The Levashovo airfield near Saint Petersburg will become the base for Russian naval aviation, the Izvestia newspaper reports on March 23, citing Russian Defense Ministry sources.
Levashovo airfield opened in December after reconstruction. Combat planes will be located here, as well as passenger and transport ships belonging to the Naval Aviation of the Navy. Experts note that there was previously no naval aviation in the Gulf of Finland region, and the deployment of these forces near St. Petersburg may be associated with the desire of Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
It should be noted that work is currently underway to expand the Levashevo airfield. In November 2022, a special engineering battalion was transferred here from the Murmansk region. Its staff is dedicated to the construction of bases and ground infrastructure for aircraft and helicopters of the Naval Aviation of the Navy. It is not yet known which specific aviation units will be based here.
The Levashovo airfield is located in the Vyborgsky district, two kilometers from the village of the same name. Aviation units have been based here since the Great Patriotic War. In the post-Soviet years, the 1080 test aviation base was located at the airfield, then the 33 separate transport mixed aviation regiment.
In 2021, the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a concession agreement with Gazprom for the reconstruction and conversion of the Levashovo military airfield into a joint airfield. The financing was made at the expense of PJSC Gazprom.
It was planned to reconstruct the runway with a length of more than 2.6 km, equip the airfield with the necessary meteorological and air navigation equipment, build the necessary facilities and communications, and build a modern civil aviation air terminal complex, the performance of which It will be 250 people per hour.
On July 1, 2022, the Levashovo airfield received permission to carry out international flights, and on December 27, 2022, its grand opening took place. Completion of construction of new support facilities, including a guard street, drainage system, perimeter fence and noise protection, is scheduled for summer 2023.
Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov said that previously there was no naval aviation in the Gulf of Finland region. According to the expert, against the background of NATO expansion at the expense of Finland and Sweden, Russia needs to strengthen its defensive positions, including in the Leningrad region.
“The Finns have a pretty good fleet. Apparently, a new aviation regiment will be deployed to work with this fleet in case of its aggressive actions. When they are based in Levashovo, the planes of the naval aviation will be able to control the entire Baltic and, if necessary, be transferred to the Kola Peninsula.Boltenkov said.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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