F7214 SOVIET/RUSSIAN MODERN AIRFIELD GROUNG PERSONNEL - 3 FIGURES

During the Cold War (1945-1991), one of the key branches of the Soviet Union's armed forces was the Military Air Force (Russian: Wojenno-Wozdusznyje Siły), which after the end of World War II began to experience a very intensive development - both in terms of numbers and quality of used aircraft. Of course, this entailed the need to build adequate facilities, in the form of airports, radar bases, etc. In the 1970s and 1980s, numerous Soviet air bases were built according to a relatively simple scheme with numerous concrete hangars for airplanes, covered most often on the roof with grass or other forms of vegetation and concrete runways. In the case of air bases located outside the USSR, social facilities and residential buildings for personnel were also very often built near the airport. An excellent example is the Kołobrzeg-Podczele air base on the Polish coast, where the 871 Aviation Regiment was stationed, equipped with MiG-23 planes at the end of the Cold War. It is also worth remembering that the non-flying air personnel of the USSR Air Force underwent specialized training before taking up their duties, often much more complicated than that adequate for land forces.The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (FR for short) were officially formed in May 1992 and are seen as the heir to the combat traditions and achievements of the Soviet armed forces. Currently, they are recognized as the second most powerful armed forces in the world, second only to US forces. One of their most important elements is the air component, more precisely - the Air Force of the Russian Federation, which is currently part of the Air and Space Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2013, the Russian air force numbered approximately 150,000 soldiers. Of course, the vast majority of these soldiers are the so-called non-flying personnel responsible for the inspection, repair and preparation of combat machines for flight, as well as for the control of these flights. In 1989-2000, the level of training of these personnel was not very high and was similar to that of other types of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. However, it has been changing systematically since 2000. Due to the complexity of the equipment, there is also a noticeable tendency to reduce the number of soldiers in the service of professional soldiers (Russian: contractors). These changes led to a decrease in the number of air accidents in the period 2000-2019 and improvement of the skills of ground personnel. A specific, successful test of the quality he presented was and still is the Russian intervention in the civil war in Syria, which began in 2015.