Chernyakhovsk Air Base

Chernyakhovsk Air Base is an active military installation located four kilometers southwest of Chernyakhovsk in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. Established in 1945, the installation operates as a medium-sized interceptor airfield and was classified as a nuclear bomber base in a Natural Resources Defense Council study.

The base is operated by Russian Naval Aviation under the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet. It hosts the 4th Guards Naval Attack Aviation Regiment, subordinate to the 34th Composite Aviation Division. This unit is also designated in various sources as the 4th Independent Guards Naval Assault Aviation Regiment and the 4th Guards Composite Aviation Regiment. The regiment operates Sukhoi Su-30SM (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) and Sukhoi Su-24M (Fencer-D) aircraft. Additionally, Sukhoi Su-27 fighters were observed at the airfield in 2015.

The primary regiment at the base originated from the 31st Bomber Aviation Regiment, formed on December 6, 1941. The unit relocated to Chernyakhovsk from nearby Kaliningrad Chkalovsk on October 18, 1952. In August 1987, it absorbed the 63rd Bomber Aviation Regiment, and on December 10, 1989, it was renamed the 4th Guards Maritime Assault Aviation Regiment. Command assignments for the regiment included the 30th Air Army from July 1964 to July 1968, the 132nd Bomber Aviation Division from July 1968 to December 1989, the 132nd Maritime Assault Aviation Division from December 1989 to 1994, and the Baltic Fleet from 1994 to 2004.

Historically, the regiment's aircraft inventory included the Il-28 (1951–1964), the Yak-28 (1964–1974), the Su-24 (1974–1987), and the Su-24M (1987–2004). Past operations at the base also included the 15th Independent Long-Range Reconnaissance Regiment (15 ODRAP). Several sources indicate the airfield supported Tupolev Tu-16 aircraft during the 1960s and 1970s.