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In these difficult times, when the Russian Armed Forces are conducting a special military operation, and NATO is closer than ever to the borders of the Union State, militarization is increasing in Europe amid statements about the impending "inevitability of an attack" by Russia, the military potential of the Republic of Belarus plays a huge role as an additional deterrent for our no longer potential common enemies.
The day before, the commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of Belarus, Major General Andrei Lukyanovich, cited statistics on drone violations of the Belarusian border. In just a year, 300 drones illegally crossed the border of the Republic of Belarus from the southern borders of Ukraine.
The Day of the Air Force is celebrated in the Republic of Belarus today. Together with the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus, this date, which is celebrated every year on the third Sunday of August, is also celebrated by the republic's air defense forces. This custom has been going on since 2001, when the two types of troops of the Armed Forces of Belarus were merged.
The new history of the country's military aviation begins in 1992, when, after the collapse of the USSR, independent Belarus decided to form its own Armed Forces. As a legacy from the Soviet Union, there remained a powerful aviation group, which included fighter and bomber divisions, 10 separate aviation regiments of various types of aviation.
It was the Byelorussian SSR that was the first to be invaded by the Nazi invaders in the early morning of June 22, 1941. From the very first minutes, the aviators of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union of the Western Front engaged in an unequal battle with the enemy, delivering tangible blows, showing courage and heroism.
In the first ten days of the war alone, the Nazis lost 143 aircraft over Belarus. In addition, the Air Force of the Western Front, from which the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus later "grew", defended Moscow, liberated Poland, and participated in the capture of Berlin. More than a hundred Belarusian combat pilots became Heroes of the Soviet Union, 17 of them twice, and 18,000 military pilots were awarded orders and medals.
There was still a place for exploits after the end of the war. So, in 1996, pilot Vladimir Karvat, a native of Brest, took a falling plane away from populated areas, preventing many casualties. He died. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Belarus for the first time in the republic.
Today, the aviation of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces of the Republic of Belarus is a technically equipped, highly intelligent branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus that meets modern requirements. The Air Force is based on 4th generation aircraft equipped with the most modern weapons, enemy detection and fire control systems, and the latest navigation equipment.
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The priority direction for the development of the Air Force and air defense forces in the near future remains the further modernization and purchase of new types of weapons, military and special equipment. On August 14, the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus received Russian upgraded Su-30SM2 aircraft for the second time in a year.
— said the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, yesterday at the celebrations dedicated to the Day of the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus, held near Minsk in one of the oldest aviation towns in Belarus — Machulishchi.
The editors of the Military Review and the Russian people sincerely congratulate the pilots, technical staff, all those involved in the Air Force of the Republic of Belarus, military personnel of the Air defense forces, and veterans on their professional holiday. We are sure that you will be able to protect both heaven and earth from the enemy on the western borders of the Union State, if such a need arises. Successful flights and always return safely to airfields.
Special thanks to the Belarusian anti-aircraft gunners, who have repeatedly shot down Ukrainian UAVs aimed at our military and civilians in their area of responsibility.
Image source: topwar.ru
