Air Force of Ukraine: description. Air Force of Ukraine

Formation and history of the creation of the Air Force of Ukraineare 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 forthe formation 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

Newly-bred individual state inheritedfrom a powerful Union of Soviets sufficient basis. Thus, the basic air armies that 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;
• The Kiev headquarters of the army command of the 17th 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 was the 28th Corps of Air Defense.

Educational military aviation establishments

Independent Ukraine became the ownerPreparatory 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 APUfrom March 17, 1992 the beginning of the functioning of the apparatus of the Air Force of Ukraine. 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 other 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 the hereditaryaviation equipment for the period of geopolitical changes, represented impressive indicators. 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 annualThe state budget is not able to cover all the necessary waste of this industry. There is not enough money either for the purchase of aviation fuel, or for the modernization of equipment and technology, or for repairs. The Ukrainian Air Force, despite this, is gradually emerging from a crisis situation. The situation is significantly improving, and this fact can be seen more clearly by drawing a parallel with the situation prevailing in the military aviation industry in the 90s of the last century.

At that time, the pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force experienceda huge lack of flight time. Then, aviation industry experts could sit at the helm of their military aircraft for no more than 5 hours in a whole year. In the mid-2000s, the situation began to improve: the average annual raid 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 very minimum that is necessary for pilots of the Ukrainian Air Force.

All of the above problems of state aviation were reflected in the period of the 2004 reforms.

Air Defense and Air Force combined into a single sphere, sinceagainst the background of constant cuts, it has become unprofitable for Ukraine to keep them separate. In addition, combat aircraft MiG-23, Su-24 and Tu-22 were removed from the composition of the combat vehicles, and overhaul was intended for many vehicles. The Ukrainian Air Force has undergone significant changes, but in general, the optimization of the industry is proceeding with uncertain steps. Upgraded equipment differs significantly from its counterparts in the Russian Federation and NATO countries.

The purpose of the air forces in Ukraine

Command and Coordination of the Air ForceOf Ukraine is carried out by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Supreme Commander. Controlling bodies are located in Kiev, and from there they request the necessary data on combat readiness, require the urgent provision of intelligence records, which will be useful for armed ground forces. Military aviation units are divided geographically by the appropriate commands, and must fulfill all operational-tactical tasks.

Basically, the mission of the Air Force of Ukraineis the complete destruction of the enemy's infrastructure, command headquarters and points. Without proper funding, military aviation of the Ukrainian state turned out to be practically incapable of achieving the desired result. The low level of training of the pilots, outdated weapons and combat aircraft, the lack of modern operational programs affect the functioning of the air forces.

Organization, structure and weapons

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

- “South”, in its structure the Assault and Fighter air brigade (Su-25 and Su-27);

- “Center” to which the MiG-29 Fighter Aircraft Subordinate;

- “West” contains three air raids, including two Fighter (MiG-29) and one Bomber (Su-24M);

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

The authorities of the state have repeatedly statedthat in order to improve the material component of the development of the aviation industry, it is planned to reduce to the number of six ABs. The ideal number would be two fighter and transport aviation battles, and one each - assault and bomber. And the latter should combine intelligence activities. At constant maintenance, the leadership of the army plans to leave about 120 combat aircraft, 60 units of training aircraft. The number of personnel liable for military service is also significantly reduced to 20 thousand people.

Air Force Missile Groups

Speaking of features of the Air ForceUkrainian state, it is worth noting rocket troops. They are armed with anti-aircraft S-300 complexes and long-range installations S-200. We can not say about the radar groups that control the means of tracking and controlling the airspace over Ukraine. Thanks to them rocket men and fighters are provided with data on the designation of targets and objects. 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 combat operations of military aviation of modern Ukraine is built on the tactical developments of the USSR army.