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Soviet Union [USSR] Frontal Aviation
Frontal Aviation was the Soviet Union's tactical air force
assigned to the military districts and the groups of forces. Its
mission was to provide air support to Ground Forces units. Frontal
Aviation cooperated closely with the Air Defense Aviation arm of
the Air Defense Forces. Protected by the latter's fighterinterceptors , Frontal Aviation in wartime would deliver
conventional, nuclear, or chemical ordnance on the enemy's supply
lines and troop concentrations to interdict its combat operations.
It would be under the operational control of Ground Forces field
commanders. In 1989 Frontal Aviation was divided into sixteen air
armies composed of fighter, fighter-bomber, tactical
reconnaissance, and electronic warfare aircraft.
In 1989 Frontal Aviation operated about 5,000 fixed- and
rotary-wing combat and reconnaissance aircraft, which included 270
Su-25, 650 Su-17, and 1,050 MiG-27 ground attack aircraft. It also
operated 450 MiG-29 and 350 Su-24 deep interdiction fighterbombers , in addition to the 450 that belonged to the Strategic Air
Armies. The Air Forces used the heavily armed Su-25, first deployed
in 1979, effectively during the early years of the war in
Afghanistan when mujahidin forces lacked modern air defense
systems.
During the 1980s, the Soviet Union doubled the size of its
force of helicopters. Helicopter regiments and squadrons were
attached to Frontal Aviation's air armies to provide tactical
mobility for, and additional fire support to, the Ground Forces.
The Mi-6, Mi-8, and Mi-26 helicopters would transport motorized
rifle units and equipment into battle or land assault units behind
enemy lines. The Mi-24, often referred to as the Hind, was the most
heavily armed helicopter in the world. It was used extensively in
both fire support and air assault roles in Afghanistan. In 1989 the
Soviet Union was testing a new helicopter, the Mi-28, designed to
be an antitank helicopter.
Data as of May 1989
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