Russian Air Force
The Russian Air Force is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the reborn Russian armed forces began to be created on 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defence. However, the Russian Federation's air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to the Imperial Russian Air Service (1912–1917) and the Soviet Air Forces (1918–1991).
Some of the key events about Russian Air Force
- 1904Russian aircraft bombed Japanese ships during the Russo-Japanese War, marking one of the first uses of aircraft in warfare
- 1912Established the world's first strategic bomber unit
- 1914Conducted the first aerial bombing raid in history
- 1914Russian airships conducted bombing raids on East Prussia during World War I, with limited effectiveness
- 1937Set a world altitude record of 22,000 meters in a balloon
- 1939Soviet air forces performed poorly in the Winter War against Finland, suffering heavy losses
- 1941Soviet Air Force was largely destroyed on the ground in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa
- 1961Successfully launched and recovered the first human in space
- 1967Developed the world's largest helicopter, the Mil V-12
- 1977Introduced the MiG-29, one of the world's most advanced fighter jets of its time
- 1979Soviet air forces conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan, beginning a long and costly intervention
- 1988Set 41 world records with the An-225 Mriya, the largest aircraft ever built
- 1994Russian Air Force suffered significant losses during the First Chechen War
- 1999Russian aircraft bombed Grozny and other Chechen cities, causing civilian casualties
- 2000Conducted successful search and rescue operations following the Kursk submarine disaster
- 2008Russian Air Force lost several aircraft during the Russo-Georgian War, revealing operational weaknesses
- 2015Deployed advanced air defense systems in Syria, demonstrating long-range power projection capabilities
- 2015Russian airstrikes in Syria were criticized for causing civilian casualties and targeting non-ISIS rebels
- 2020Conducted large-scale humanitarian aid missions during the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2022Russian Air Force failed to achieve air superiority in the early stages of the invasion of Ukraine
Disclaimer: This material is written based on information taken from open sources, including Wikipedia, news media, podcasts, and other public sources.