Another Russian military base in Belarus?

It is not ruled out that the Russian aviation base in Lida is just the first harbinger.

It is not ruled out that as the operational capabilities of the domestic aviation shrink, these will be Russian pilots who will take over the functions of protection Belarus’ air borders.

On 26 June the commander-in-chief of Russia’s air force general-lieutenant Viktor Bondarev summed up the results of the three-week work of the reconnaissance group, headed by him, which was selecting an aerodrome for deploying the first Russian aviation base at the territory of independent Belarus.

We would remind that back in April Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed at a meeting with Lukashenka that Moscow was planning to deploy an aviation regiment in the territory of Belarus for protecting the air borders of the “Union State”. At the first stage in 2013 it is supposed that an aviation commandant’s office will be created and a flight of fighter jets will be deployed for patrol duties.

For the purpose of following the agreements a group of Russian military headed by the commander of the air force Bondarev arrived to Belarus on 6 June and explored the conditions at over twenty military aerodromes. In the USSR times there were a lot of them deployed here. Now most of them are out of use and are in inoperative condition. Significant investments of resources and time are neededfFor their revival.

The main attention was turned to the functioning units with the purpose of costs minimization. Out of them the Russians picked the aerodrome in Lida, located in 35 km from the border with Lithuania and in 120 km from the border with Poland, as the best suiting. In the Soviet times the 911th fighter and bomber aviation regiment with Mig-27s was based here as well as the 497th bomber aviation regiment of the 26th air army, armed with Su-24s.

In the meanwhile, the vice-president of the Academy of geopolitical problems (Russia) Vladimir Anokhin commenting on the selection of the deployment site for the Moscow internet-media Vzgliad, spoke in the spirit implying that for protecting the security of Russia’s borders in the Western direction a mixed division must be deployed at the base, comprised of a regiment of front bombers, a regiment of fighter-bombers and a fighter jets regiment.

From the military point of view, bomber aviation planes must be there with powerful carriers and cover jets, Anokhin explained. Apart from the main site the Russian General Staff should think of provision aerodromes and staging airfields, and the possibilities for this base’s dispersal, the Moscow expert believes.

Thus, it is not ruled out that the Russian aviation base in Lida is only the first sign harbinger.