Lodeynoye Pole Air Base

The air base was closed following the disbandment of its resident military unit, the 177th Fighter Aviation Regiment. This was a direct result of the large-scale military restructuring and significant budget cuts that occurred in the Russian Armed Forces after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The planned re-equipment of the regiment from its aging MiG-23MLD aircraft to the more modern Su-27 was canceled, which sealed the fate of both the regiment and the active status of the air base.

The air base is currently inactive and largely abandoned. The main runway, taxiways, and the distinctive arched hardened aircraft shelters are still physically intact but are in a state of significant decay from lack of maintenance. The site is not used for any regular military or scheduled civilian aviation. It is occasionally used by local civilians for unsanctioned activities like car racing, and sometimes by small private aircraft or parachuting clubs on an informal basis. The property remains under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Defence but is not maintained as an operational or reserve airfield.

Lodeynoye Pole was a key strategic air base for the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) during the Cold War. Its primary mission was to provide air defense for the northwestern borders of the USSR, protecting the critical industrial and political center of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). The base was the long-time home of the 177th 'Moscow' Fighter Aviation Regiment (177 IAP), a distinguished unit with a history dating back to World War II. Over the decades, the regiment at Lodeynoye Pole operated a series of Soviet interceptor aircraft, including the MiG-17, Su-15, and, in its final years, the variable-geometry MiG-23MLD fighter. The base featured a robust infrastructure with a long runway and numerous hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) designed to withstand a potential attack.

There are no official, confirmed, or funded plans to reopen Lodeynoye Pole Air Base. Its strategic location near the Finnish border and NATO territory has led to periodic speculation, especially during the mid-2010s, about its potential reactivation as a forward-deployment or reserve airfield as part of a broader Russian military modernization program. However, these discussions have not resulted in any concrete action. The substantial cost required to completely rebuild the runway, modernize navigation and communication systems, and restore base infrastructure makes a full-scale reopening highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.