Russian Aviation Base "Kant" in Kyrgyzstan
On October 23, 2003, the official opening of the Russian aviation base Kant took place in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
The main task of the airbase is to support the actions of the military units of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the CSTO from the air.
The history of the aviation base begins with the Odessa Aviation School of Pilots, established by the order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR on February 23, 1941. The first head of the school was appointed Ya.B. Mitelman. By April, more than 500 cadets began to carry out the flight training program.
With the onset of the Great Patriotic War, the school ceased its educational activities, and its cadets began to perform combat tasks on I-15 aircraft to protect Odessa from German air strikes.
In July 1941, the aviation school relocated to Stalingrad, where, alongside the educational process, round-the-clock combat duty was organized with the task of destroying enemy aircraft in the city area.
In December 1941, the pilot school was relocated to the suburbs of Frunze (now Bishkek). Here, in the deep rear, systematic work was carried out to prepare military pilots for the front.
In 1945, the school was reorganized into a military aviation school, based on which a training aviation regiment was formed in 1951. In 1956, the regiment began training foreign aviation specialists.
Today, the combined Russian military aviation base Kant is structurally part of the 14th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, serving as the aviation component of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces, and performs tasks to ensure the security of the territory and airspace of the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, including the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
The pilots of the base participate annually in various international counter-terrorism exercises, consistently confirming their high level of professional training. The base is equipped with Su-25 attack aircraft and Mi-8MTV helicopters.
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