721113 RUSSIAN PILOTS SEATED IN A /C MIG 21, 29, SUKHOI - 2 FIGURES

During the Cold War (1945-1991), one of the key branches of the Soviet Union's armed forces was the Military Air Force (RUS. Wojenno-Wozdusznyje Siły). At the end of World War II, some types of Soviet aircraft were quite clearly inferior to their Allied and German counterparts, but after 1945 much was done to reduce this gap. This was largely successful, as evidenced by the successes of the MiG-15 machines during the Korean War (1950-1953). After this conflict, Soviet aviation also received (especially in the 1970s and 1980s) generally successful, and sometimes very successful, machines that were not significantly inferior to their American counterparts. Examples of such designs include MiG-29, Su-27 and Tu-160 fighters. It is also worth mentioning that at the end of the Cold War, the Soviet air force had a total of about 10,000 aircraft. Organizationally, it was divided into, among others: Long Range Aviation, Front Aviation, Transport Aviation and Aviation Schools, along with training centers.