Bilasuvar, AZ 🇦🇿 Closed Airport
AZ-0020
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- ft
AZ-BIL
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Loading...GPS Code: Not available
Local Code: Not available
Location: 39.516043° N, 48.690634° E
Continent: AS
Type: Closed Airport
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Approximately May-June 1992
The air base was closed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The primary operator, the Soviet Air Force's 882nd Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, was withdrawn to Russia. The newly independent Azerbaijani Air Force did not have the strategic requirement or resources to operate such a large, specialized base, leading to its abandonment.
The air base is completely abandoned and in a state of dereliction. Satellite imagery shows the main runway, extensive taxiways, and dozens of hardened aircraft shelters (revetments) are still intact but are crumbling, weathered, and overgrown with vegetation. The facility is inactive and not used for any aviation purposes. Some of the auxiliary buildings are in ruins, though there is some evidence of minor, non-aviation activity in the area, possibly for local agricultural storage or as a garrison for ground forces. The ICAO code 'AZ-0020' is an unofficial identifier used in non-governmental databases and is not recognized by the ICAO.
Pushkino East was a significant and strategic Soviet Air Force base during the Cold War. It was the home of the 882nd Independent 'Stalingrad' Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment, which was part of the 34th Air Army of the Transcaucasian Military District. The base's primary mission was strategic and tactical reconnaissance along the USSR's southern border, with a focus on NATO member Turkey and neighboring Iran. To fulfill this role, it hosted some of the Soviet Union's most advanced reconnaissance aircraft of the era, including the Sukhoi Su-17M3R/M4R 'Fitter' (tactical reconnaissance) and the high-altitude, high-speed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25RB 'Foxbat' (strategic reconnaissance/bomber). Its location made it a critical intelligence-gathering outpost for the Soviet military.
There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening Pushkino East Air Base. The cost to refurbish the extensive, decaying infrastructure to modern standards would be prohibitive. The government of Azerbaijan has focused its military and civil aviation investments on modernizing other active air bases (e.g., Kyurdamir, Nasosnaya) and constructing new international airports in regions of higher strategic importance, such as the Karabakh region. Given these priorities, the reactivation of Pushkino is highly unlikely.
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