations with different names: in the Baltic - the Air Force and Air Defense of the Baltic Fleet, in the North and the Black Sea - the Air Force of the Northern Fleet and the Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, and in the Pacific Ocean - the Air Force and Air Defense of the Pacific Fleet, Air Force and Air Defense OKVS. All these groups were represented by separate regiments and squadrons, and, in addition, at the Baltic Fleet and Pacific Fleet, they also included anti-aircraft missile, radio engineering, and electronic warfare units.

Practically up to the present time, the process of reducing the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy has not stopped, although it is now hidden behind the fashionable word "optimization". This is due, first of all, to the lack of deliveries of new equipment to Naval Aviation, as well as to scarce funding for the maintenance of existing aircraft.

The next round of these "reforms" began in October 2008, when a program for the next significant reduction in the Russian army (approved by the president of the country) was adopted at the collegium of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, chaired by Minister A. Serdyukov. According to it, the total strength of the RF Armed Forces by 2012 should be reduced by 350 thousand people, of which at least 150 thousand people should be officers. The institute of ensigns and midshipmen was completely subject to liquidation (instead of them it is supposed to create an institute of "professional sergeants and foremen"). The transformations affected all army structures. In particular, its strike component was withdrawn from Naval Aviation - parts of the MRA, SHA and IA, which, together with anti-aircraft missile and radio engineering units, were to be transferred to the Air Force and Air Defense. In addition to them, by the middle of 2011, parts of transport aviation were also subject to withdrawal. The remaining aviation (PLA and KIA) and rear units by December 1, 2009 were reorganized into air bases, in the manner of the Air Force of Western states. The number of such air bases should be: from two (at the Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet) to four (at the Pacific Fleet), including:

• 7050th AVB MA SF at the air. Severomorsk-1,
• 7051st AVB MA SF on air. Kipelovo and Olenya,
• 7052nd AvB MA BF on air. Chernyakhovsk,
• 7053rd AvB MA BF on air. Chkalovsk,
• 7054th Guards. AVB MA BF on air. Khrabrovo,
• 7055th Guards. AvB ChTsP on aero. Ostafyevo,
• 7056th AvB ChTsP on air. Island,
• 7057th AvB MA Black Sea Fleet on air. Kacha,
• 7058th AvB MA Black Sea Fleet on air. Guards,
• 7059th AvB MA Pacific Fleet at the air. Knevichi,
• 7060th AvB MA Pacific Fleet at the air. Yelizovo,
• 7061st Guards. AVB MA Pacific Fleet on air. stone stream,
• 7062nd AvB MA Pacific Fleet on air. Nikolayevka.

The number of personnel of the flight units was supposed to be reduced by 35%, and headquarters and institutions - by 60%. A large number of officer posts were to be replaced by civilian ones. At the same time, the deadlines for carrying out these activities were set extremely strict - by December 1, 2009. From the beginning of 2009, the department of the head of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy was once again renamed into Directorate of the Chief of Naval Aviation of the Navy, with a simultaneous reduction of the apparatus by 60%.

Already in the course of these so-called "transformations", it was planned during 2011 to have only one air base on each fleet (which itself became part of the corresponding "newly formed" district). The Naval Aviation of Russia has not known such a defeat since 1960 ...

Naval aviation commanders

In 1916-1923. The Navy aviation was commanded by: A.A. Tuchkov (1914-1915), B.R. Miklashevsky (December 1915, VrID), I.N. Dmitriev (July 1916 - July 1917), A. A. Tuchkov (July 1917), BA. Shcherbachev (August-October 1917), A.P. .), S.A. Lishin (March-November 1919, repressed), I.N.Dmitriev (September 1918 - June 1920), S.E. Stolyarsky (June 1920 - May 1921, assistant to the head of the VF of the republic for hydroaviation), M.F. Pogodin (April - September 1920), A.P. Onufriev (September 1920 - 1922).

In the period 1923-1935. the post of head of the country's Naval Aviation was abolished.

From 1935 to the present, Naval Aviation was commanded by:

V.K. Bergstrem (July 1935 - November 1937, repressed), Romashin (February-October 1936, VrID), F.G. Korobkov (January 1938 - June 1939, VrID) F. Zhavoronkov (June 1939 - December 1946), P. N. Lemeshko (March 1947 - December 1949), A. M. Shu-ginin (December 1949 - February 1950) , VrID), GSS E.N. Preobrazhensky (February 1950 - May 1962), GSS I.I. Borzov (May 1962 - August 1974), GSS A. Mironenko (August 1974 - July 1982), GSS G.A. Kuznetsov (1982-1988), V.P. Potapov (1988-1994), V.G. Deineka (1994-2000), I.D. Fedin ( 2000-2003), Yu.D.Antipov (April 2003-2007), V.P.Uvarov (2008-2009), N.V.Kuklev (January-August 2010, withdrawn) , GRF I.V. Kozhin (since August 2010, VrID).

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1946

• VOK (four UAE), VMAU im. Stalin (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th UIAP, 6th UMAP), VMAU im. Levanevsky (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th UMTAP), 4th VMAU (1st, 2nd UMTAP), 19th MTAD (66th, 67th th, 68th MTAP), 65th OTAP (former 65th OAP Special Forces), 39th UAE NI;
• Air Force of the South Baltic Fleet;
• Air Force of the North Baltic Fleet;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet;
• Air Force STOF (3rd AC SakhVF);
• AMVF Aviation;
• Aviation DnVF;
• Aviation DunVF;
• Aviation KchVF;
• Aviation CaVF;
• 3rd AG (BelVF Air Force).

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1947-1948

Naval Aviation Controls - Moscow.

• Aviation Civil Code of the Navy;
• Air units of the Center and VMAUZ: Research Institute of AVMS (Riga), VOK (1st, 2nd UAP) - since 1948, VMAU im. Stalin (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th UIAP, 6th UMAP), VMAU im. Levanevsky (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th UMTAP), 4th VMAU (1st, 2nd UMTAP), 65th OTAP, 25th OIAE GCP;
• Air Force of the 4th Navy;
• Air Force of the 8th Navy;
• Air Force of the 5th Navy;
• Air Force of the 7th Navy;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• AMVF Aviation;
• Aviation DnVF;
• Aviation DunVF;
• Aviation KchVF;
• Aviation CaVF;
• Aviation SakhVF;
• Aviation of the Belomorsky MOR (3rd AG);
• Aviation of the Vladivostok MOR;
• Aviation of the Kola MOR;
• Aviation of the Southern MOR;
• Aviation of the Port Arthur naval base.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1949-1953

Naval Aviation Controls - Moscow.

• VOK (2280th UIAP, 2284th UMTAP) - since 1951, VMAU im. Stalin (1685th, 1686th, 1687th, 1688th, 1689th, 1690th UIAP), VMAU im. Levanevsky (1681st, 1682nd, 1683rd, 1684th, 1885th, 2006th, 2015th, 2032nd UMTAP), 93rd VMAU (1580th, 1581st UMTAP) , 65th (ETAP, 1890th OAP SpN, 1950th IAP, GTsP (301st OMTIAE, 341st OMTAE, 25th OIAE - reorganized into the 9th AP LI);
• Air Force of the 4th Navy;
• Air Force of the 8th Navy;
• Air Force of the 5th Navy;
• Air Force of the 7th Navy;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1954

Naval Aviation Controls - Moscow.

• TsLTKUOS (2280th UIAP, 2284th UMTAP), VMAU im. I.V. Stalin (1685th, 1686th, 1687th, 1688th, 1689th, 1690th UIAP), VMAU im. S.A. Levanevsky (1681st, 1682nd, 1683rd, 1684th, 1885th, 2006th, 2015th, 2032nd UMTAP), 93rd VMAU (1580th, 1581 -th UMTAP), 65th OTAP, GTsP: 1890th OAP SpN (former 9th AP LI);
• Air Force BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet;
• Air Force STOP.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1955 G.

Naval Aviation Control Bodies - Moscow.

• TsLTKUOS (997th UMTAP, 999th UIAP), VMAU im. I.V. Stalin (954th, 955th, 956th, 958th, 959th, 963rd UIAP), VMAU im. S.A. Levanevsky (950th, 951st, 983rd, 992nd, 994th, 995th UMTAP), 12th VMAU (114th UIAP), 16th VMAU (115th UAP ), 93rd VMAU (933rd, 934th UMTAP), 65th OTAP, 986th OIAP SpN (former 1890th OAP SpN), 991st IAP (former 1950th IAP), 703rd OTAE;
• Air Force BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet.

Composition of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy in 1956-1959

Naval Aviation Controls - Moscow.

• TsLTKUOS (997th UMTAP, 999th UIAP), VMAU im. I.V. Stalin (954th, 955th, 956th, 958th, 959th, 963rd UIAP) until August 1956, VMAU im. S.A. Levanevsky (950th, 951st, 983rd, 992nd, 994th, 995th UMTAP) until 1959, 33rd UTS (540th MTAP, 552nd MTAP, 555 -th PLSAP) since 1959, 12th VMAU (114th UIAP), 16th VMAU (115th UAP), 93rd VMAU (933rd, 934th UMTAP), 379th SAD (former 10th AG) (218th IAP SpN, 221st TAP), 918th OIAP SpN, 986th OIAP SpN, 111th OAEV GCP (since 1956), 277th OTAE ( ex. 65th OAP Special Forces);
• Air Force and Air Defense BF;
• Air Force and Air Defense of the Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force and Air Defense of the Northern Fleet;
• Air Force and Air Defense Pacific Fleet.

Composition of the Navy Aviation in 1960-1980

Naval Aviation Administration - Moscow.

• TsLTKUOS: (997th UMTAP, 999th UIAP; until 1961), 33rd PPI and PLS (former 33rd UTs): 540th MRAP (II), 552nd MTAP (until 1961) , 555th PLVP (II); 379th SAD (until 1961), 210th Guards. TBAP (in 1962), 299th KShAP (II), 327th OTAP, 400th OIAP SpN (formerly 365th OIAP SpN), 555th PLVP (II), 848th OSAP SpN, 986th OIAP SpN, 90th ODRAE OSN, 196th OSAE GTsP, 236th WIG division (since 1976);
• BF Aviation;
• Aviation of the Black Sea Fleet;
• Aviation SF;
• Aviation Pacific Fleet.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1980-1990

Naval Air Force Directorate - Moscow (until 1992).

• 859th UTs (Kacha); 33rd PPI and PLS (Nikolaev): 100th KIAP (II), 299th KShAP (II), 540th MRAP (II), 555th PLVP (II), 316th OPLAE, 327 -th OTAP, 11th OAG (former 236th ODN) ekranoplanes;
• Air Force BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1991

Naval Air Force Directorate - Moscow.

• 33rd PPI and PLS (Nikolaev): 540th MRAP (II) (air. Kulbakino), 555th PLVP (II) (air. Ochakov), 316th OPLAE (air. Kulbakino);
• 1063rd TsBPKA (air. Saki): 100th KIAP (II) (air. Saki), 299th OMSHAP (air. Saki);
• 859th training center (air. Kacha)
• 327th OTAP (aero. Ostafyevo), 11th OAG (former 236th ODN) ekranoplanes (Kaspiysk).
• Air Force BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet.

Composition of the Air Force of the Navy in 1994-1997

Naval Aviation Commander's Office - Moscow.

• 444th PPI and PLS (air. Ostrov), 240th Guards. OSAP (II), 859th UTs (air. Kacha), 327th OTAP, 400th OIAP Special Forces, 11th ekranoplane OAG;
• Air Force and Air Defense BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force Pacific Fleet.

Composition of Naval Aviation of the Navy in 1998-2002

Office of the Naval Aviation Commander - Moscow (since 1997).

• 444th PPI and PLS (air. Ostrov), 240th Guards. OSAP (II) (Air Ostrov), 399th OTAE (former 327th OTAP) (Air Ostafyevo), 859th Training Center (Air Kacha), 4595th WIG BHR (Air Kaspiysk);
• Air Force and Air Defense BF;
• Air Force (MA) Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force (MA) SF;
• Air Force (MA) Pacific Fleet;
• Aviation and air defense OKVS.

Composition of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy in 2002-2008

Office of the Chief of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Navy - Moscow.

• 444th PPI and PLS (air. Ostrov), 240th Guards. OSAP (II) (air. Island); 46th OTAP (former 399th OTAE) (air. Ostafyevo), 859th training center (air. Kacha);
• Air Force and Air Defense BF;
• Air Force Black Sea Fleet;
• Air Force SF;
• Air Force and Air Defense Pacific Fleet;
• Air Force and Air Defense OKVS.