Klyuchi Air Base (Kura)

Klyuchi Air Base is located in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, approximately 3 kilometers southwest of the settlement of Klyuchi. The air base is owned by the Ministry of Defence and operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, under the control of the 11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army. Constructed in 1963, it replaced an older airfield located about 16 kilometers to the east-southeast. The base was established to support nearby missile testing operations at the Kura Missile Test Range, which is situated 130 kilometers to the northeast. Early satellite imagery from 1966 showed transport aircraft such as the Lisunov Li-2 and Antonov An-2, along with helicopters. The base features approximately twelve fighter revetments and limited tarmac space. Historically, the 28th Independent Mixed Aviation Squadron, attached to the 43rd independent Scientific-Experimental Station of the Strategic Rocket Forces, was activated here in October 1955. This squadron was upgraded to the 84th Independent Mixed Aviation Regiment in 1969. In 2005, the missile experimental station was transferred to the Russian Space Forces. Currently, the base is home to a Composite Aviation Squadron of the 35th Independent Transport Composite Aviation Regiment.