929th State Flight Test Center
Executive Summary
The 929th State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V. P. Chkalov (military unit 15650) is Russia’s principal state flight-test authority. It conducts state and joint trials, acceptance testing, and methodological validation for combat aircraft, special-mission platforms, and air-launched weapons. The center is headquartered at Akhtubinsk (Astrakhan Oblast), within the Vladimirovka/Akhtubinsk flight-test range complex, and operates a broad portfolio of fighter, strike, bomber, transport, and special-mission aircraft, as well as the S-70 Okhotnik heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). Open sources also identify the 4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Flight Personnel (military unit 62632) at Lipetsk as a separate organization focused on tactics development and advanced training; it is not part of the 929th GLITs. Several unit identifiers provided require verification, as detailed below.
Primary Unit Identification
Official designation: 929th State Flight Test Center of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation named after V. P. Chkalov (929 GLITs MO RF), military unit 15650. Role: conduct state tests (Gosudarstvennye ispytaniya) and joint state tests of aircraft, engines, avionics, and weapons; validate combat employment methods; perform certification/acceptance for entry into service. The center supports both prototype trials and serial production acceptance programs for the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) and, when required, for Naval Aviation platforms.
Location and Infrastructure (Akhtubinsk/Vladimirovka)
Headquarters and primary airfield: Akhtubinsk Air Base, Astrakhan Oblast (commonly associated with the Vladimirovka test range). The airfield underwent major modernization in the 2010s, including construction of a new runway of approximately 4,000 m length and associated taxiways and hangars to support fifth-generation aircraft trials. The surrounding test-range infrastructure provides telemetry, radar/optical tracking, and weapons-impact instrumentation. The location offers access to large restricted airspace over sparsely populated terrain and proximity to other southern Russia ranges used for air and missile testing.
Organizational Structure and Reported Subunits
Confirmed: 929th GLITs (m/u 15650) at Akhtubinsk as the core test organization. Reported by the provided data: 395th Separate Test Aviation Squadron (m/u 15650-12); 3rd Aviation Squadron (m/u 15650-16); a Naval Aviation Test Center element (m/u 15650-17). Open-source, verifiable details on the internal numbering and basing of the 15650-12/16/17 elements are limited; their existence and precise roles are not conclusively documented in publicly available official sources. Separately, the 4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Flight Personnel (m/u 62632) is well documented at Lipetsk and is a distinct organization focused on tactics development and conversion training rather than state testing.
Aircraft Portfolio and Test Roles (929th GLITs, m/u 15650)
Aircraft types documented in open sources as having undergone trials or test activity at Akhtubinsk include: fighters and interceptors (Su-57, Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-27 family, MiG-29SMT, MiG-31BM/BSM); strike/attack (Su-34, Su-24M/M2, Su-25SM3); bombers and long-range aviation types (Tu-22M3, Tu-95), maritime patrol (Tu-142); trainers (Yak-130); transports and support (Il-76MD, An-12 variants including An-12BK and ECM-configured An-12PPS, An-26/An-26KPA, An-72); special mission (Il-22); unmanned (S-70 Okhotnik UCAV). Variant suffixes such as “UP/UBM/UBM” for Su-27/MiG-29 are not standardized in public Russian documentation; standard designations typically reference Su-27P/S/UB and MiG-29UB.
Notable Test Programs and Milestones
Su-57 (PAK FA/T-50): prototypes progressed from manufacturer and flight-research phases to state trials at Akhtubinsk in the mid-2010s; the first serial Su-57 was accepted into service in late 2020. S-70 Okhotnik: the Ministry of Defense released imagery documenting the Okhotnik’s first flight on 3 August 2019 at Akhtubinsk and subsequent teaming trials with Su-57. Su-35S: state trials completed leading to service entry in 2011; ongoing software/weapons updates are evaluated through GLITs. MiG-31BM/BSM: modernization testing of radar, weapons, and avionics has been conducted under GLITs oversight. Additional legacy and current types (Su-34, Su-24M, Su-25SM3, Tu-22M3, Tu-95/Tu-142) are routinely involved in acceptance and upgrade evaluations.
Range Complex and Instrumentation
The Akhtubinsk/Vladimirovka complex supports weapons release testing (guided and unguided), air-to-air and air-to-surface trials, avionics/RWR/ECM evaluations, and performance/handling assessments. Instrumentation typically includes telemetry receiving stations, radar and optical tracking systems, precision scoring arrays for munitions accuracy, and range-control communications. The complex’s geography permits long-range profiles and multi-axis engagement scenarios. Detailed technical specifications of the range instrumentation and layout are not publicly released.
Logistics and Support Aviation
Support aircraft documented with GLITs include transports (Il-76MD, An-12 family, An-72), light transports and calibration aircraft (An-26 and An-26KPA used for calibration/inspection of radio-technical aids), and special-mission platforms (Il-22 airborne command/relay; An-12PPS for electronic countermeasures). Helicopters such as Mi-8 and Mi-24, as reported with the 395th Separate Test Aviation Squadron (m/u 15650-12), provide range support, chase, and rotary-wing test capability. Exact fleet sizes and serials are not consistently available in open sources.
Associated Centers Listed and Their Actual Roles (m/u 62632 and Display Center)
The 4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Flight Personnel (m/u 62632) is based at Lipetsk and operates types such as Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-34, Su-24M2, and Su-25UB for tactics development and pilot conversion/retraining. It is a separate organization from 929th GLITs. The Guards Center for Display of Aviation Equipment named after I. N. Kozhedub (commonly known for the “Russian Knights” and “Swifts” display teams) is a separate unit at Kubinka; open sources identify it as the 237th TsPAT with military unit number 61996. Assigning a display center to m/u 62632 (e.g., “62632-I”) is not consistent with widely available official and historical reporting.
Verification of Provided Unit Identifiers
Confirmed in open sources: 929th GLITs (m/u 15650) at Akhtubinsk; 4th Center (m/u 62632) at Lipetsk; 237th Display Center (TsPAT) at Kubinka (m/u 61996). Reported but not conclusively verifiable from public official documentation: 395th Separate Test Aviation Squadron (m/u 15650-12); 3rd Aviation Squadron (m/u 15650-16); Naval Aviation Test Center (m/u 15650-17); “Guards Aviation Technology Display Center” as a sub-identifier under m/u 62632 (e.g., 62632-I) and “Guards Aviation Squadron” (e.g., 62632-L). Where public confirmation is absent, the identifiers should be treated as unverified.
Infrastructure Modernization Indicators
Open reporting in the 2010s documents major upgrades at Akhtubinsk, including construction of a new long runway (approximately 4,000 m) and expanded hangar and laboratory capacity. These works were associated with fifth-generation and advanced UAV testing requirements (e.g., Su-57 and S-70 Okhotnik). Such modernization enables high-MTOW operations, instrumented trials, and concurrent test programs across multiple aircraft types.
Security and Classification Notes
Detailed internal organization, order-of-battle, precise fleet counts, test schedules, instrumentation specifications, and range layouts for 929th GLITs and related units are not publicly released and are presumably classified. Where specific unit suffixes, subunit numbers, or variant designators are not corroborated by official publications or multiple consistent open sources, they cannot be confirmed here.
Assessment of the Provided Unit and Aircraft List
The aircraft families listed for 929th GLITs—Su-57, Su-35S, Su-30SM, Su-27 series, MiG-29SMT, MiG-31BM/BSM, Su-24M, Su-25SM3, Su-34, Tu-22M3, Yak-130, Tu-95, Tu-142, Il-76MD, An-12 variants (including An-12BK/An-12PPS), Il-22, An-26KPA, An-72, and S-70 Okhotnik—are consistent with known GLITs test and acceptance activities. Reported subunits under m/u 15650 (suffixes -12, -16, -17) and the attribution of a “Guards Aviation Technology Display Center” to m/u 62632 require further verification; publicly available sources identify the display center as the 237th TsPAT at Kubinka (m/u 61996) and the Lipetsk 4th Center (m/u 62632) as a separate training/tactics entity.