Dombarovsky (air base)

Dombarovsky Yasnaya
Yasny, Orenburg Oblast in Russia
Dombarovsky Shown within Orenburg Oblast Show map of Orenburg Oblast Dombarovsky Dombarovsky (Russia) Show map of Russia
Coordinates	51°02′56″N 59°51′12″E / 51.04889°N 59.85333°E / 51.04889; 59.85333
Type	Air Base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Operator	Strategic Rocket Forces
Site history
In use	1953-present
Airfield information
Identifiers	ICAO: XWTD
Elevation	265 metres (869 ft) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface  Concrete
Helipads Number Length and surface 04/22 210 metres (689 ft) Concrete

Dombarovsky (also given as Dombarovskiy and Tagilom) is a military airbase 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northwest of the village of Dombarovsky, near Yasny in Russia's Orenburg Oblast. Operated by the Soviet Air Defence Forces and later by the Russian Air Force, it hosted fighter interceptor squadrons and hosts an ICBM base (which has been adapted for commercial satellite launches) with a supporting helicopter base.

The site is divided into three sites:

• The former main runway and dispersals: 51°05′35″N 59°50′45″E / 51.09306°N 59.84583°E / 51.09306; 59.84583^[1]
• The current ICBM base: 50°48′12″N 59°30′59″E / 50.80333°N 59.51639°E / 50.80333; 59.51639^[2]
• The current ICBM support helicopter base: 51°02′56″N 59°51′12″E / 51.04889°N 59.85333°E / 51.04889; 59.85333 home to the 84th Independent Helicopter Squadron of the 13th Red Banner Rocket Division^[2]

The facility featured three revetment compounds.

The 412th Fighter Aviation Regiment (412 IAP PVO) flew from the base from August 1949 with the La-11, MiG-15, and MiG-17 to 1962.^[3] By the 1970s it was flying the Sukhoi Su-9 (Fishpot) aircraft.^[4] The regiment replaced it in 1978 with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23M (Flogger-B).^[4] From 1953-60 it reported to the 101st Fighter Aviation Division PVO, and then to the 19th Air Defence Corps of the 4th Independent Air Defence Army. It disbanded in 1993.

Other reporting of the 763rd Fighter Aviation Regiment (763 IAP) flying MiG-23 aircraft in 1991^[5] appears to be incorrect. The 763rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was, it appears from more recent data, flying from Yugorsk-2.

Dombarovsky is also the home of the 13th Dombarovsky Red Banner Division, 31st Missile Army of the Strategic Rocket Forces. The base was built during the mid-60s along with the majority of the Soviet ICBM bases.

The first base commander was Major-General Dmitri Chaplygin.^[6] Up to 10 units of Strategic Rocket Forces were based in the area, each with anywhere from 6 to 10 operational silos. At the peak of operations, Dombarovsky maintained a total of 64 silos on full alert. By 2002, according to the Russian press, the number had dropped to 52. The missiles deployed in the region were primarily the RS-20 type and its sub-variants.

On 22 December 2004, the Rocket Forces conducted from the base a test launch of an R-36M2 to the Kamchatka Peninsula.^[7]

With the conversion of the R-36M ICBM for use as a satellite launch vehicle, the Dnepr system, Dombarovsky has launched a number of commercial payloads. These civilian launches are operated by the Russian Air Force^{[citation needed]} on behalf of the launcher's operator, Russian/Ukrainian consortium Kosmotras. Kosmotras calls the facility Yasny launch base, and has constructed additional facilities necessary for commercial satellite launch operations, including clean room integration facilities.^[8]