BSF antisubmarine aviation is close to disappearance

20.10.2010 Black Sea Fleet (BSF) ASW aviation could cease to exist in the nearest several years, reports Interfax referring to a source in Russian Navy Main HQ. Most of the fleet's ASW aircrafts and helicopters will expire service live and be decommissioned by 2015. Some of those planes have been in service for 40 years now.

BSF naval aviation includes 25th ASW helicopter regiment, 917th combined air regiment, and 43rd attack air regiment. They are based at air bases Kacha and Gvardeiskoye. In total, those units have in inventory about thirty Ka-27 ASW helicopters and Mi-14 multirole helicopters, and four Be-12 ASW amphibious aircrafts (the oldest one recently turned 50).

Apart from ASW helicopters and aircrafts, BSF naval aviation includes 18 Su-24M front-line bombers and 4 Su-24MR tactical reconnaissance aircrafts. In addition, BSF aviation conducts flights of jammer helicopters Mi-8, aircrafts An-2, An-12, and An-26. Most of the fleet's aircrafts and helicopters joined Black Sea Fleet prior to the breakup of the USSR.

Russian government and defense ministry declared plans of intensive development of Black Sea Fleet. As is expected, the fleet will get Project 11770 Serna landing boats, Project 11356 and Project 22350 frigates, Project 21632 Tornado gunnery ships, as well as Project 636 Varshavyanka and Project 677 Lada submarines. It has been reported nothing of plans to renew BSF aviation so far.