Saky Air Base

Saky is a military air base located adjacent to the settlement of Novofedorivka, Crimea. It was initially constructed by the Soviet Union in the 1930s as an unpaved airfield for the Kachinsky School of Military Pilots. During World War II, German forces expanded and paved the runways. In February 1945, it served as a landing site for aircraft transporting leaders to the Yalta Conference. The Soviet Navy's Black Sea Fleet used Saky as a major air base, housing units such as the 30th independent Sevastopolskiy Red Banner Maritime Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment and, in the early 1950s, four regiments of maritime torpedo aviation. The 16th Fighter Aviation Regiment was stationed there from 1952 to 1960. In 1976, the 299th Instructor-Research Shipborne Aviation Regiment was formed at the base. Saky is also notable as the location of the Russian NITKA (Scientific testing simulator for shipborne aviation), a land-based aircraft carrier training and test simulator. This complex, put into operation in 1982, includes arresting gear and a ski-jump ramp, a full-sized replica of the bow of the Admiral Kuznetsov, for carrier-based pilot training. The 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment was established at Saky in 1986.

Following Ukrainian independence in 1991, the base continued to be used by the Russian Navy under a lease agreement. The Ukrainian 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade, previously the 299th Regiment, relocated in 2005. In 2008, a dispute arose over Russian pilots' use of the carrier training facilities, which was later resolved in 2010. During the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, Russian forces occupied the base. The Ukrainian 10th Saky Naval Aviation Brigade managed to evacuate some aircraft to mainland Ukraine, but others undergoing maintenance were left behind. Since 2014, the base has been operated by the Russian Ministry of Defence. The 43rd Independent Naval Assault Aviation Regiment, operating Sukhoi Su-24M/MR, Sukhoi Su-30SM, and Tupolev Tu-134 4A-4 aircraft, is stationed at Saky. The base has been subjected to attacks during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, including explosions in August 2022 that damaged or destroyed multiple aircraft, and subsequent strikes in September 2023 and January 2024.