Loukhi-3 Air Base

Military Reorganization and Downsizing. The air base was closed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The primary reason was the disbandment of the resident military unit, the 991st Fighter Aviation Regiment (991 IAP), as part of widespread military cutbacks and strategic realignment in the newly formed Russian Federation.

The site is completely abandoned and derelict. Satellite imagery and ground reports show a single, decaying 2500-meter concrete runway, overgrown taxiways, and dozens of empty, crumbling aircraft revetments (hardstands). Most of the support buildings, barracks, and technical infrastructure have been dismantled for materials, have fallen into ruin, or were demolished. The site is not used for any official purpose and is sometimes visited by urban explorers and locals.

Loukhi-3 was a key Cold War-era Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO) forward operating base. Its primary historical significance was housing the 991st Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was part of the 21st Air Defence Corps of the 10th Independent Air Defence Army. The regiment's mission was to patrol and defend the northwestern airspace of the USSR, particularly the border with Finland and the strategic Kola Peninsula, which hosted the Soviet Northern Fleet's main bases. For most of its operational life, the base was home to Sukhoi Su-15TM 'Flagon' interceptor aircraft, which were tasked with intercepting potential NATO reconnaissance aircraft and bombers. The base was a critical frontline component of the Soviet Union's northern air defense shield.

There are no known official plans or prospects for reopening the air base. Given its remote location in the Republic of Karelia, the severely degraded state of its infrastructure which would require complete reconstruction, and the lack of a current strategic or economic need for an airfield at this specific site, reopening is considered extremely improbable.