Air Force of Ukraine: description. Air Force of Ukraine

The formation and history of the creation of the Ukrainian Air Force are inextricably linked with the events of twenty years ago. In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, hastening not to lose its independence, each of the Soviet republics announced the proclamation of their own independence. The exception was not the Ukrainian state.

The importance of the Air Force for Ukraine

The following year became extremely important for the emergence of a young sovereign state. The leadership of the country was given responsibility for the organization of government bodies and protective structures. In addition, the republic, which only gained independence, to confirm its status it was necessary to establish its own defensive capability. The main step in this development process was the creation of the army. At the same time, the Air Force of Ukraine is one of the defining elements of the armed forces to this day.

Management of military aviation in Ukraine

The newly-bred individual state inherited from the powerful Union of Soviets a sufficient base base. Thus, the basic air armies, which are part of the Air Force of Ukraine, are the backbone of the whole military-aviation complex of the modern country. These include:

• Vinnitsa headquarters of the army of the 24th Strategic Command;
• Kiev headquarters of the army 17 th IA;
• Lviv headquarters of the army of the 14th IA;
• Odessa military headquarters of the 5th Army.

In addition, during the Soviet era, Ukraine was the territory of deployment of some basing, among which in Kiev there was the 8th separate air defense army, and in Lviv there was the 28th air defense corps.

Educational Military Aviation Institutions

Independent Ukraine became the owner of preparatory institutions specializing in the training and production of aviation specialists. To date, several aviation schools operate on the territory of the country, among them navigation navigators and two flying VVAUL.

By order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of March 17, 1992, the functioning of the apparatus of the Air Force of Ukraine was laid. The main headquarters is based on the site of the former disposition of the Vinnitsa administration of the 24th IA. On the basis of the remaining headquarters in Kiev, Lviv and Odessa, centralized administrations, reserves and personnel training institutions were formed.

The transition of aviation from the USSR to an independent state

The amount of aircraft equipment that the Air Force of Ukraine received during the period of geopolitical changes was impressive. At that time, there were about 3000 flying machines, half of which were combat aircraft, more than 650 military units and dozens of air divisions. The number of the Ukrainian Air Force can be compared with the number of inhabitants of a small town: 184 thousand military personnel and 22 thousand civilian subordinates.

Problems in this area

Unfortunately, at the moment the combat readiness of the Ukrainian Air Force is not at the proper level. There are several reasons for this. First, the funds pledged in the state's annual budget are not able to cover all the necessary waste of this sector. Money is not enough neither for the purchase of aviation fuel, nor for the modernization of equipment and equipment, nor for repairs. The Ukrainian Air Force, despite this, is gradually emerging from the crisis situation. The situation is improving significantly, and this fact can be more clearly seen, drawing a parallel with the situation in the military aviation industry in the 1990s.

At that time, the pilots of the Air Force of Ukraine experienced a huge shortage of flying time. Then experts of the aviation industry could sit at the helm of their military aircraft for no more than 5 hours for the whole year. In the mid-2000s the situation began to improve: the average annual plague increased to 30 hours. Although to maintain a high practical level of pilots, this is far from the number that is required. 200 hours of annual flights - this is the minimum that is necessary for the pilots of the Air Force of Ukraine.

All of the above problems of state aviation were reflected during the 2004 reforms. Air Defense and Air Force united in a single sphere, as against the background of constant reductions, it became unprofitable for Ukraine to keep them separately. In addition, MiG-23, Su-24 and Tu-22 combat aircraft were withdrawn from the combat equipment, and a large number of vehicles are to be overhauled. The Air Force of Ukraine has undergone significant changes, but in general, the industry's optimization is progressing with uncertain steps. Modernized equipment differs significantly from analogues in the Russian Federation and NATO countries.

Destination of air forces in Ukraine

The management and coordination of the Ukrainian Air Force is carried out by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Supervisory authorities are in Kiev, and from there they request the necessary data on combat readiness, require urgent provision of reconnaissance lists that will be useful for armed land forces. The military units of aviation are divided geographically by the appropriate commands, and they must fulfill all the operational and tactical tasks assigned. Basically, the mission of the Air Force of Ukraine is the complete destruction of the enemy's infrastructure, command headquarters and points. Without proper financing, the military aviation of the Ukrainian state proved practically incapable of achieving the required result. The low level of pilot training, obsolete weapons and combat aircraft, the lack of modern operational programs affect the functioning of air forces.

Organization, structure and armament

The main unit of the Air Force is the AB - aviation brigade, which, in turn, is coordinated and subordinated to the air command or tactical group. The following air commands are allocated in Ukraine:

- "South", in its composition the Assault and Destruction Brigades (Su-25 and Su-27);

- "Center", which is subordinated to the Fighter Aviation Brigade MiG-29;

- "West" contains three brigades, among which two Fighter (MiG-29) and one Bomber (Su-24M);

- "Crimea" - a tactical group, which includes only one fighter brigade (MiG-29).

The state authorities repeatedly stated that to reduce the material component of the development of the aviation industry, it is planned to reduce to six AB. The ideal number will be two fighter and transport brigades, and one - assault and bomber. And the latter should combine intelligence activities. On a permanent basis, the army leadership plans to leave about 120 combat aircraft, 60 units of training aircraft. The number of military personnel also significantly reduced to 20 thousand people.

Missile groups of the Air Force

Speaking about the features of the Air Force of the Ukrainian state, it is worth noting the missile forces. They are armed with anti-aircraft complexes S-300 and installations of long-range S-200. It is impossible not to mention the radar groups that control the means of tracking and controlling airspace over Ukraine. Thanks to them, missile fighters and fighters are provided with data on the designation of targets and targets. As a rule, most of the country's air defense radars use the method of analog processing of the incoming signal. Meanwhile, the tactics of conducting combat operations of the military aviation of modern Ukraine are based on tactical developments of the army of the USSR.