1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division
Formation Overview and Command Relationships
The 1st Guards Mixed Aviation Division is a composite formation of the Russian Aerospace Forces subordinate to the 4th Red Banner Air and Air Defense Army within the Southern Military District. Its headquarters is publicly identified as military unit (v/ch) 40491 and is located at Krymsk, Krasnodar Krai. The division integrates fighter, bomber, and assault regiments to deliver air defense, strike, and close air support across Russia’s southwestern axis, including the Black Sea littoral and approaches to the North Caucasus.
Current Order of Battle and Equipment
Open sources and the provided figures align on the division’s principal regiments and aircraft: the 3rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (v/ch 75386) operating Su-27SM3 and Su-30M2; the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (v/ch 75391) operating Su-30SM with a residual cadre of MiG-29 variants (MiG-29, MiG-29A, MiG-29S, MiG-29UB); the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment (v/ch 75388) operating Su-25SM/SM3; and the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment (v/ch 75392) operating Su-34. The cited aircraft counts—24 Su-27SM3 and 8 Su-30M2 (3rd GvIAP), 20 Su-30SM with several MiG-29 variants (31st GvIAP), 23 Su-25SM and 1 Su-25SM3 (368th ShAP), and 36 Su-34 (559th BAP)—should be treated as snapshots that can fluctuate with maintenance, rotations, upgrades, and attrition.
Basing and Disposition
The division headquarters and the 3rd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment are based at Krymsk (Krasnodar Krai); the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment is associated with Millerovo (Rostov Oblast); the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment with Budyonnovsk (Stavropol Krai); and the 559th Bomber Aviation Regiment with Morozovsk (Rostov Oblast). These airfields lie within the Southern Military District and provide lateral dispersion and depth for operations toward the Sea of Azov/Black Sea region and the lower Don basin. Facilities are characteristic of Russian main operating bases, with concrete runways, dispersal aprons and revetments, fuel storage, and munitions handling areas; detailed, current layouts are not comprehensively documented in public sources.
Infrastructure Capabilities
The airfields supporting the regiments provide squadron- and regiment-level maintenance shelters, avionics and armament workshops, ground power/start units, POL (petroleum, oil, lubricants) storage, and rail/road access for resupply, enabling sustained day/night, all-weather operations. Standard ground support equipment includes APA-series power carts, TZ-series fuel tankers, and oxygen servicing, alongside runway lighting and navigation aids. Hardened aircraft shelters are limited at many Southern Military District sites; protection relies primarily on dispersal into revetments, camouflage, and local short-range air defense deployments.
Aircraft and Weapons Systems
The Su-27SM3 is an upgraded Flanker with improved avionics and compatibility with active radar-guided R-77 series missiles, retaining strong air-to-air performance and limited air-to-surface capability. The Su-30M2 is a two-seat Flanker variant used predominantly for conversion/training with secondary combat roles. The Su-30SM is a multirole, thrust-vectoring fighter equipped with Bars-R radar, employing R-73 and R-77-1 air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface munitions including Kh-31A/P and KAB-series guided bombs. Legacy MiG-29 (A/S/UB) airframes are retained in small numbers mainly for training and secondary duties. The Su-25SM/SM3 is a heavily armored attack aircraft with a typical external load up to roughly 4,400 kg, commonly using S-8/S-13/S-25 rockets and unguided bombs; the SM3 upgrade adds improved navigation/targeting (e.g., SOLT-25) and precision options. The Su-34 is a twin-engine, all-weather fighter-bomber with a published payload up to approximately 8,000 kg, employing KAB-500/1500 guided bombs and Kh-29/Kh-31 series missiles; since 2023, extensive use of UMPC glide kits on FAB-series bombs has been documented.
Mission Sets and Employment
The fighter regiments provide air defense, combat air patrols, and escort for strike packages, including beyond-visual-range engagements with active radar-guided missiles. The bomber regiment conducts deep strike, interdiction, and suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses, increasingly employing stand-off glide munitions to mitigate air-defense threats. The assault regiment executes battlefield air interdiction and close air support, typically at low to medium altitude, using unguided rockets and bombs or, for upgraded airframes, selected precision weapons. Employment patterns commonly feature multi-ship packages with electronic warfare support and integration with regional command-and-control and radar networks.
Recent Operational Activity (2014–2024)
From 2014 onward—and notably since February 2022—open-source imagery and official releases have identified aircraft from these regiments operating from Krymsk, Millerovo, Budyonnovsk, and Morozovsk in support of operations in Ukraine. Su-34 sorties from Morozovsk (559th BAP) have been repeatedly documented, and multiple Su-34 and Su-25 losses have been publicly recorded due to air-defense engagements and accidents. Fighter units equipped with Su-27SM3 and Su-30 variants have been reported conducting patrol, escort, and long-range missile employment. Specific sortie rates, current tasking orders, and detailed target sets are not comprehensively available in the public domain.
Integration with Air Defense and Command-and-Control
The division operates under the 4th Air and Air Defense Army’s integrated C2 framework, coordinating tactical aviation with regional radar coverage and ground-based air defense. While unit-level details are not fully disclosed, short-range systems such as Pantsir-S1 have been publicly observed at several Southern Military District airfields since 2022 for local base defense, with broader area protection provided by army-level S-300/S-400 coverage and associated radar networks. Standard Russian Aerospace Forces procedures enable fighter control, strike routing, and deconfliction across the theater.
Logistics, Sustainment, and Ordnance
Sustainment is supported by established Southern Military District logistics corridors, with ammunition storage and preparation performed by regiment-level aviation munitions units and divisional support elements. Common air-to-air munitions include R-73 and R-77-1, with R-27 series retained for specific roles. Strike loads for Su-34 typically include KAB-500/1500 guided bombs, Kh-29T/L, and Kh-31A/P, with high-volume employment of FAB-500/1500 bombs fitted with UMPC glide kits documented since 2023. Su-25 units predominantly field S-8/S-13/S-25 rockets and unguided bombs, while upgraded aircraft can employ selected precision munitions. Fuel and spares are delivered by rail and road; detailed stockpile levels and consumption rates are not publicly disclosed.
Geographic and Strategic Significance
The locations of Krymsk, Millerovo, Budyonnovsk, and Morozovsk provide a distributed footprint along Russia’s southwestern periphery, enabling coverage of the Sea of Azov/Black Sea approaches, the lower Don region, and the North Caucasus while remaining on established sustainment lines within Russian territory. Dispersed basing within the Southern Military District offers redundancy and facilitates rotation between main operating bases and temporary forward sites as operational requirements dictate.
Data Reliability and Caveats
The unit designations, military unit numbers (v/ch 40491, 75386, 75391, 75388, 75392), basing, and aircraft types cited are drawn from publicly available sources and align with the provided figures. Aircraft holdings in Russian aviation regiments are dynamic due to maintenance, upgrades, rotations, transfers, and combat attrition; exact on-hand counts at any given time may therefore differ from snapshots. Sensitive details such as current alert postures, sortie schedules, weapons loadouts for specific missions, and real-time locations are not publicly available.