Severomorsk-3 (air base)

Severomorsk-3 (ICAO: XLMV) (also referred to as Malyavr or Murmansk Northeast) is an air base of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet Naval Aviation in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located east of Murmansk, next to Lake Malyavr in the west of the Kola Peninsula.

The base is home to the 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment with the Mikoyan MiG-29KR/KUBR (ASCC: Fulcrum-D) and the 279th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment with the Kamov Ka-52K "Katran", Sukhoi Su-25UTG (ASCC: Frogfoot), and Sukhoi Su-33 (ASCC: Flanker-D).

History

The base was used by the: 987th Maritime Missile Aviation Regiment between 1952 and 1993 with the Tu-16.

In the late 1950s, Severomorsk-3 was an operating location for Tupolev Tu-16 Badger medium bombers and featured an 8200 ft (2500 m) concrete runway.THE SOVIET ARCTIC, CIA-RDP79T01018A000300010001-0, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, July 1, 1959.OAK - PART 1 MISSION 1008-2: 14-17 JULY 1964, National Photographic Information Center, Washington DC, 1964. (NOTE: Filed incorrectly in CIA CREST as "SOVIETS CONTINUING THEIR EXPANSION OF VLF COMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES") In 1970 and 1971, Tu-16 jets in Egyptian Air Force markings were observed conducting training flights at Severomorsk-3.THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 4 DECEMBER 1970, CIA CREST 0005977833, December 4, 1970.THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 25 MAY 1971, CIA CREST 0005992627, May 25, 1971. During the 1970s, the airfield was designated as a Yakovlev Yak-38 Forger base for the Murmansk area whenever its parent Kiev-class aircraft carrier was in port.CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY AT SOVIET FORGER-RELATED AIRFIELDS, CIA-RDP80T01782R000300300001-1, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, November 1, 1980. Extensive Marston Mat planking was laid at the base in the late 1970s to support the Yak-38's VTOL requirements.

After the USSR's breakup, the main operator of Severomorsk-3 was the 279th Independent Naval Shturmovik Aviation Regiment (279 OMShAP) which joined the base during October 1976, operating at least 41 Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft in 1992, with 4 Su-25UB and 5 Su-25UTG trainers, plus 27 Yakovlev Yak-38 and 1 Yak-38U aircraft. The unit changed its name to the 279th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment (279 OKIAP) of Russian Naval Aviation sometime between 1992 and 2016 and it made up of two fighter and one training squadrons operating the Sukhoi Su-33, Sukhoi Su-27UB, and Su-25UTG.

The Russian Navy's ZEVS-ELF Transmitter is located directly south of Severomorsk-3.

In mid-2026, during the Russo-Ukraine War, it was reported that many of the 45th Air and Air Defence Forces Army's long-range air defence assets might have been redeployed out of the region in order to counter the Ukrainian drone threat in other regions of the country. This potentially left bases in the region more vulnerable should they be specifically targeted by Ukrainian long-range UAV forces. However, fortified and reinforced concrete hangar facilities, for fighters of Su-33 and MiG-29K size, were reported as under construction at the Severomorsk-3 air base.

Severomorsk-3 (air base)

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