TASS reported on Friday that Over 20 air regiments of Russia’s Aerospace Force were rearmed with the latest aircraft in the past five years. Under the defense procurement plan, air formations have been annually receiving advanced aircraft since 2015, such as the latest Su-30SM, Su-34, Su-35S planes and upgraded MiG-31BM aircraft, and also Ka-52, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Mi-8AMTSh and other combat helicopters. The structure of the Aerospace Force’s armament and military hardware has changed substantially over the past five year Aerospace Force Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Sergei Surovikin said.
The Russian Aerospace Forces or Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily (VKS) are the Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It was established as a new branch on 1 August 2015 with the merging of the Russian Air Force (VVS) and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (VVKO) under the recommendations of the Ministry of Defence. It is headquartered in Moscow. Several reasons were announced for the merging, including greater efficiency and logistical support. With the merging of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, the new Russian Aerospace Forces consist of three sub-branches: Air Force, Missile Defence Forces and Space Forces.
