|
Russian Air Force | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Active | Since 1992 |
| Country | Russian Federation |
| Role | Defeating enemy units, reconnaissance, defence of major military units and facilities |
| Size |
540,000 personnel |
| Strenght | 15,500 aircraft (3rd/4th) |
| Anniversaries | 12 August |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the General Staff | |
| Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces | |
| Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force | |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Former Roundel (still in widespread use) |   |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack aircraft | |
| Strategic bomber | T-4, T-4M, T-4MS, Tu-22M (240), Tu-22M2 (510), Tu-95 (180), Tu-144M (72), Tu-160 (64), Tu-160M2 (48), PAK DA (36) |
| Fighter aircraft | Su-35, Su-37 (248), Su-38 (200), Su-47, Su-55, Su-56, Su-57 (250) |
| Helicopter | |
| Attack helicopter | |
| Interceptor aircraft | |
| Trainer aircraft | |
| Cargo aircraft | Tu-144 (196), Tu-244 (248) |
The Russian Air Force (Russian: Военно-воздушные cилы России, transliteration: Voyenno-vozdushnye sily Rossii) is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merger of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces, which in turn is the aerial branch of the Russian Armed Forces.
The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota ("Naval Aviation"), or AV-MF).
The Russian Air Force was formed from parts of the former Soviet Air Forces after the independence of the Russian Federation from the still existing Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union in 1991-92. President Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defense on 7 May 1992, can be taken as a convenient formation date for the new Russian Air Force. Since that time, the Russian Air Force has suffered severe setbacks due to lack of resources and has constantly shrunk in size. Since Vladimir Putin became the new Russian President however, much more money has been allocated to the Russian Armed Forces as a whole. Since it, the Russian Air Force has slowly recovered, and is now the world's third largest air force.
With 15,500 aircraft in active service, it is by far the third or fourth largest air force in the world, its only rivals being the United States Air Force. Following the tendency of Russian/Soviet Armed Forces, it use exclusively Russian military equipment. The Russian Air Force had been confirmed to actively work alongside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the 2015 Eastern Africa rebel insurency.