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The Russian Air Force () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Viktor Bondarev. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet ''Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota'' ("Naval Aviation"), or ''AV-MF''). The Air Force was formed from parts of the former Soviet Air Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991–92. Boris Yeltsin's creation of the Ministry of Defence (Russia) on 7 May 1992, can be taken as a convenient formation date for the new Air Force. Since that time, the Air Force has suffered severe setbacks due to lack of resources, and has constantly shrunk in size. Since Vladimir Putin became President of Russia however, much more money has been allocated to the Armed Forces as a whole. On 1 August 2015, the Russian Air Force, along with the Aerospace Defense Forces and the Air Defense Troops, was merged into a new branch of the Armed Forces. The Defense Minister, General Sergei Shoigu, stressed the need for greater efficiency and logistical support as the reasons for the merger. The name of the merged force is now the Russian Aerospace Forces, with headquarters at the ADF HQ in Moscow.〔http://tass.ru/en/russia/812184〕 ==History== Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union into its fifteen constituent republics in December 1991, the aircraft and personnel of the Soviet Air Forces – the ''VVS'' were divided among the newly independent states. General Pyotr Deynekin (:ru:Дейнекин, Пётр Степанович), the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, became the first commander of the new organisation on 24 August 1991. Russia received the majority of the most modern fighters and 65% of the manpower. The major commands of the former Soviet VVS – the Long Range Aviation, Military Transport Aviation and Frontal Aviation were renamed, with few changes, Russian VVS commands. However, many regiments, aircraft, and personnel were claimed by the republics they were based in, forming the core of the new republics' air forces. Some aircraft in Belarus and Ukraine (such as Tupolev Tu-160s) were returned to Russia, sometimes in return for debt reductions, as well as a long range aviation division based at Dolon in Kazakhstan. During the 1990s, the financial stringency felt throughout the armed forces made its mark on the Air Forces as well.〔Austin & Muraviev, The Armed Forces of Russia in Asia, Tauris, 2000, p.235〕 Pilots and other personnel could sometimes not get their wages for months, and on occasion resorted to desperate measures: four MiG-31 pilots at Yelizovo in the Far East went on hunger strike in 1996 to demand back pay which was several months overdue, and the problem was only resolved by diverting unit money intended for other tasks.〔Jeroen Brinkman, 'Russian Air Force in Turmoil,' Air Forces Monthly, No.105, December 1996, p.2, cited in Austin & Muraviev, 2000〕 As a result of the cutbacks, infrastructure became degraded as well, and in 1998, 40% of military airfields needed repair. The situation only began to improve after Putin took power and military budgets were greatly increased. The ''VVS'' participated in the First Chechen War (1994–1996) and the Second Chechen War (1999–2002). These campaigns also presented significant difficulties for the ''VVS'' including the terrain, lack of significant fixed targets and insurgents armed with Stinger and Strela-2M surface-to-air missiles. During the 1990s the Sukhoi design bureau designed a replacement bomber aircraft, the T-60S. This aircraft did not reach the production stage. A further abortive design project was the MiG 1.44. The former Soviet Air Defence Forces remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997. During 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded, 134 reorganized, and over 600 given a new jurisdiction.〔General Heikki Nikunen, (The Current State of the Russian Air Force ), last updated 2005〕 The redistribution of forces affected 95% of aircraft, 98% of helicopters, 93% of anti-aircraft missile complexes, 95% of the equipment of radiotechnical troops, 100% of anti-aircraft missiles and over 60% of aviation armament. More than 600,000 tons of material changed location and 3500 aircraft changed airfields. Military Transport Aviation planes took more than 40,000 families to new residence areas. The short-lived operational commands were abolished. Two air armies, 37th Air Army (long-range aviation) and 61st Air Army (former Military Transport Aviation), were established directly under the Supreme Command. The former frontal aviation and anti-aircraft forces were organized as Air Force Armies and Anti-Aircraft Defense Armies under the military district commanders. There were initially four such armies with headquarters in St.Petersburg (Leningrad Military District), Rostov-on-Don (North Caucasus Military District), Khabarovsk (Far East Military District), and Chita (Siberian Military District). Two military districts had separate Air and Air Defence Corps. When the Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were merged, the 14th Air Army was reactivated to serve as the air force formation in the area. The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185,000 from the former combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1000 colonel positions. The resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. On 29 December 1998 Colonel General Anatoly Kornukov, a former Air Defence Forces officer and new commander-in-chief of the merged force, succeeding Deynekin, reported to the Russian defence minister that the task had 'in principle been achieved'.〔Piotr Butowski, 'Russia's new air force enters a tight manoeuvre,' Jane's Intelligence Review, May 1999, p.14〕 General Kornukov established the new headquarters of the force in Zarya (:ru:Заря (микрорайон Балашихи)), near Balashikha, 20 km east of the centre of Moscow, in the former PVO central command post, where the CIS common air defence system is directed from. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Russian Air Force」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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