Mustvee Highway Strip

Military Decommissioning. The highway strip was a Soviet-era military asset. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the restoration of Estonian independence in 1991, its strategic purpose ceased to exist. The subsequent withdrawal of all Russian (formerly Soviet) troops from Estonia by August 31, 1994, led to the formal abandonment of all such military installations. The newly formed Estonian Defence Forces did not have the same operational doctrine or the resources to maintain this network of dispersal airfields.

The site is currently an active and integral part of Estonian National Road 3 (Jõhvi–Tartu–Valga maantee), a major public highway. The long, straight section that formed the runway is used for everyday traffic. The concrete dispersal pads at the ends of the strip are still visible on satellite imagery but are largely unused, overgrown, or function as informal rest stops or turnarounds for vehicles. The ICAO code 'EE-0019' is an unofficial designation used by aviation enthusiasts and in flight simulation software to catalog the location; it is not an officially registered aerodrome by the Estonian Transport Administration.

The Mustvee Highway Strip was a Cold War-era military dispersal airfield ('Zapasanoye Aerodromi' in Russian military terminology) built during the Soviet occupation of Estonia. Its purpose was to serve as a backup runway for the Soviet Air Forces. In the event of a conflict with NATO, primary airbases were considered vulnerable to attack. This strip, along with several others in Estonia (e.g., Varja, Piirsalu), was constructed on a main highway to allow tactical aircraft like the Su-24, MiG-27, and Su-25 to be dispersed and operate from concealed locations. The strip was specially engineered with a strengthened roadbed, a long, straight, and level surface, and featured parking/servicing aprons hidden in the woods at either end. Operations were limited to occasional military exercises to practice landings and takeoffs; it was never used for civilian or regular military air traffic.

There are no known plans or prospects for reopening the Mustvee Highway Strip as an airfield. Its primary and critical function is as a section of a major national highway. While the Estonian Air Force and its NATO allies occasionally conduct highway landing exercises in Estonia, they typically use different, pre-planned sections of modern roads for temporary drills, rather than reactivating old Soviet-era infrastructure. The logistical and economic challenges of converting a major road back into even a temporary airfield make its reopening highly improbable.