Luostari Air Base

The air base was closed as a result of large-scale post-Soviet military restructuring and budget cuts. The resident unit, the 174th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, was disbanded in 2001, and its aircraft (MiG-23MLD) were being phased out of service. The closure was part of a broader consolidation of Russian air power, which involved shutting down numerous Cold War-era airfields in favor of modernizing a smaller number of key strategic bases.

The air base is completely abandoned and in a state of advanced decay. Satellite imagery shows a crumbling main runway, overgrown taxiways, and derelict aircraft revetments and support buildings. The site is not used for any aviation purposes. However, the adjacent military town (garisson), known as Korzunovo or Luostari-Novoye, still exists. A notable feature is the Air Force Museum of the Northern Fleet located in Korzunovo, which includes a house-museum dedicated to Yuri Gagarin, preserving the room where he lived. The airfield itself is a relic of the Cold War, slowly being reclaimed by the Arctic environment.

Luostari Air Base holds significant historical importance, primarily because it was the service station for Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space. From November 1957 to March 1960, Lieutenant Gagarin served here as a fighter pilot in the 769th Fighter Aviation Regiment (769 IAP) of the Northern Fleet's Air Arm, flying MiG-15bis aircraft. It was from this remote Arctic base that he was selected for the Soviet cosmonaut program. During the Cold War, the base was a crucial frontline outpost for the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO). It was located just 15 km from the Norwegian border, making it a key interceptor base against potential NATO incursions over the Barents Sea. Over the years, it hosted various aircraft, including the Yak-28P, Su-15TM, and finally the MiG-23MLD, operated by the 174th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.

There are no known official plans or credible prospects for reopening Luostari Air Base. The infrastructure is too degraded to be reactivated without a complete and costly reconstruction. The Russian Ministry of Defence has focused its resources on modernizing other strategic Arctic airfields like Severomorsk-1, Olenya, and Nagurskoye. Given the long range of modern combat aircraft and standoff weapons, the strategic necessity for a fighter base at this specific location has diminished. Therefore, its reopening is considered highly unlikely.