Ostrov air base

Ostrov
Veretie
Veretye
Ostrov, Pskov Oblast
Satellite imagery of Ostrov air base
Ostrov is located in Pskov Oblast
Ostrov
Ostrov
Shown within Northwestern Federal District
Ostrov is located in Northwestern Federal District
Ostrov
Ostrov
Ostrov (Northwestern Federal District)
Coordinates57°18′0″N 28°26′0″E / 57.30000°N 28.43333°E / 57.30000; 28.43333
TypeArmy Aviation airfield
Site information
OwnerRussian Ministry of Defense
OperatorRussian Aerospace Forces
Controlled by6th Air and Air Defence Forces Army
Site history
Built1940 (1940)
In use1940-
Airfield information
Elevation67 metres (220 ft) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
01/19 3,480 metres (11,417 ft) Concrete
NASA FIRMS's measure tool shows the runway to be extended from an original of 2.50 km

Ostrov (Russian: Веретье ("Veret"); also Ostrov-5, Gorokhovka) is a Russian Aerospace Forces air base[1] in Pskov Oblast, Russia located 7 km southeast of Ostrov and 57 km south of Pskov. It was subordinate to the Baltic Fleet[1] and was a nuclear bomber facility with 15 very large revetments on the east side of the airfield and about 30 small revetments on the west side. As many as 63 Tupolev Tu-16s were based here. A US intelligence analysis in 1984 identified a normal complement of 52 Tu-16 aircraft at Ostrov.[2] The base hosted the Russian Navy's 444th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel Naval Aviation.[3]

The base is now home to the 15th Army Aviation Brigade which was formed during 2013. The brigade operates Ka-52, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Mi-26 and Mi-8 MTV-5.

NASA's FIRMS imagery indicates that the 3,480 metres long runway has been constructed by hardening the overrun of a pre-existing 2,500 metres long runway, similarly to the Shaykovka air base.

  1. ^ a b STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATIONS RELATED ACTIVITIES SUMMARY REPORT (SANITIZED), June 1, 1980, CREST: CIA-RDP80T01355A000100140001-2, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
  2. ^ ZAPAD-83 EXERCISE, USSR, CIA-RDP84T00491R000100520001-9, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, January 1, 1984.
  3. ^ Michael Holm, 444th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel, accessed December 2012.