Ukraine’s military aviation legacy
By land size, the largest European country is currently facing an almost equal high sized level of tensions with a threatening situation at its eastern borders. The crisis situation in Ukraine, now confronting its earlier close Soviet partner, the latter which is concentrating military forces in the border areas of the both countries, has been dominating the global news for considerable time. Due to Ukraine’s desire for closer relationships with its neighbouring European Union community and, even more sensitively, with NATO, Russia has demanded no new NATO membership for the country connecting directly to its borders. All of Ukraine’s defence forces remain therefore in a high state of alert and the countries’ air force is no exception to that. Although the current operational fleet of Ukrainian fighter aircraft is outnumbered by its Russian opponent, the situation is completely different from what Ukraine had in the nineties.
1991
With a failed coup in Moscow in 1991, the earlier firm and for years established Soviet Union power was affected for some time, causing several states to consider new future ambitions, or even claimed independency; like Ukraine, supported by 90% of its population in a poll during that year. Until that turning point, Russia had considered Ukraine as a strategic important country and consequently had deployed numerous military assets throughout the partner state. The Soviet developments of 1991 lead to a power vacuum and the deployed military units started to return home, abandoning their bases and leaving equipment behind including an arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons. The following years Russia and Ukraine negotiated on the terms how to separate and settle with all the present stocks of armour, including an estimated 1500 combat aircraft. In 1994 it was announced that Ukraine would voluntarily give up all the disputed nuclear and several other strategic weapons, besides the dismantling of appointed armour. Nevertheless the Ukraine Air Force had suddenly an enormous quantity of aircraft in its inventory. With the lack of sufficient means and crew to operate them, the majority of aircraft seemed to be destined for an inactive career and often acted as a source of spare parts. The disrupted relationship with Russia also caused that Ukraine had to take care itself of the maintenance of its MiG’s, Sukhoi’s and other Russian manufactured aviation hardware and therefore the numerous inactive aircraft were essential for the spare parts.
Mainly caused by inadequate budgets the aircraft dismantling projects could not, or only partially, be executed. However being stored outside for years and without maintenance the status of non-airworthy was also quickly reached. As a consequence the inherited legacy of aircraft can nowadays still be found throughout the country,
like monuments on display in public areas. Other sites are less easy visible, like on active operational air bases. Here you can find obsolete aircraft lined up or in between operational aircraft, giving the impression of a large available force. Estimates of various unofficial sources on the current operational frontline fighter aircraft, due to the lack of official reliable numbers, indicate a little more than 100 aircraft divided over MiG-29’s, Su-24 Fencers, Su-25 Frogfoots and Su-27 Flankers, being only a fraction of what it once was.
Kyiv- Zhuliany museum
An interesting place to see the current operated aircraft types of the Ukrainian Air force, as well as their predecessors, can be found in capital city Kyiv, at Zhuliany International Airport.
The airport operates a civil terminal for European and domestic destinations. Further a military-governmental branch is based, operating several Antonov transport aircraft and some helicopters. More interesting is the “Oleg Antonov State Aviation Museum”. The museum hosts a wide variety of Russian built military aircraft of which the majority has had a historic career in Ukraine aviation, including Russian aviation detached to Ukraine. Impressive samples are several Tu22 Backfire strategic bombers and a Tu-142 Bear of the Russian Navy. Next to the current Ukraine operational fighters, the historic collection of the museum shows types from the “MiG family” ranging from Mig-15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27, 29 and finishes with the close to Mach 3 speed capable Mig-25 Foxbat. The collection continues with a variety of Sukhoi’s and Tupolev’s on display. A mix of older helicopter types towards nowadays operational samples of Mi-8 transport and Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters, provide more insight in the vertical oriented aviation. Must see items are the impressive, oversized Mi-6 Hook plus Mi-26 and coaxial rotor powered Kamov Ka-25 and Ka-27 of the Ukraine Navy. General impression is a wide overview in the unmistakable unique legacy of the Russian oriented aviation in Ukraine over several decades.
Early and ongoing efforts to bring back the desired stability in the affected region, would provide new opportunities to discover more of the rich historic Ukraine military aviation, of which, as mentioner earlier, the traces can be found throughout the immense country.