Kupino (air base)
Kupino is a former military air base in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia. It is located 4 km southeast of the town of the same name. It largely served the interceptor air defense role for the Soviet Air Force.
Kupino | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kupino, Novosibirsk Oblast in Russia | |||||||
  Kupino Shown within Novosibirsk Oblast  Kupino Kupino (Russia) | |||||||
| Coordinates | 54°21′04″N 077°21′21″E | ||||||
| Type | Air Base | ||||||
| Site information | |||||||
| Owner | Ministry of Defence | ||||||
| Operator | Russian Air Force | ||||||
| Site history | |||||||
| Built | 1962 | ||||||
| In use | 1962 - 1998 | ||||||
| Airfield information | |||||||
| Identifiers | ICAO: XNNK | ||||||
| Elevation | 112 metres (367 ft) AMSL | ||||||
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Kupino was initially observed in the late 1950s by Western Lockheed U-2 overflights and was originally a training airfield. The 849th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO was based there from 1962.[1] A 1966 satellite mission identified 30 Sukhoi Su-9 (NATO: Fishpot), confirming its role as an interceptor base, as well as first-generation interceptors that included 16 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO: Fagot) and 9 Yakovlev Yak-25 (NATO: Flashlight).[2] An air warning radar facility was identified 1 mile northwest of the runway.[2]
The regiment continued to operate the Su-9 into the 1970s.[3] The regiment replaced it in 1980 with the MiG-23P (NATO: Flogger-G).[3]
The base was closed after the end of the Cold War and the aviation regiment was disbanded in 1998.[1]
References
Citations
- Lenskii & Tsybin 2014, p. 58.
- CABLE TO DIRNSA FROM NPIC, September 1966, CREST: CIA-RDP78B04558A001400030063-5, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.
- PHASEOUT OF FISHPOT IN APVO STRANYY AIRFIELDS USSR, February 1981, CREST: CIA-RDP81T00380R000100980001-5, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.