On August 1, 2015, in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Aerospace Forces began to fulfill the tasks. Aviation formations, air defense troops and parts of the aerospace defense of Russia were integrated into this type of armed forces.

Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, who at that time was in charge of the Air Force, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, and Lieutenant-General Alexander Golovko, Commander of the Space Forces, became his deputy (later he was awarded the rank of Colonel-General). Now these positions are occupied by Colonel General Sergei Surovikin and Lieutenant General Yuri Grekhov, respectively. The latter is responsible for the functioning of air defense-missile defense connections.

As Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained in August 2015, the key goal of the creation of the Aerospace Forces is “to concentrate in one hands all responsibility for the formation of a military-technical policy for the development of troops solving tasks in the aerospace sphere”.

In addition, the head of the military department said that closer integration of the army units that entered the Aerospace Forces would increase their efficiency, as well as ensure the progressive development of the Russian aerospace defense system.

In an interview with RT, the director of the Center for Military and Political Research at MGIMO Alexei Podberezkin noted that the formation of the Aerospace Forces was dictated by the global trend of erasing the border between air and outer space due to scientific and technological progress. 

“The Aerospace Forces is a new type of troops that has organically integrated into the structure of the RF Armed Forces. Its creation was a logical step by the President and the Ministry of Defense, since the environment in which aviation, air defense and Space Forces operate has actually become one. In practice, the formation of the Aerospace Forces made it possible to simplify the operational management of heterogeneous forces, to integrate them into a single control loop, "Podberezkin noted. 

At speed and altitude

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Aerospace Forces are consistently modernizing thanks to the supply of modern equipment, including those using digital technologies and artificial intelligence. An important emphasis is placed on the development of unmanned aircraft.

In particular, the direction of heavy UAVs received a serious impetus. The largest domestic drone is the S-70 Okhotnik complex. For the first time, the car took to the skies in August 2019. "Hunter" is capable of performing reconnaissance missions and delivering strikes with small-sized ammunition.

Two more heavy unmanned aerial vehicles are in the process of development - the six-ton ​​Altius-U and the five-ton Sirius. They are capable of lifting a significant amount of payload into the air and performing long missions - 24 and 40 hours, respectively.

Experts noted that good results were achieved in the field of modernization of operational-tactical aviation. Analysts called the fifth-generation Su-57 aircraft the most modern machine in Russia, the serial production of which started in 2019. As part of the state armament program until 2027, the Aerospace Forces should receive 76 such machines.

Russian military pilots call the Su-57 the world's only fifth-generation fighter capable of using missiles at any speed and altitude. Also, according to the pilots, the domestic aircraft is superior to foreign aircraft in terms of maneuverability and speed.

It is expected that the Su-57 will receive additional benefits with the completion of tests of the new generation engine, known as the product 30. The first production models of the fighter will be equipped with the fourth generation AL-41F1 power units.

Previously, the Su-35S multi-functional fighter of the 4 ++ generation, based on the legendary Su-27, was considered the most modern production aircraft of the operational-tactical aviation of the Russian Federation.

The radar H035 "Irbis" installed on this aircraft with a passive phased antenna array allows the aircraft to monitor the space for 400 km and track up to 34 targets. The pilots also refer to the advantages of the machine as good controllability in extreme conditions, which gives significant advantages in air combat.

Another unique machine developed on the Su-27 platform is the Su-34, nicknamed "Duckling" for its curved cockpit shape and flattened nose. The aircraft combines the merits of a fighter, frontline bomber, attack aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft.

  • Multifunctional aircraft Russian Aerospace Forces Su-34
  • RIA News
  • © Nina Padalko

The highlight of the Su-34 is its ability to carry out combat missions immediately after a long flight. Without refueling "Duck" travels up to 4 thousand km. The combat load of the vehicle is 8 tons. A variety of missiles and bombs can be placed on the 12 suspension points of the Su-34, including the one and a half ton ammunition KAB-1500KR and KAB-1500LG-FE, designed to destroy critical enemy targets.

Also, the MiG-31BM fighter-interceptor has wide combat capabilities in the Aerospace Forces fleet. It can accelerate to 3,000 km / h and use the X-47M2 "Dagger" hypersonic ballistic missile with a range of over 2,000 km. 

The sky is under control

According to experts, over the past five years, serious progress has been achieved in the modernization of the air defense units that are part of the Aerospace Forces. First of all, we are talking about the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) S-400 "Triumph" to the troops. 

The S-400 has earned the most flattering reviews from domestic and foreign military specialists and enjoys well-deserved popularity in the foreign market. "Triumph" is capable of detecting targets at a range of up to 600 km and hitting them at a distance of up to 400 km if it has an ultra-long-range 40N6 missile in its arsenal.

In addition to the S-400, in the coming years, the S-500 Triumfator-M air defense system will begin to enter the Air Defense Forces regiments of the Aerospace Forces (the name Prometheus was previously mentioned in the media). Little is known about the characteristics of this system. According to Almaz-Antey, the new weapon will have the ability to intercept ballistic targets outside the atmosphere.

The S-500 will receive new radar stations (radars) with active phased antenna arrays, which will increase the detection range of aerospace attack weapons. According to experts, "Triumfator-M" will be able to fix targets at a distance of up to 800 km, fight hypersonic ammunition and shoot down enemy satellites.

Summing up the results of the rearmament of the Aerospace Forces in a July interview with Krasnaya Zvezda, the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovikin noted that over the past five years, the arsenal of this type of troops "has changed significantly." According to him, the share of modern technology in parts of the Aerospace Forces exceeded 70%.

Surovikin said that, in addition to air defense missile systems and modern aircraft, since 2015, radar stations of high factory readiness of the missile attack warning system (SPRN), the optical complex of the Pritsel space control system and the Peresvet self-propelled laser system have been put into operation.

  • Radar of high factory readiness of the missile attack warning system "Voronezh-M"
  • © Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces paid special attention to the intercession on alert duty in Mordovia at the end of last year of the first over-the-horizon detection station "Container". According to Surovikin, thanks to this radar, control of the airspace over the entire territory of Europe and the Middle East was ensured, "which significantly increased the time to make a decision on response actions."

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the station is an antenna field of 144 masts, which are capable of detecting "massive takeoff of aviation and cruise missiles", determine the "trajectory parameters" of tactical and strategic aircraft, as well as hypersonic vehicles. The "container" can take 5 thousand air objects for simultaneous escort.

As the experts emphasized, now the RF Aerospace Forces are equipped with the most modern technology. Not only aviation and air defense systems are constantly being improved, but also aerospace surveillance equipment that allows the military to timely record threats to Russia's security. 

In a commentary on RT, Honored Pilot of the Russian Federation, Major General Vladimir Popov, said that the successes in rearming the Aerospace Forces are explained, among other things, by the "unified form of control" that appeared with the creation of this type of aircraft. 

“A significant role in the progressive development of aviation, surveillance systems and other types of domestic weapons is played by the awareness that airspace is a single potential theater of military operations. Naturally, the management of the forces and means involved in it should be in the same hands, "Popov summed up.