Kirovske Air Base (Goncharovka)

Kirovske is an air base operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, located near the town of Kirovske in Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine. Constructed in 1950, it has been in continuous use since then. Historically, Kirovske served as the primary anti-submarine warfare (ASW) test and development center for Soviet Naval Aviation, collaborating with the flight test center at Akhtubinsk. From 1950 to 1979, the base was home to the 326th Fighter Aviation Regiment. An interceptor regiment, the 136th Fighter Aviation Regiment, operated Sukhoi Su-9 aircraft at Kirovske in the 1960s and 1970s, with these aircraft last observed in August 1979 before a runway expansion in the early 1980s. Other aircraft, including the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and Sukhoi Su-7, were present in the 1970s. Currently, the base hosts a detachment of the 929th State Flight Test Centre named for V. P. Chkalov. In April 2024, the UK's Ministry of Defence reported the presence of painted Su-30 fighter decoys on the hardstands at Kirovske, a measure believed to be in response to Ukrainian attacks following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.