Dyagilevo AB
Aircraft Repair Factory #360
54°36'N 39°41'E

Dyagilevo Air Base is located in the central part of the Russia Plain in Ryazan Oblast, some 30 kilometers from the border of the Moscow region. The Ryazan Oblast Government is developing civil aviation cargo facilities at the Dyagilevo Military Airport, located in the oblast some 180 km. southwest of Moscow. The airport already handles a small number of cargo flights daily. Development plans call for a second runway, a new cargo terminal, and modernization of existing infrastructure.

As of 01 July 1998 a total of 4 Bear-G bombers were stationed at Dyagilevo, versus the 11 that had previously been deployed there.

In 1958 a repair facility was established in the city of Ryazan and named Aircraft Repair Factory no.360. The factory has acted as a primary enterprise carrying out maintenance on Long-range aviation aircraft. Tupolev Tu-16 and Tu-22, Myasischev 3M and M-4 bombers used to be repaired here. Starting in 1985, the local workers shifted to third-generation aircraft like the Tupolev Tu-22M2 and Tu-22M3 supersonic bombers, Ilyushin Il-76 heavy lifters and Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carriers. More than 700 heavy-weight aircraft have been repaired in Ryazan. In 1993 the factory was ordered to become familiar with the Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrier. As always, the order did not come with adequate funding from the Government. As of September 1999 the updating of the first Tu-95MS strategic bomber was finishing at Ryazan air repair plant # 360 in cooperation with Tupolev's Research and Development Air Complex and Raduga Engineering Design Agency. At the same time a regular heavy renewal of the plane has been performed.

The main goal for the factory employees during 1990 and 1991 was to obtain permission for maintenance and repair on civil airplanes, simultaneously becoming familiar with Ilyushin Il-78 tankers in service with the Long-range aviation. The first civil Il-76 repaired here took-off in late 1991.

In 1999 the Air Forces Repair Plant No 360 began adapting Tu-95MS Bear H strategic bombers to carry conve6tional Kh- 101 cruise missiles.

The Military Air Force 1st class air base is located in a city boundaries of Ryazan. The characteristics the air base correspond to first-rate civil air bases such as Vnukovo, Domodedovo, or Bikovo. The landing strip (3080 x 60 m.) is capable to accomodating planes of weights up to 205 tons.

The air base is in round-the-clock readiness for the reception of planes. The radio engineering equipment of the air base allows landing planes at bad weather conditions. The installation civil systems of landing appropriate to the international standards is possible. The air base has a warehouse of a petroleum products of capacity not less than 2000 tons of air fuel connected by the direct pipeline with a Ryazan oil refining factory. The air base has all necessary services of maintenance of flights: air navigation and management of flights, search and rescue, fire, medical maintenance etc. In the territory of the air base the air repair factory has the personnel, equipment and license for performance of repair and service of civil air courts 1 class (IL-76). There is access by automobile and railways to the terminal for loading aviation fuel.

Within the borders of the air base is an area of more than 2,000,000 square meters. This includes unused grounds, suitable for construction of objects of a civil ground cargo complex (parking, warehouse premises, customs, boundary and sanitary posts etc.). As of the late 1990s the air base and all infrastructure of maintenance were used by flights of military planes to only 10-15 of % of the technical opportunities. The available infrastructure and the opportunities of military air base "Diagilevo" allow at rather small expenses to organize in Ryazan air base of joint basing (use) capable to accept all types of domestic and foreign cargo planes.

As of the late 1990s the air garrison totalled more than 15 thousands inhabitants. Of these, about 400 families of military men did not have habitation. The difficult economic situation of the entire country and Armed Forces did not allow them in the near future to expect habitation.

Ryazan, the oblast's capital, has a population of 500,000 people, and is just a 3-hour drive southwest of Moscow. The city is conveniently located on the transportation routes from Moscow to the southern and southeastern regions of European Russia. There are also highways and railroads connecting Ryazan and the region with Urals and Siberia. The city is home to more than 30 large enterprises, including an oil refinery, a food processing plant, and an automotive component factory. The Ryazan Oblast is known for its production of petroleum products, precision instruments, radio electronics, textiles, and footwear. The region's skilled workforce is supplemented by five higher education and research institutes and 31 technical and vocational schools. Most industrial and agribusiness enterprises in the oblast have been privatized.

References

• RYAZANAVIATRANS
• THE HEALER OF SILVER BIRDS Publishing House Aviation Cosmonautics