Afrikanda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Afrikanda
IATA: - ICAO:
Summary
Airport type military
Operator Russian Air Force
Serves Afrikanda
Elevation AMSL 505 ft (154 m)
Coordinates 67°27′24″N, 032°47′12″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
8202 2500 Concrete

Afrikanda is a remote military air base in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Though it is built for fighter operations with 30 revetments, it has largely served the interceptor aircraft role. It was home to the 431 IAP (431st Interceptor Aviation Regiment), which operated 39 Su-15TM jets and a number of Su-27 aircraft (some sources give this as 470 IAP). In 1978 a Sukhoi Su-15 was launched from Afrikanda to intercept Korean Air Flight 902, a Boeing 707 which was later forced down.

It is possible that Afrikanda may have closed around 2000 due to budget cuts; Scramble.nl, a Dutch military aviation site, certainly says so.