Syzran Higher Military Aviation School
Identification
The placemarks match the Syzran Higher Military Aviation School in Syzran, Samara Oblast—administratively presented in current materials as the Syzran branch of the Zhukovsky-Gagarin Air Force Academy. Current admissions information lists the branch on ul. Marshal G.K. Zhukov in Syzran, and MoD/TASS reporting in 2024 still described Syzran as one of the academy’s branches. ([xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai](https://www.xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai/969-informatsiya-dlya-abiturientov-2025-goda))
Role
Current branch materials describe Syzran as Russia’s only military educational institution dedicated to helicopter-pilot training for Army Aviation, naval helicopter aviation, other security services, and some foreign states. The published program length is 5 years 3 months, with lieutenant rank on graduation; the listed specialization includes employment of helicopter units for fleet forces, consistent with TASS reporting that Syzran resumed theory training for naval Ka-27/Ka-29 helicopter pilots. ([xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai](https://www.xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai/969-informatsiya-dlya-abiturientov-2025-goda))
Training Network
Open sources indicate a distributed flight-training footprint beyond the main Syzran campus. RIA reported Ansat-U deliveries to the academy’s Sokol training air group in Saratov Oblast in 2013, and TASS identified Sokol in 2022 as the site of the 339th Training Aviation Base subordinate to the Syzran branch. Secondary sources continue to associate Syzran/Troekurovka and Pugachyov with the school’s historic helicopter training regiments; local reporting in Pugachyov says a 2nd-class training aviation base with three Mi-8 training squadrons was formed there in 2023. Exact current regimental numbering for all outstations is not consistently confirmed in primary sources. ([ria.ru](https://ria.ru/20131122/979009056.html?utm_source=openai))
Aircraft and Infrastructure
Branch materials and 2025 regional reporting outline a long-running helicopter training fleet progression: Mi-8 from 1967, Mi-2 from 1972, Mi-24 from 1980, and Ansat-U introduced in 2010 as a training replacement for the Mi-2. As of May 2025, RIA reported cadets were flying modernized Mi-8 and Mi-24 variants and that the school had integrated simulators for Mi-24P, Mi-8MTV-5, and Mi-171. ([xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai](https://www.xn--80ada1b0ap.xn--p1ai/969-informatsiya-dlya-abiturientov-2025-goda))
Current Status
The branch remained active through at least 2024-2025: TASS reported 2024 graduation ceremonies in the Syzran branch, and current admissions materials were still being updated for 2025. The branch states it was awarded the Order of Kutuzov under Presidential Decree No. 134 of 23 February 2024, with the decoration presented on 30 May 2024; RIA also reported the institution marked its 85th anniversary in May 2025. ([tass.ru](https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/22809913))