The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces or Russian Air and Space Defence Forces (VVKO)[1] (Russian: Войска воздушно-космической обороны (ВВКО), tr.Voyska vozdushno-kosmicheskoy oborony (VVKO))[2] was a branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsible for aerospace defence, and the operation of Russian military satellites and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. It was established on 1 December 2011 and replaced the Russian Space Forces.[3]
The Aerospace Defence Forces was first commanded by former Space Forces commander Colonel GeneralOleg Ostapenko, who was promoted to Deputy Minister of Defence in November 2012.[4][5] In December 2012, Aleksandr Golovko was appointed the new commander.[6] Although it is officially translated as aerospace in English,[7] some Russian writers translate it as "air and space" instead.[4][8]
The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces duties for space defense are now with the Russian Space Forces under the umbrella of the new Russian Aerospace Forces. The RADF today only provides air defense responsibilities.
The Aerospace Defence Forces trace their heritage to the Space Operations Section, Strategic Operations Branch of the Supreme High Command Reserve Artillery, formed in 1955, and transformed into the Space Services Central Administration of the Strategic Rocket Forces in 1964 (and later the Chief Space Operations Directorate in 1972).
In 1967 the Anti-Missile and Space Defence Forces were formed (Russian: войска противоракетной и противокосмической обороны [ПРО и ПКО], tr.Voyska Protivoraketnoy i Protivokosmicheskoy Oborony [PRO i PKO]) under Artillery Lieutenant General Yu. Votintsev.[11] They were reorganised as the Ministry of Defence Space Service Units in 1982, and were expanded to include the Chief Space Operations Directorate in 1986.
In 1991 the Soviet Union was broken up. The Russian Armed Forces were established on 7 May 1992, enabling the creation of Russian Space Forces later that year on 10 August. They were merged with the Strategic Missile Troops in 1996, but were reformed in 2001.
In 2006 PresidentVladimir Putin agreed with the idea of a new "Air and Space Defence Concept" from 2016, but without the implication that it would be a separate service. In 2008 Aleksandr Zelin argued that the missile defence and space defence forces should be merged into the Air Force.[8]
On 30 November 2010 President Dmitry Medvedev said that air and space defence services would be under a single strategic command and the General Staff and Ministry of Defence had decided it would be on the basis of the Space Forces. In April 2011 the then Space Forces commander Oleg Ostapenko said that concept for the future system had been approved. The service was created by the presidential decree "On changes to the composition of the Russian Armed Forces until January 1, 2016" which has not been published.[8]
Thus, on 1 December 2011, the Space Forces became the Aerospace Defence Forces, fusing all space and some air defence components into one joint service. On 1 August 2015, the ADF was merged with the Russian Air Force to form the Russian Aerospace Forces, by orders of President Putin, and upon the recommendation of the Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. It is today a service speciality corps within the Aerospace Forces with responsibility for the aerospace defense of Russian territory.
Until 12 August 2015 the Aerospace Defence Forces was organized into 2 commands: the Air and Space Defence Command; and the Space Command. The structure was as follows:[4][7][8]
Space Command (Russian: Космическое командование (KK)):
In early March 2014, spokesman of the forces said the aerospace defences would include a space -and ground-based intelligence- gathering and missile early warning network, an air and space defence command, a VKO command-and-control structure, and a logistics support branch. Deputy Defence Minister Yury Borisov said on that month that the military would invest 2 trillion rubles ($55.3 billion) in building up its aerospace defence weapons over the next six years to ensure they are capable of thwarting existing and future types of air and space attacks.
Until 2015 the VKO used the following facilities for aerospace defence operations, with the merger of the Air Force it also now handles the operations of Russia's hundreds of air defense bases and air defense units as well.
RT-70 in Yevpatoria (since the 2014 Crimean crisis, the status of Crimea, and thus of the city of Yevpatoria which is located on Crimea, is under dispute between Russia and Ukraine; Ukraine and the majority of the international community considers Crimea and Yevpatoria an integral part of Ukraine, while Russia, on the other hand, considers Crimea and Yevpatoria an integral part of Russia[14]) and Galenki (together with Roscosmos)
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