Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus
Organizational Overview and Command
The Air Force and Air Defence Forces of the Republic of Belarus constitute a single service branch of the Belarusian Armed Forces, headquartered in Minsk. As of 2023–2025, the Commander is Major General Andrei Lukyanovich. Operational control of aviation, ground-based air defense, radar, electronic warfare, and support units is exercised through the Central Command Post (military unit 07147), which manages airspace surveillance, identification, alerting, engagement authority, and coordination with national civil aviation services and allied structures.
Fighter Aviation: 61st Fighter Aviation Base (military unit 54804)
The 61st Fighter Aviation Base, commanded by Colonel Leonid Davidovich, fields MiG-29 series fighters and Su-30SM multirole aircraft. Principal missions include quick reaction alert (QRA) air defense, air sovereignty, and interception, with secondary air-to-air and limited air-to-ground training. The unit is based at Baranovichi airfield, which provides a long runway, hardened shelters, and support infrastructure suitable for sustained fighter operations and reception of reinforcements.
Transport and Helicopter Aviation: 50th Mixed Aviation Base (military unit 06752)
The 50th Mixed Aviation Base at Machulishchi operates Ilyushin Il-76MD heavy transports, Antonov An-26 light transports, and Mil Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopter families. Core tasks include strategic and operational airlift, troop and cargo movement, airborne and air assault support, medical evacuation, and search-and-rescue. The base’s proximity to Minsk supports rapid response to national-level missions and interoperability with civil aviation infrastructure.
Assault and Training Aviation: 116th Guards Assault Aviation Base (military unit 19764)
The 116th Guards Assault Aviation Base, commanded by Colonel Alexander Karev and based at Lida airfield, operates Su-25 attack aircraft alongside Yak-130 advanced jet trainers and L-39 trainers. The unit provides close air support, battlefield interdiction, and aircrew training. The Yak-130 enables lead-in fighter training and can perform light-attack missions, while legacy L-39s support basic and continuation jet training.
Long-Range Air Defense Regiments: 56th and 377th
Belarus maintains two S-300PS regiments within the Air Defence Forces: the 56th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (military unit 10198) and the 377th Guards Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (military unit 55719). The S-300PS (NATO: SA-10B) provides area air defense against aircraft and some types of cruise missiles, with typical engagement ranges up to approximately 75–90 km and engagement altitudes up to roughly 25–27 km depending on missile variant. The Belarusian Ministry of Defense publicly announced the induction of S-400 systems into national service in 2022–2023; open sources do not conclusively attribute S-400 batteries to a specific regiment by name. Some reporting associates the 56th Regiment with S-400 while retaining S-300PS, but official regimental assignment details have not been published.
Medium- and Short-Range Air Defense Units: 120th Brigade and 147th Regiment
The 120th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (military unit 96577) operates the Buk-M1 (NATO: SA-11) medium-range SAM system, providing mobile defense for key forces and infrastructure with typical engagement ranges up to about 35 km and engagement altitudes up to roughly 22 km. The 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (military unit 96869) fields the 9K33M3 Osa-AKM (NATO: SA-8B) short-range, highly mobile system, with typical engagement ranges of approximately 10–12 km and engagement altitudes up to around 5 km. In conjunction with long-range S-300P/S-400 assets, these units form a layered, mobile air-defense network.
Command, Control, Communications, and Electronic Warfare
The Central Command Post (military unit 07147) provides 24/7 command-and-control of airspace surveillance, identification, and engagement operations, fusing inputs from fixed and mobile radar assets and coordinating with fighter, SAM, and helicopter forces. The 56th Separate Communications Regiment (military unit 29766) ensures secure and resilient communications for air-defense and aviation command networks. The 16th Separate Electronic Warfare Regiment (military unit 97063) delivers electronic support and electronic attack capabilities, including jamming, electronic protection, and specialized support to air-defense fire units and aviation operations.
Training, Ranges, and UAV Force Development
The 210th Aviation Training Ground "Ruzhany" (military unit 39212) supports air-to-ground weapons delivery, gunnery, and complex aviation exercises, including combined-arms activities with ground-based air-defense units. The 174th Air Force and Air Defense Forces Training Ground (military unit 42276) provides facilities for air-defense, radar, and aviation training evolutions. The 927th UAV Training and Application Center (military unit 97085), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Yaromsky, trains personnel in the employment of unmanned aerial systems for reconnaissance, target designation, and other mission sets. Belarusian air-defense units regularly participate in multilateral CIS Joint Air Defense activities and live-fire events hosted in the Russian Federation.
Logistics, Engineering, and Technical Support
Support to flight operations and air-defense readiness is provided by multiple specialized units. The 483rd Security, Maintenance and Supply Battalion (military unit 45017) covers base security, materiel handling, and supply functions. The 83rd Separate Airfield Engineer Regiment (military unit 20392) maintains and repairs airfield infrastructure, including runways, taxiways, lighting, and dispersal areas. Aviation munitions and missile stocks are managed by the 2631st Aviation Missile and Ammunition Storage Base (military unit 94017) and the 3666th Aviation Technical Warehouse (military unit 36857). The 1562nd Anti-Aircraft Technical Missile Base (military unit 64608) provides storage, maintenance, and life-cycle support for surface-to-air missile systems and associated equipment.
Infrastructure and Basing
Primary aviation hubs include Baranovichi (61st Fighter Aviation Base), Lida (116th Guards Assault Aviation Base), and Machulishchi (50th Mixed Aviation Base). These airfields feature long runways, dispersal and shelter areas, fuel storage, and maintenance infrastructure sufficient for sustained operations by fast-jet, transport, and helicopter fleets. Additional military airfields and dispersal strips exist within Belarus for contingency or training use; detailed facility specifications and current readiness levels are not publicly released.
Integration with Russian and CIS Air-Defense Architectures
Belarus participates in the CIS Joint Air Defense System and operates a Joint Regional Air-Defense System with the Russian Federation under a bilateral agreement signed in 2009. Operational integration includes shared air-situational awareness, coordinated alerting and patrols, and periodic joint exercises. In early 2022, Russian Aerospace Forces and air-defense assets deployed to multiple Belarusian airfields and sites for the "Allied Resolve-2022" exercise and subsequent operations; the scale and duration of those deployments varied over time and have not been fully detailed in public sources.
Key Equipment Capability Notes
Representative performance for principal systems in Belarusian service: Su-30SM multirole fighter (modern radar and weapons integration for air superiority and precision strike); MiG-29 series fighters (legacy fourth-generation interceptors with limited air-to-ground capability); Su-25 attack aircraft (armored subsonic close air support/strike platform); Yak-130 advanced trainer/light-attack aircraft; Il-76MD heavy transport (payload commonly around 40–48 t class, long-range airlift); An-26 light transport; Mi-8 utility and Mi-24 attack helicopters. Ground-based air defense: S-300PS with typical engagement ranges up to 75–90 km; S-400, as publicly announced in Belarusian service since 2022–2023, supports engagement ranges up to approximately 250 km with 48N6-series missiles; Buk-M1 up to about 35 km; Osa-AKM up to approximately 10–12 km. Exact missile stocks, radar complements, and readiness rates are not publicly disclosed.
Russian Military Facilities on Belarusian Territory (Context)
Two long-standing Russian military sites operate in Belarus under intergovernmental arrangements and are not subordinated to the Belarusian Air Force and Air Defence Forces: the 43rd Communications Center of the Russian Navy near Vileyka (very-low-frequency communications with submarines) and the Hantsavichy (Gantsevichi) radar station (70M6 Volga early-warning radar). These facilities contribute to Russian strategic communications and missile-attack early warning; they are noted here for context because they coexist with Belarus’s national air-defense architecture.
Data Confidence and Noted Gaps
Belarus does not routinely publish comprehensive unit manning, equipment inventories, or detailed order-of-battle changes. Commanders’ names, military unit numbers, and primary equipment types listed above are consistent with publicly available information. Introduction of S-400 systems into Belarusian service has been publicly stated by national authorities, but formal regimental assignment, numbers of launchers, and missile types fielded have not been officially detailed. Where exact figures or classified specifications would be required to be precise, they are not publicly available and are therefore not included.