Russian Aerospace Forces

Short description: Air and space service of the Russian Armed Forces

Russian Aerospace Forces

Воздушно-космические силы
Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily

Emblem of the Russian Aerospace Forces

Founded| 1 August 2015; 11 years ago (2015-08-01)
Country|  Russia
Type| Air force and space force
Role| Aerial warfare
Space warfare
Missile defense
Size| 165,000 personnel (2020)[1]
Part of|  Russian Armed Forces
Headquarters| Arbat District, Moscow
Patron| Saint Elijah the Prophet[2]
Colors|  Light Blue, Dark Blue, gold, silver
March| "Air March" (Russian: "Авиамарш") (official march-past of the Air Force)
"14 Minutes Until Launch" (Russian: "14 минут до старта") (official march of the Space Forces)
Anniversaries| Air Force Day
(12 August)
Engagements|

* Intervention in the Syrian Civil War
* 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Website| Official website
Commanders
Commander-in-Chief|  Army General Sergei Surovikin
First Deputy Commander-in-Chief| Lieutenant General Viktor Afzalov
Deputy Commander-in-Chief|  Colonel General Sergey Dronov
Notable
commanders| Colonel General Viktor Bondarev
Insignia
Flag|
Roundel|
Patch|
Middle emblem|
Insignia|
President Putin presenting the banner of the Aerospace Forces to Viktor Bondarev

The Russian Aerospace Forces[3] or Russian Air and Space Forces[4] (Russian: Воздушно-космические силы (Russian: ВКС)) comprise the Air force and space branches of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Russia established the VKS as a new branch of its military on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force (VVS) and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO), as recommended by the Ministry of Defence. The VKS has its headquarters in Moscow.[5] Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained the merger as improving efficiency and logistical support.[6]

## Contents

* 1 Organisation
* 1.1 Sub-branches
* 1.2 Leadership
* 1.3 Order of Battle
* 2 Ranks and rank insignia
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Organisation

### Sub-branches

According to Jane's Information Group, with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, the new Russian Aerospace Forces consist of three sub-branches:[7]

* Russian Air Force
* Air Defense and Anti-missile Defense Forces (ru)[8]
* Space Forces

Main Command of the Aerospace Forces (Главное командование Воздушно-космическими силами) Command Staff

Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces
(Главнокомандующий Воздушно-космическими силами)  | Army general / Colonel general
Chief of the Main Staff - First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces
(Начальник Главного штаба — первый заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами)  | Colonel general / Lieutenant general
Deputy Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces
(Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами)  | Colonel general / Lieutenant general
Chiefs of branches, deputy commanders:
Commander of the Air Force, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces

(Командующий Военно-воздушными силами — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами)

Colonel general / Lieutenant general

| Commander of the Aerospace and Missile Defense Forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces

(Командующий Войсками противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами)

Colonel general / Lieutenant general

| Commander of the Space Forces, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Aerospace Forces

(Командующий Космическими войсками — заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами)

Colonel general / Lieutenant general

Functional deputy commanders:
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Military-Political Work (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по военно-политической работе)

Major general

| Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Logistics (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по материально-техническому обеспечению)

Major general

| Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces for Armaments (Заместитель Главнокомандующего Воздушно-космическими силами по вооружению)

Major general

### Leadership

As of October 2022:  Position  | Name  | Start date  | End date

|
|
|

Commander of the Aerospace Forces | Colonel General Viktor Bondarev  | 1 August 2015  | 26 September 2017
Lieutenant General Pavel Kurachenko (acting)  | 26 September 2017  | 22 November 2017
Army General Sergei Surovikin | 22 November 2017  |
First Deputy Commander of the Aerospace Forces
(Chief of the General Staff)  | Lieutenant General Pavel Kurachenko  | 1 September 2015  | unknown[7]
Lieutenant General Viktor Afzalov | unknown
Deputy Commander of the Aerospace Forces
| Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov  | 1 August 2015  | 2019
Lieutenant General Andrei Yudin | 2019  |
Deputy Commanders of the Aerospace Forces
Commander of the Air Force | Colonel General Andrei Yudin  | 1 September 2015  | c. July 2019
Lieutenant General Sergei Dronov | c. July 2019  |
Commander of the Aerospace and Missile Defense Forces | Lieutenant General Viktor Gumyonny  | 1 September 2015  | 2018
Lieutenant General Yury Grekhov  | 2018  | 2021
Lieutenant General Andrei Dyomin | 2021  |
Commander of the Space Forces | Colonel General Aleksandr Golovko | 1 September 2015[7] |
Deputy Commander for Work with Personnel | Major General Andrei Kazakevich  | unknown  | unknown
Lieutenant General Aleksandr Maksimtsev | 2019  |
Deputy Commander for Logistics | Lieutenant General Vladimir Trishunkin  | unknown  | unknown
Lieutenant General Zabit Kheirbekov | unknown  |
Deputy Commander for Armaments | Colonel Andrei Medvedkov  | unknown  | unknown
Major General Sergei Meshcheryakov  | unknown  | 2021
Colonel General Yury Grekhov | 2021  |

### Order of Battle

The Aerospace Forces are organised in air armies.

Air Forces High Command (Главное командование ВВС) (Moscow)

* Units directly subordinated to the High Command (Части центрального подчинения ВВС)
* operationally subordinated to the High Command:
* Military Transport Aviation Command (Командование военно-транспортной авиации) (Moscow)
* Long-Range Aviation Command (Командование дальней авиации) (Moscow)
* operationally subordinated to the Western Military District:
* 6th Leningrad Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (6-я Ленинградская Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Saint Petersburg)
* operationally subordinated to the Southern Military District:
* 4th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (4-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Rostov-on-Don)
* operationally subordinated to the Central Military District:
* 14th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (14-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Yekaterinburg)
* operationally subordinated to the Eastern Military District:
* 11th Red Banner Army of Air Forces and Air Defence (11-я Краснознамённая армия ВВС и ПВО) (Khabarovsk)
* operationally subordinated to the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command:
* 45th Air and Air Defenсe Forces Army (45-я Армия ВВС и ПВО) (Severomorsk-2) - uniquely the aviation units of the 45th Army belong administratively to the Naval Aviation and the ground-based missile air defence units belong to the Air Forces air defence branch.

Air Defence and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Forces Command (Командование войск ПВО-ПРО) (Moscow)

* 1st Order of Lenin Air Defence and Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Army (Special Purpose) (1-я ордена Ленина армия противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны (особого назначения)) (Balashikha, Moscow Oblast) - air cover of the Moscow area. (:ru:1-я армия противовоздушной и противоракетной обороны особого назначения)
* 4th Air Defence Division "Hero of the Soviet Union Lt.-Gen. B. P. Kirpikov" (4-я дивизия ПВО имени Героя Советского Союза генерал-лейтенанта Б.П. Кирпикова) (Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the S-300PM/PS and the S-400 missile systems)
* 5th Air Defence Division (5-я дивизия ПВО) (Petrovskoe, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the S-300PM and the S-400 missile systems)
* 9th Anti-Ballistic Missile Defence Division (9-я дивизия ПРО) (Sofrino, Moscow Oblast) (armed with the A-135 anti-ballistic missile system)

Space Forces Command (Командование космических войск) (Krasnoznamensk, Moscow Oblast)

* 15th Aerospace Forces Army (Special Purpose) (15-я армия Воздушно-космических сил (особого назначения)) (Krasnoznamensk)
* 1st State Test Cosmodrome of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence "Plesetsk" (1-й Государственный испытательный космодром Министерства обороны Российской Федерации «Плесецк»)
* Space Forces Arsenal (Арсенал космических войск) (Znamenka-1 village, Tambov Oblast)

## Ranks and rank insignia

Officer ranks
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/BlankTemplate:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OF/Russia

Other ranks
Template:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Armed Forces/OF/BlankTemplate:Ranks and Insignia of Non NATO Air Forces/OR/Russia

## See also

* Russian Naval Aviation
* Strategic Missile Forces
* United States Department of the Air Force
* United States Air Force
* United States Space Force

## References

1. ↑ "Russian Armed Forces: Military Modernization and Reforms". Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. 20 July 2020. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/IF11603.pdf.
2. ↑ Main Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
3. ↑ "Russia establishes Aerospace Forces as new armed service — Defense Minister". http://tass.com/russia/812184.
4. ↑ "6 Dead in Fire at Russian Aerospace Defense Research Institute – State Media". The Moscow Times. 21 April 2022. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/21/6-dead-in-fire-at-russian-aerospace-defense-research-institute-state-media-a77446.
5. ↑ Шойгу объявил о создании нового вида ВС - Воздушно-космических сил , ria.ru/defense, 3 August 2015
6. ↑ Compare: Russia establishes Aerospace Forces as new armed service — Defense Minister , tass.ru, 3 August 2015. - "'The formation of the Aerospace Forces by combining the Air Force and the Aerospace Defense Force is the optimal option for improving the system of the country's aerospace defense,' Shoigu said. [...] 'Now the single command unites aviation, air defense and anti-missile defense troops, space forces and means of the armed forces' [...]."
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Russia creates new Aerospace Force service branch , janes.com, 4 August 2015
8. ↑ "Air and Missile Defence Forces". Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. https://structure.mil.ru/structure/forces/vks/pvo-pro/structure.htm.

## External links

* Russian Aerospace Forces official site (English)

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