43rd Long-Range Aviation Combat Employment and Retraining Center
Identification
Public administrative records align military unit 41521 with Dyagilevo airfield in Ryazan. Guidance for construction in the aerodrome district states that Dyagilevo is under the operational control of FKU Military Unit 41521 at ul. Belyakova 11, and Rosaviatsiya flight-restriction contacts list the same address for v/ch 41521. ([vos-mo.ru](https://vos-mo.ru/regulatory/24954/?utm_source=openai))
Mission
TASS identified a Tu-95MS belonging to the 43rd center at Dyagilevo in 2013. Later defense reporting described the Dyagilevo site as Long-Range Aviation’s combat training and flight-crew conversion center operating Tu-22M3 and Tu-95MS bombers plus Tu-134UBL and An-26 training/support aircraft, with Il-78 tankers co-located on the base. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/info/1343875))
Observed aircraft
A June 2, 2025 Planet Labs image reviewed by TWZ showed 3 Tu-95MS, 5 Tu-22M3, 14 Il-78M or Il-76MD, and 2 Su-30SM at Dyagilevo. This was only a snapshot, but it confirms that heavy bomber-related and tanker-support aircraft were physically present at the site in mid-2025. ([twz.com](https://www.twz.com/air/firm-evidence-of-russian-aircraft-losses-after-ukrainian-drone-strikes))
Infrastructure
Ryazan’s 2026 heat-supply planning update lists a complex building in military town No. 12, v/ch 41521, Dyagilevo, with the Ministry of Defense construction customer identified and projected demand appearing in the 2027 plan column. Together with the aerodrome-approval regime around Dyagilevo, this indicates continued investment in garrison and support infrastructure. ([3ec2bf51-c375-4b95-bbd2-c2b57a70f28a.selstorage.ru](https://3ec2bf51-c375-4b95-bbd2-c2b57a70f28a.selstorage.ru/iblock/dfa/dfa798076e489c948b6df41a9d013a25/f259e54e4a7a486e6c3ce2d1f6702749.pdf))
Threat exposure
The Dyagilevo/Ryazan airfield has been exposed to long-range Ukrainian strike activity. Reuters, citing Russian media, reported that a fuel-tanker explosion at the Ryazan airfield on December 5, 2022 killed three and injured six; during the June 2025 mass drone assault on Russian air bases, Dyagilevo was again reported targeted, although the June 2 imagery reviewed by TWZ showed no obvious serious visible damage there. ([kfgo.com](https://kfgo.com/2022/12/05/three-killed-in-fuel-tanker-explosion-at-russian-airfield/?utm_source=openai))