Varfolomeyevka Southwest Airfield

The primary reason for closure was military restructuring and economic factors. This airfield was a dispersal (or reserve) base for the main Varfolomeyevka Air Base. With the end of the Cold War, the strategic need for numerous dispersal airfields diminished. The Russian military consolidated its forces and abandoned many secondary installations like this one due to a lack of funding for maintenance and personnel.

The airfield is completely abandoned and in a state of advanced decay. Satellite imagery shows its single concrete runway is severely cracked, weathered, and being reclaimed by nature, with significant vegetation growing through the surface. It is entirely unusable for aviation. There are no buildings or infrastructure remaining on the site, and it does not appear to be used for any other purpose, such as agriculture or storage. The site is derelict.

Varfolomeyevka Southwest was a classic Soviet-era military dispersal airfield. Its strategic purpose during the Cold War was to increase the survivability of air assets from the main Varfolomeyevka Air Base (UHWV), located just a few kilometers to the northeast. In the event of a potential conflict or a surprise attack on the main base, aircraft such as Su-17, Su-24, and Su-25 fighter-bombers and reconnaissance jets could be rapidly moved to this secondary, less-obvious strip. This would complicate enemy targeting and ensure a portion of the air regiment could survive a first strike to mount a counter-attack. The airfield was a key element of the Soviet Union's defensive military doctrine in the Russian Far East.

There are no known or publicly discussed plans to reopen or re-purpose the Varfolomeyevka Southwest Airfield. Given its advanced state of deterioration, the significant cost required for reconstruction, and its strategic redundancy due to the proximity of the active Varfolomeyevka Air Base, any prospect of reopening is extremely unlikely.