Kambala Air Base

Kambala is a military airfield in the Karaganda Region of Kazakhstan, situated 14 km southwest of the Sary-Shagan railway station on the Moyinty–Shu line, and 15 km west of Priozersk. The Russian Federation operates the base on a rental basis to provide transportation and communications support for the Sary Shagan military ground. The airfield accommodates Il-76, An-22, and Tu-154 aircraft, as well as all types of helicopters.

Operations began in March 1957 with the arrival of the 283rd Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron operating Li-2 aircraft. The 679th Separate Aviation Regiment was formed at the base in 1958 from a Soviet Air Force squadron. In June 1959, the 60th Mixed Test Aviation Division was established at the facility. This division incorporated the 678th Guards Trans-Baikal Mixed Aviation Regiment, the 297th Aviation Technical Base, the 305th Separate Radio Lighting Division, and the 1157th Separate Radar Company. The radar company was reorganized into a radio engineering battalion in 1961, and the radio lighting division became a communications battalion in 1962.

In 1960, the 31st Separate Fighter Squadron and the 1266th Separate Radar Company were assigned to the division for air defense. These units formed the basis of the 737th Fighter Aviation Regiment and the 155th Radio Engineering Battalion, which were subordinated to the 7th Air Defence Division of the 12th Independent Air Defense Army in 1962.

The 60th Mixed Test Aviation Division was reduced to a regiment in the late 1980s. In October 1990, the 679th Regiment was disbanded to form the 54th Separate Test Aviation Squadron, equipped with An-12 and An-26 aircraft alongside Mi-8T helicopters. In October 1998, this unit was reorganized into the 54th Separate Helicopter Squadron, which continues to operate Mi-8T helicopters at the airfield. Additionally, in 1998, the Russian Defense Ministry's 10th Test Site was reassigned from the air defense forces to the 4th State Central Interspecific Training Ground of the Strategic Missile Forces.