Special Purpose Aviation Division. Chkalovsk air base will become a special purpose aviation division

February 27, 2017 Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense Russian Federation, the air base of the Aerospace Forces (VKS) in the Moscow region has been reorganized into a special-purpose aviation division.

Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces at the Chkalovsky airfield (Moscow region), 01/26/2017. In the foreground, a Tu-154B-2 passenger aircraft (registration RA-85360, serial number 79A360), which was part of the 800th Special Purpose Aviation Base, was heading for repairs at Aviakor Aviation Plant OJSC in Samara (c) Oleg Gavryushenko / russianplanes.net (link)

The aviation fleet of the VKS formation includes transport and passenger aircraft and helicopters Tu-154, Tu-134, Il-62, Il-76, Il-18, An-148, An-12, An-26, Mi-8 and other aircraft.

The Special Purpose Aviation Division of the Aerospace Forces is designed to transport personnel, equipment and cargo in the interests of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, perform search and rescue missions, rescue and evacuation operations, etc.

From the bmpd side, let's add: that earlier, February 23, 2017, newspaper of the Shchelkovsky district of the Moscow region "Time" reported that “The Eighth Division was created from the 800th aviation base at the Chkalov airfield,” as announced on February 23 at a rally dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day by the commander of the 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division, Sergei Movchan. The pilots, as before, will be based at the Chkalov airfield.

“I congratulate all military personnel on February 23. This is a significant date for us, because today the 8th Aviation Division was formed. The tradition has been restored. This is a great holiday for our pilots. I wish the younger generation of defenders that they spend less time on their phones and read more books,” - said Sergey Movchan.

Seven pilots were solemnly awarded state awards. More than one hundred servicemen of the division were awarded various rewards for their service.

Comment bmpd. Thus, the 800th Special Purpose Aviation Base at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow was again transformed into the 8th Special Purpose Aviation Division.

Let us recall that this unit, traditionally responsible for transporting the leadership and personnel of the Armed Forces, as well as solving a number of other tasks, was formed in October 1942 at the Central Airfield named after M.V. Frunze in Moscow as the 2nd Special Purpose Aviation Division (in fact, most of the division's forces were based at the Monino airfield). In 1950, it was renamed the 2nd Red Banner Special Purpose Aviation Division. Since the end of 1957, the division's control was stationed at Sheremetyevo airport, but in 1960 the division was folded into the 10th separate Red Banner Special Purpose Aviation Brigade and relocated to the Chkalovsky airfield, which is the base of the formation to this day (the helicopter part of the formation was stationed in Malino). On December 31, 1981, the brigade was reorganized into the 8th Special Purpose Red Banner Aviation Division.

The 800th Air Base (AVB) of the 2nd category, whose fleet included the Tu-154B-2 that crashed in Sochi, will be reorganized next year. On its basis the legendary Special Purpose Aviation Division (ADON) will be re-created.

The formation of ADON on the basis of the 800th aviation base of the 2nd category will begin at the beginning next year. The division will be based at the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow. This information was officially confirmed to Izvestia by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Before its disbandment in 2010, planes and helicopters of the special purpose division transported and, if necessary, evacuated Soviet and Russian military personnel and civilian specialists from hot spots around the planet.

According to experts, the new aviation unit will become the most important logistical element for supporting the military operation in Syria, as well as expanding Russian international military cooperation. ADON's aviation fleet will include turbojet Tu-134 and Tu-154, transcontinental Il-62 and even rare turboprop Il-18. All aircrafts divisions underwent special modifications. In particular, they were equipped with classified communication systems and modern radio navigation equipment, allowing them to fly on international passenger air routes.

ADON traces its history back to the special purpose aviation unit formed in 1927. Later, this military unit was reorganized into an aviation detachment, a squadron, and then a special-purpose regiment. In 1942, the air regiment became a brigade and then a special purpose division. In addition to transporting people and cargo, pilots and navigators of the aviation unit tested the latest types of aircraft and also carried out unique ultra-long-distance flights. Joseph Stalin made his only air flight on her plane (to a conference in Tehran).

After the war, the division's flight personnel transported personnel and cargo around the globe, including Afghanistan, Angola and Vietnam. The division's planes and helicopters were constantly used to transport the military-political leadership of the USSR and Russia, as well as support their visits to foreign countries.

In 2010, ADON was disbanded, and on its basis the 800th Aviation Base (AvB) of the 2nd category was formed, where all special-purpose aircraft and helicopters were transferred.

The division was demoted to a regular aviation regiment,” said military historian Dmitry Boltenkov. - Personnel were reduced, and many aircraft were taken out of service and were mothballed in Chkalovsky. The remaining vehicles were primarily used to transport passengers and cargo across Russia. Only airliners specially equipped to transport the Minister of Defense were actively flying abroad.

But with the start of the operation in Syria, Tu-154, Il-18 and Il-62 from the 800th air base became permanent guests in the skies of this country. The planes not only transport soldiers and officers, but also act as leaders for Su-24 and Su-34 front-line bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighters flying to the Khmeimim air base. According to the FlightRadar24 resource, special purpose aircraft operate several dozen “Syrian” flights every month.

For transporting ordinary military personnel with personal belongings and weapons, ordinary civilian airliners are best suited, independent military expert Anton Lavrov told Izvestia. - Unlike military transport aircraft, such aircraft have more space for ordinary passengers and are more convenient to fly long distances. Airliners are also faster and require fewer resources to maintain and operate. Therefore, NATO countries and the United States have long been actively using civilian airliners to transport personnel to Afghanistan, Iraq and other remote areas of the globe.

According to the expert, the aircraft of the 800th air base have become the most important logistical element of the Russian operation in Syria.

Russia is expanding military cooperation with other countries of the world. There is an exchange of specialists and joint military exercises,” Anton Lavrov explained. - Taking into account the need to support the Syrian operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, it is necessary to expand its air transportation capabilities. Therefore, the Russian Ministry of Defense requires more passenger aircraft and their crews, which the newly formed ADON must provide.

As Izvestia reports, a newly formed Special Purpose Aviation Division (ADON) will appear on the site of the 800th air base of the Russian Ministry of Defense. TU-154, which crashed near Sochi, was part of the park of this base. The reorganization will take place in 2017. ADON will be located on the territory of the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow.

The division, disbanded in 2010, was responsible for transporting and sometimes evacuating military and civilian personnel from combat zones.

According to experts, the updated aviation unit will help provide logistics in various military operations, for example, in Syria. ADON's fleet will include Tu-134 and Tu-154, Il-62 intercontinental jets and one of the first Soviet turboprop airliners, Il-18. For service in the division, the aircraft were modified. They were equipped with classified communication systems and updated radio navigation equipment, allowing them to fly on international passenger air routes.

ADON was formed from a special purpose aviation unit created in 1927. Over time, this military unit was reorganized into an air squadron, a squadron, and later into a special-purpose regiment. In 1942, the aviation regiment transferred to a special purpose division. During the war, air unit workers transported people and cargo, and also tested the latest designs aircraft equipment and conducted ultra-long-distance flights. Joseph Stalin was taken to the conference in Tehran by a division plane. This was his first and only flight.

At the end of the war, the division's pilots transported personnel and cargo all over the planet, including Afghanistan, Angola and Vietnam. The division's planes and helicopters were involved in transporting the military-political leadership of the USSR and Russia, and also supported their visits abroad.

In 2010, ADON was disbanded and in its place an 800-strong 2nd category air base was created. All special purpose aircraft and helicopters were transferred to its composition.

“The division was demoted to a regular aviation regiment,” said military historian Dmitry Boltenkov. — Personnel were reduced, and many aircraft were taken out of service and were mothballed in Chkalovsky. The remaining vehicles were primarily used to transport passengers and cargo across Russia. Only airliners specially equipped to transport the Minister of Defense were actively flying abroad.

Independent military expert Anton Lavrov told Izvestia that civilian airliners are more suitable for delivering soldiers with personal belongings and weapons. They are distinguished from military transport aircraft by their large passenger capacity and convenience for long-distance flights. Such airliners have high speed and require little resources for maintenance.

Today, the Russian Federation is developing partnerships in the military sphere with other countries. There is an exchange of specialists and joint military exercises. In this regard, the Russian Ministry of Defense needs to increase the number of civilian aircraft, which should be ensured by the newly formed ADON.

Before the New Year, all information about the lost Tu-154 disappeared from the air, as if by order. It’s as if someone decided not to disturb public opinion, not to darken the holiday for the population. Of course - only with good intentions...

Let us remind you: the tragedy occurred at 5:40 Moscow time, 1.7 km from the coast. The Ministry of Defense airliner was flying to the Syrian Khmeimim with a noble mission: to congratulate the compatriots performing their military duty there on the holiday. Therefore, on board was the group of the world-famous Academic Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Army named after A. V. Alexandrov, as well as the founder of the Fair Aid Foundation, Elizaveta Glinka (Doctor Lisa), and journalists. There are 92 people in total, eight of them are crew.

Different versions of the disaster have been put forward. One of the latest was presented by LifeNews TV channel. Allegedly, the board was overloaded, and one of the pilots mixed up the toggle switches for retracting the landing gear and flaps. This version, in our opinion, is untenable. Let's explain why.

Indeed, these toggle switches are located nearby on the instrument panel, and the right pilot is responsible for them. But only a beginner can confuse them. All aircraft control skills are practiced from the cadet bench to automaticity, to muscle memory. The crew of RA-85572 has flown thousands of hours; experienced pilots do not make such mistakes even in a state of extreme fatigue.

The commander of the ship, after the report from the right pilot about abnormal operation of the flaps, immediately assessed the situation as critical and began to make a right turn towards the shore, apparently to try to land the board on the water. But he was unable to get the car out of the roll due to its low altitude and speed. The plane fell into an uncontrolled fall, hit the rear fuselage on the sea surface and collapsed. Apparently, it simply came off, after which the right wing of the multi-ton Tu-154 crashed into the water, and it split into several parts. This is precisely what explains the fact that no large fragments of the fuselage were preserved, and the passengers were torn from their seats and their bodies were carried away by the current. They still can't find everyone. According to the Military-Industrial Courier, at the time of posting this article, 80 bodies were raised, some of them were simply washed ashore by a wave.

Let us repeat: it is unlikely that the right pilot could have mixed up the toggle switches (gear and flap control levers) even in a state of extreme fatigue. Flying at night is certainly fraught with stress and risks. But two hours from Chkalovsky to Sochi is not the hardest work, so there is no need to talk about pilot fatigue. And even if one of them (let’s say) accidentally mixed up the toggle switches, he could immediately correct the mistake, realizing that an emergency situation had arisen. It developed for only 10 seconds and, as follows from the decrypted recording of the pilots’ conversations, it was the one on the right who shouted “Flaps, bitch, what the f*ck!” That is, he immediately assessed the situation, controlled it, but for some reason could not correct it.

The second reason for the crash is said to be overloading the plane. However, this, as they say, is over the counter. Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense is not a civilian aircraft from the outback. The crashed airliner was based at the Chkalovsky airfield near Moscow and was part of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “State Airline “223rd Flight Detachment” of the Russian Defense Ministry that transports military personnel. That is, he had a special status. At a military airfield, the access system and control over the preparation of equipment are stricter. And in the context of the confrontation with the IS banned in Russia, counterintelligence is actively working here - part of the FSB structure. Therefore, it is impossible to intentionally overload an aircraft for the purpose of sabotage. In addition, two planes flew to Khmeimim that day. One - with a load charitable assistance and gifts that Dr. Glinka was just supposed to distribute, the other with passengers.

The Tu-154B-2 modification is designed to carry 180 passengers. In fact, there were 84 of them on board. That is, it was possible to take almost 100 more passengers or equivalent cargo. But this was not necessary for the above reason. That is why no luggage could move to the rear of the plane and affect the alignment.

The bottom line is that the flight altitude is low: 250-270 meters, which the Tu-154 managed to reach in two minutes. But this is not fatal either. There are known cases of successful landing of such liners on the water. Suffice it to recall the emergency splashdown of a Boeing with failed engines on the Hudson in 2009.

So what then was the fatal circumstance?

“The investigation is still considering six versions of what happened,” the first deputy chief told Military-Industrial Courier operational management Air Force Main Staff (1997–2003), leading adviser to the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security (2003–2013), Major General Igor Semenchenko. “But personally, I think it could still have been a terrorist attack.”

Semenchenko knows what he is saying, since for a long time he was responsible for the investigation of aviation accidents in the Air Force. Whether it will be possible to find the cause of the terrorist attack is another matter, since it is not necessary to plant an IED in luggage to carry it out. It is enough, figuratively speaking, to insert a screwdriver into one of the flap release mechanisms. However, a foreign object could remain there, of course, by accident, after Maintenance. But this is a matter for investigation.

Indirect confirmation that it was precisely such a circumstance (a foreign object in the flap release mechanisms) that caused the emergency is the decision of the leadership of the RF Ministry of Defense to transform the Federal State Budgetary Institution “State Airline “223rd Flight Detachment” into a special aviation division that existed before. In 2017, the Special Purpose Aviation Division (ADON), disbanded in 2010, will be recreated at the air base in Chkalovsky. And although, as stated by the RF Ministry of Defense, this is not related to the plane crash, the reincarnation of ADON will certainly not only revive the best traditions of the famous aviation unit, but will also create conditions for the functioning of a real military unit with high executive discipline, clear organization of life and everyday life of the pilot composition.

The aircraft fleet of the recreated division will include turbojet Tu-134 and Tu-154, transcontinental Il-62 and Il-18, which have been modified and modernized, equipped with the latest electronic equipment. Of course, more modern cars will appear. By the way, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu himself flies a Tu-154. Thus, ADON will become the most important logistical element in support of the military operation in Syria. Before its disbandment in 2010, ADON planes and helicopters transported and evacuated Soviet and Russian military personnel and civilian specialists from hot spots throughout

The division carried out tasks from the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command and the Air Force Command to transport the leaders of the party, government and the Red Army, to relocate air force units and formations, to drop paratroopers and paratroopers deep behind enemy lines, to deliver ammunition to partisans, and to transport cargo for various purposes.

During the war, the division carried out 111,048 sorties, including 3,408 of particularly important ones. Members of the Government, marshals, generals, officers and other passengers, 404,362 people and 34,019 tons of cargo were transported.

In December 1943, he flew with Stalin, Molotov, Voroshilov, and Beria to the Tehran Conference.

Among the passengers of the division were also such prominent figures of the Party, Government and Army as Malenkov, Bulganin, Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Shaposhnikov, Budyonny, Timoshenko, Novikov, Voronov and others.

On July 28, 1944, a flight was made with the Polish Committee of National Liberation.

In January-February 1945, a group of division crews carried out a task from the Government in connection with the ongoing Crimean Conference.

In April-May 1945, a group of division aircraft flew from Moscow to San Francisco with delegates to the United Nations conference.

Division composition

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