Klyuchi (air base)

Klyuchi Air Base
Klyuchi Air Base
	IATA: none; ICAO: XHPL;
Summary
Airport type	Military
Operator	Russian Air Force
Location	Klyuchi, Kamchatka Krai
Elevation AMSL	499 ft / 152 m
Coordinates	56°18′36″N 160°48′18″E / 56.31000°N 160.80500°ECoordinates: 56°18′36″N 160°48′18″E / 56.31000°N 160.80500°E
Runways

Klyuchi Air Base is in Kamchatka Krai, Russia located 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southwest of the settlement of Klyuchi. It is a small but significant interceptor airfield covering northern Kamchatka, probably to defend international borders during nearby missile testing operations at Kura Missile Test Range 130 km to the northeast. Klyuchi contains about twelve fighter revetments and some narrow tarmac space. It is an active military base; Google high-res imagery shows some An-24 and other transports, along with helicopters.

Early US satellite imagery showed the airfield was constructed in 1963,^[1] replacing an old airfield about 10 miles (16 km) to the east-southeast. In another satellite pass in 1966, analysts saw mostly transports such as the Lisunov Li-2, an Antonov An-2, and a helicopter.^[2]

An OSAE (Independent Composite Aviation Squadron) with An-26 aircraft is or was based at Klyuchi. The airfield may have reverted to some civilian use since the Cold War.

References[]

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[1] DETAILED REPORT OF KLYUCHI COMPLEX, USSR (inadvertently paired with SEARCH FOR SURFACE-SEARCH RADAR AT VARIOUS AREAS IN CUBA), CIA-RDP78T04743A000400020001-8, September 26, 1963, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC.

[cia1966-2] ORDER OF BATTLE MISSION 4025 16-20 FEBRUARY 1966, published April 1, 1966, CIA-RDP03-00140R000100010031-7, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington DC, p. 3.

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