Current shots of the abandoned Smirnykh airfield in the Sakhalin Oblast have gone viral online. The facility with reinforced concrete shelters (RCS) was built for strategic aviation.
The airfield was built by the Imperial Japanese Army as the Keton (Keton) landing site, measuring 500x500 meters, with a concrete runway, gravel taxiways, and equipped aircraft parking areas.
Smirnykh was reconstructed in June 1966, with the construction of a new runway 2000 m long (the old one was no longer used), and subsequently the runway was extended to 2500 m. The airfield was built according to the standard for accommodating fighters, with RCS for sheltering aircraft and a fan-shaped exit.
After the reconstruction, the distance from residential buildings (Tsentralnaya St.) to the nearest aircraft parking areas was less than 500 meters. The 528th Fighter Aviation Regiment was permanently based at the airfield from September 1945 until its disbandment in 1994.
Two non-operational MiG-23 aircraft, one combat and one trainer, remained at the base airfield. The aviation commandant's office continued to operate for some time to maintain the airfield's operations. Currently, the concrete surface exists, but the airfield has been completely abandoned.
Earlier, www1.ru reported that the use of half-century-old Grad MLRS has been completely rethought: new approaches to combat work.
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