Former Klyuchi Air Base

The air base was closed due to military restructuring and widespread force reduction following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The primary unit stationed at the base, the 865th Fighter Aviation Regiment (865 IAP), was disbanded around this time, making the airfield redundant. The closure was part of a broader trend of abandoning remote and costly military installations amid the economic challenges of the early Russian Federation.

The air base is completely abandoned and in a state of ruin. Satellite imagery clearly shows the runway, taxiways, and numerous aircraft revetments (hardstands) are still intact but severely deteriorated. The concrete and asphalt surfaces are cracked, weathered, and heavily overgrown with vegetation. The garrison area, hangars, and support buildings are derelict, with many structures collapsed or in an advanced state of decay. The site is not used for any aviation or other official purpose and is slowly being reclaimed by nature.

During the Cold War, Klyuchi Air Base was a significant forward operating base for the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO). It was home to the 865th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which flew interceptor aircraft, initially the Sukhoi Su-15TM 'Flagon' and later the advanced Mikoyan MiG-31 'Foxhound'. The base's strategic importance was twofold: it helped guard the northeastern air approaches to the USSR against potential intruders from Alaska, and, crucially, it provided air defense and support for the nearby Kura Missile Test Range, a primary impact site for testing Soviet and Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening or reactivating the Klyuchi Air Base. The Russian Ministry of Defence has focused its modernization efforts on upgrading and consolidating forces at existing, more strategically viable airfields in the Far East, such as Yelizovo Airport in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The extensive cost required to rebuild the derelict infrastructure from the ground up makes its reactivation highly improbable.