Frontal Aviation Forces

Frontal Aviation: VVS (Voenno-Vozdushmiy Sily)

VVS literally means Military Air Force, but in the west the VVS is commonly referred to a s Frontal Aviation because its primary purpose is to provide air support to the Soviet Army and the various air forces are subordinated to Soviet Army Fronts in wartime. Comprising more than 11,500 aircraft, not including Long Range Aviation which is accounted separately, the VVS is organized into 14 Air Armies in addition to major components in three Military Districts (MD) which are largely training and demonstration forces. Amongst this force are more than 2,250 front line combat fighters, 3,200 fighter-bombers, over 1,000 second line and aging fighters/fighter-bombers, 500 support and reconnaissance airframes, 800 transports and over 3,500 training aircraft. Each of the Air Armies reports to either a MD or the General Staff in peacetime and would be assigned to various pre-arranged Fronts in wartime.

1^st Red Banner Air Army: Reports directly to the High Command of the Far East HQ in Vladivostok, and is primarily responsible for supporting the Pacific Fleet and should there be difficulties with China or Korea, support the army forces involved. A squadron of MiG-29 is usually located at Cam Ranh Bay Naval Base in southern Viet Nam.

4^th Air Army: Displaced from Poland in 1989 and largely dispersed this force resides in the Ukraine and will reinforce westward.

5^th Air Army: Reporting to Odessa MD this Air Army will likely be committed to the Western Military Direction as a second echelon air force, or it could easily support the Southwestern Military Direction in either the Balkans or Turkey, it comprises a large number of independent regiments which could indicate that it will not be committed as a whole and could farm out its units individually and form a mobilization HQ for activating reserve elements.

14^th Air Army: The primary responsibility of this force is to reinforce the South Western Military Direction and very likely the 1^st Bulgarian Front attacking into Greece and Turkey. A secondary option would be to reinforce 36^th Air Army further west fighting NATO forces over the Balkans.

15^th Air Army: Based in the Baltics this army will work closely with Baltic Fleet and 26^th Air Army units along the Baltic coast. Not a large army and dependent on others to provide air superiority, although the newly added regiment of Su-30s should go a long way to fixing that issue.

16^th Air Army: Formerly based in East Germany, this Air Army re-deployed to Czechoslovakia with the exception of a few units which deployed back to the Soviet Union, mostly to Moscow Military District. Of all Soviet VVS forces this Army is held at the highest state of readiness and its presence has improved Czechoslovakian training as well.

17^th Air Army: Primarily focused on basic and advanced training for the entire VVS, this Army is under command of the Kiev Military District and produces thousands of trained pilots every year.

23^rd Air Army: A relatively small Air Army located in the Trans Baikal region. Primarily situated to support action in China, if there is no threat in this region this force of primarily Fighter-Bombers is ideally situated to reinforce the Far Eastern Military District and the Pacific Fleet.

24^rd Air Army (VKG ON): Located in western Ukraine and Belarus, this force has been tasked with nuclear strike in the past and therefore could be placed under the control of the VKG, however over 150 Su-24 with plenty of fighter and electronic support would make a welcome reinforcement to any Front.

26^th Air Army: Based in Belorussia, the primary task of this force is to back up any fight in Europe. Equipped with many of the latest aircraft, this Air Army would provide depth and challenge NATO’s latest fighter forces.

34^th Air Army: Located in the Transcaucian region and primarily responsible for eastern Turkey and Iran, in Northern Fury, a good portion of this Air Army is deployed or is ready to deploy southward into the Persian Gulf Area. The 283^rd Red Banner Fighter Division with two regiments plus an element of Su-24 bombers and support aircraft is deployed to Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden, while elements of the 36^th Bomber Division are in Yemen and Iran.

36^th Air Army: Reinforcing the Army units’ based in Hungary, this Air Army, although small has some of the most advanced aircraft. The primary role will be to defeat NATO air forces based in Italy.

49^th Air Army: Located in Turkestan the main role of this Air Army is to reinforce into the Persian Gulf or Turkey, whichever requires more effort.

73^rd Air Army: Equipped with second line aircraft this Air Army conducts some advanced training as well as reinforcing forces in either Central Asia, Turkey or the Persian Gulf.

76^th Air Army: Although headquartered in Leningrad, the primary focus of this Air Army is power projection in the north into Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. Equipped with about 120 each of Su-27 and Su-24, this force should easily overpower NATO defences in the north, especially when reinforced for the operation.

Moscow Military District: In addition to providing reinforcing forces forward, the air forces of the Moscow Military District are largely centered on training and demonstration elements. Although combat ready the demonstration teams represent a mixed bag of aircraft and are likely to be broken up as replacements rather than going to war with three or four different aircraft types in a regiment. Much of the training, particularly in 4^th Training Division is specific to aircraft type, these will also likely provide ready replacements into combat units.

North Caucasus Military District: Almost exclusively devoted to training of Fighter Bomber units, this Air Command also conducts a significant amount of basic flight training as well.

Siberian Military District: Focused entirely on basic flight and basic fighter/interceptor training.

Volga Military District: The Volga Military District conducts both transport and helicopter training in addition to basic flight training for its students.