Morozovsk is an air base of the Russian Aerospace Forces as part of the 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, Southern Military District.
Morozovsk | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morozovsk, Morozovsky District, Rostov Oblast in Russia | |||||||
 Sukhoi Su-34 at Morozovsk air base (2018) | |||||||
  Morozovsk Shown within Rostov Oblast, Russia  Morozovsk Morozovsk (Russia) | |||||||
| Coordinates | 48°18′52″N 041°47′10″E / 48.31444°N 41.78611°E | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator | Russian Aerospace Forces | ||||||
| Controlled by | 4th Air and Air Defence Forces Army | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| In use | Before 1940 - Present | ||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II Russian invasion of Ukraine | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Elevation | 116 metres (381 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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The base is home to the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment which had three squadrons of Sukhoi Su-34 (NATO: Fullback) as part of the 1st Guards Composite Aviation Division as of 2022[update].[1][2]
History
editThe regiment arrived from Finsterwalde in Germany in 1993, still as the 559th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment.[3]
The 559th was forward deployed during part of 2022 to Primorsko-Akhtarsk air base as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4]
On 5 April 2024 Ukraine launched 53 drones into western Russia. Ukrainian intelligence officials claimed that at least six aircraft were destroyed, eight "heavily damaged" and 20 personnel killed at the Morozovsk airbase. Open source intelligence showed 26 Su-34s and three Su-35s at the base prior to the attack. Russian sources claimed that all drones and attacks were thwarted.[5][6][7][8] ISW found no visual evidence of Russian aircraft being hit at the airbase.[9]
During the night of 13–14 June 2024, Ukrainian HUR officials claimed that two Su-34s were damaged during a Ukrainian drone strike on the air base. Reports of casualties were not officially confirmed. Satellite photos appeared to show fuel leakage.[10][11]
During the night of 2–3 August 2024, a major drone attack was made on the airbase with multiple large explosions reported by local Russian citizen journalists, including many secondary explosions of rocket and bomb material. Ukrainian military says the drones also hit an ammunition depot where a large number of glide bombs and rockets were stored.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Russian Air Force today - Russian Southern Military District". Eastern Order of Battle. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. March 2022. p. 42.
- ^ "559th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. December 2022. p. 30.
- ^ Abbey Fenbert (5 April 2024). "Russian officials report massive drone attack on military airfield in Rostov Oblast". The Kyiv Independent.
- ^ "Ukraine fires more than 50 drones against Russia in one of its biggest air attacks of the war". Associated Press. 5 April 2024.
- ^ Kateryna Zakharchenko; Alisa Orlova (5 April 2024). "Kyiv Confirms Ukrainian Drones Destroyed 6 Russian Planes at Air Base, as Many as 3 Sites Blasted". The Kyiv Post.
- ^ Robert Greenall (5 April 2024). "Ukraine war: Six Russian planes destroyed by drones, says Kyiv". BBC.
- ^ "ISW finds no visual evidence of Russian aircraft being hit at airbases". Pravda. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ YURI ZORIA (15 June 2024). "At least two Russian Su-34 bombers damaged in Ukrainian drone attack at Morozovsk airfield'". Euromaidan Press. Euromaidanpress. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ YURI ZORIA (14 June 2024). "Satellite Images Show Damage at Russian Air Base in Morozovsk After Drone Attack". mil.in.ua. mil.in.ua. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Drones hit warehouses, fuel tanks in Rostov Oblast, official says". The Kyiv Independent. 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Ukrainian Drones Hit Russian Base Thought to Store Glide Bombs". Bloomberg News. 3 August 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Morozovsk airbase at Wikimedia Commons