Smirnykh Air Base

The air base was closed following the disbandment of its primary resident unit, the 528th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP), in 1994. This was part of the large-scale military downsizing, budget cuts, and strategic realignment of the Russian Armed Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The site is completely abandoned and in an advanced state of decay. Satellite imagery and reports from visitors show a crumbling main runway (approximately 2,500 meters), overgrown taxiways, and derelict aircraft revetments. The associated barracks, hangars, and technical buildings are in ruins, having been stripped of valuable materials and left to the elements. The former air base is now a destination for urban explorers and serves as a stark relic of the Cold War.

Smirnykh Air Base (former ICAO code: XHSS) was a key Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) forward air base during the Cold War. Its strategic location on Sakhalin Island was crucial for protecting the Soviet Far East from potential air threats from Japan and US forces in the Pacific. It was home to the 528th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which over the years operated aircraft including the MiG-17, MiG-21, and ultimately the MiG-23P interceptor. The base is most notably linked to the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 incident on September 1, 1983. While the Su-15 interceptor that shot down the airliner was from the nearby Sokol Air Base, MiG-23 fighters from Smirnykh were also part of the air defense network activated during the event, highlighting its integral role in the region's command and control structure.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening Smirnykh Air Base. The extensive decay of its infrastructure would require a complete reconstruction, which is economically and logistically unfeasible. The Russian Ministry of Defence has focused its resources on modernizing existing, active air bases in the Far East, making the reactivation of a remote and derelict site like Smirnykh extremely unlikely.