7th Tactical Aviation Brigade

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7th Tactical Aviation Brigade
7-ма авіаційна бомбардувальна бригада [1]
7 Tactical Aviation Brigade.webp
Shoulder sleeve insignia
Active1951 – present
CountryFlag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
BranchEnsign of the Ukrainian Air Force.svg  Ukrainian Air Force
TypeBrigade
RoleBomber and Reconnaissance
Part ofAir Command West
Garrison/HQ Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast [2] [3] [4]
Engagements Russo-Ukrainian War
Decorations Za muzhnist' ta vidvagu (2022).svg
For Courage and Bravery
Commanders
Current
commander		Colonel Yevhen Bulatsyk [5]
Insignia
Former Insignia 07TAB.svg
Aircraft flown
Bomber Su-24M [4]
Reconnaissance Su-24MR [4]
Trainer L-39M1

The 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade "Petro Franko" is a formation of the Ukrainian Air Force.

Contents

History

Planes of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade Planes of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade.jpg
Planes of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade
Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24M at Starokostiantyniv Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24M at Starokonstantinov.jpg
Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24M at Starokostiantyniv

The 7th Bomber Aviation Regiment was formed in 1951. In January 1992 the regiment took the oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people.

In October 2005 the former 32 Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron from Kolomyia joined the brigade as its reconnaissance aviation squadron. [6]

In 2005–2006 the Brigade became the first Air Force formation to be composed of professional soldiers and not conscripts. [7]

In August 2019 a Su-24M took part in the international air show “Gdynia Aerobaltik 2019” in Poland. This represented the first participation of a Ukrainian Su-24 to an international air show. [8]

In December 2019 Su-24Ms from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade completed air-to-air refueling training for the first time in 20 years. [9]

According to Forbes , 18 bombers were shot down by Russian Forces as of 22 February 2024, but despite being a priority target for the Russians, the 7th Brigade has managed to remain active by scattering its forces to neighbouring air bases (or even roads and highways) whenever missiles are detected by Ukrainian radars or NATO satellites, while the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles allows their Su-24s to strike targets without entering Russian air defenses range. In February 2024, the Brigade commander Col. Yevhen Bulatsyk told the Voice of America that the brigade not only managed to make up for its losses of Su-24M/MR bombers, but expand its numbers by restoring as many grounded aircraft as possible. [5]

Components

Aircraft

In March 2019, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that Ukraine fielded 14 Su-24 attack aircraft and 9 Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft on operational status. [10]

Tail Number [11] TypeStatusNote
White 02Su-24MOperationalRepaired from 2014 damage.
White 03Su-24MShot down - 1 March 2023 in Bakhmut.Crewmembers, Lt Col Viktor Volynets and Sr. Lt Solomennikov killed. [12] [13]
White 06Su-24MOperational
White 08Su-24MShot down - 25 February 2022 in Voznesenske. [14]
White 12Su-24MCrashed - 6 May 2022 due a technical fault in a field roughly 20 km (12 mi) south of Martynivka Air Base [15] Crew ejected and survived [15]
White 18Su-24MOperational
White 20Su-24MShot down - 24 March 2022 over Hostomel. [11] [16] Crewmembers; Major Dmytro Kulykov and Major Mykola Savchuk killed.
White 21Su-24MOperational
White 22Su-24MOperational
White 26Su-24MShot down - 9 March 2022 over Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast. [17]
White 27Su-24MShot down - 20 August 2014 by a Pantsir-S1 [15] Crew survived [15]
White 28Su-24MOperational
White 41Su-24MOperational
White 44Su-24MOperational
White 45Su-24MOperational
White 46Su-24MOperational
White 49Su-24MShot down - 22 March 2022 lost near the village of Sulyhivka, near Izyum [15] Pilot, Mayor Oleksiy Kovalenko killed, navigator ejected and survived. [15]
White 66Su-24MShot down - 2 March 2022 near Novohrad-Volynskyi. [18] Pilot, Colonel Mykola Kovalenko and navigator Captain Yevhen Kazimirov, died. [19]
White 69Su-24MShot down - 19 May 2022 in the village of Krasnopolivka, near Bakhmut [15] Pilot Lt. Col. Ihor Khmara and navigator Maj. Illya Nehar killed in the crash [15]
White 77Su-24MShot down - 27 February 2022 in Bucha, Kyiv region. [20] Major Ruslan Bilous and Captain Roman Dovhalyuk killed. [21]
White 84Su-24MRShot down - 26 June 2022, crashed into the Black Sea [15] For destroying a Pantsir-S1 system on Snake Island, the pilot Col. Mykhaylo Matyushenko and navigator Maj. Yuriy Krasylnikov were posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine title on August 6, 2023 [15]
White 87Su-24MShot down - 30 April 2022 on Nova Praha, Kirovohrad Oblast [22] Crewmembers survived.
Yellow 11Su-24MROperationalDamaged on 1 July 2014 by a MANPADS missile, but it managed to return to base and was subsequently repaired. [15]
Yellow 16Su-24MROperational
Yellow 17Su-24MROperational
Yellow 35Su-24MROperational
Yellow 36Su-24MROperational
Yellow 54 Su-24MROperational
Yellow 59Su-24MRShot down - 12 October 2022, hit by a SAM. Crew tried to bring the stricken aircraft back to base, but it crashed near the village of Zhorzhivka, Poltava Oblast [15] Pilot Major Dmytro Bortnyk was killed, navigator ejected safely [15]
Yellow 60Su-24MROperational
Yellow 93Su-24MROperational

Another eight unidentified Su-24M/MRs from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade were reported lost or damaged during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine:

On 24 February 2022, a Su-24 was lost in Poltava. Both pilots survived. [23]

On 1 March 2022, a Su-24M was shot down near the village of Krasenyvka, Zolotoni, Cherkasy Oblast. The pilots, were wounded but survived. [24]

On 12 March 2022, a Su-24 was shot down by Russian forces near Bilyaivka village, Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast. The pilots, Valeriy Oshkalo and Roman Chekhun, died. [25]

On 21 March 2022, a Su-24 piloted by Viacheslav Khodakivskyi was lost near Pokrovsky district, Zaporizhya, Ukraine. The pilot died. [26]

On 30 March 2022 a Su-24 was shot down in Kirovohrad, Kropyvnytskyi region. The crew from 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Maksym Sikalenko, and navigator Kostiantin Horodnychev, were reported dead. [27] The same day another Su-24 was recorded damaged with a trail of smoke in Rivne, western Ukraine on social media. [28]

On May-June 2022, during the Ukrainian offensive and recapture of Snake Island, a Su-24MR was shot down by a Russian missile, the crew managed to eject and survived. [29]

On 29 September 2022 a Su-24 was hit by Russian surface-to-air missile in Kherson Oblast. The aircraft was recorded on video with one of its engines on fire before it crashed. The pilots managed to eject. [30] [31]

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References

  1. ↑ :: Архів газети :: Україна і світ сьогодні
  2. ↑ Вооруженные силы Украины
  3. ↑ force _sng Archived January 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 3 Новини Управління Прес-служби МО
  5. 1 2 Axe, David (22 February 2024). "It's Official. Despite Losses, Ukraine's Sole Bomber Brigade Is Bigger Now Than It Was Before The War". Forbes. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  6. ↑ Air Forces Monthly, July 2015.
  7. ↑ Government of Ukraine, "Військо України" Archived 2007-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "У Франківськ з авіашоу в Польщі повернулися українські пілоти" (in Ukrainian). 19 August 2022.
  9. ↑ "Ukrainian Air Force aircraft refuel in air for the first time in 20 years (VIDEO)". 9 December 2019.
  10. ↑ Ponomarenko, Illia (15 March 2019). "Ukraine's Air Force rebuilds amidst war". Kyiv Post . Kyiv, Ukraine. Retrieved 3 September 2019. These include approximately 37 MiG‑29 and 34 Su‑27 fighters, 14 Su‑24M attack aircraft, 31 Su‑25 close air support aircraft, nine Su‑24MR and three Antonov An‑30 reconnaissance aircraft, 32 L‑39 training planes, and five Ilyushin Il‑76 and three An‑26 military transport aircraft.
  11. 1 2 "Украинские Су-24 в войне — последний парад?" (in Russian). 25 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "The Russian Armed Forces Destroyed The Su-24 Bomber Of The Ukrainian Air Force In The Kherson Region". 2 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 308882". aviation-safety.net. 1 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "The Military Watch". 30 June 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Trendafilovski, Vladimir (7 September 2023). "How Ukraine's venerable Su-24 fleet continues to be a thorn". www.key.aero. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  16. ↑ "Незламні екіпажі: вони відчайдушно прагнули неба, а на землі залишили усю свою любов…". Starkon City (in Ukrainian). 10 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Провадження N 1-кс/950/401/23 ЛЕБЕДИНСЬКИЙ РАЙОННИЙ СУД СУМСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ". Ukrainian Tribunal (in Ukrainian). 9 April 2023.
  18. ↑ "Wednesday 2 March 2022 | Sukhoi Su-24M". Aviation Safety Network. 2 March 2022.
  19. ↑ "Незламні екіпажі: "Цього ніколи не мало статися, бо у них завжди був план "Б"". Starkon City (in Ukrainian). 27 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Незламні екіпажі: "Мій тато у небі, він бомбить русню!"". Starkon City (in Ukrainian). 20 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Cooper, Fontanellaz & Sipos 2024, p. 99.
  22. ↑ "Справа N 405/1868/22 провадження N 1 кс/405/879/22" (in Ukrainian).
  23. ↑ "Aviation Safey # 279531". Aviation Safety Network. 23 June 2022.
  24. ↑ "Resolution dated August 16, 2023 No. 712/8639/23 of the Sosniv District Court of Cherkassy". Sosniv District Court of Cherkassy (in Ukrainian). 16 August 2023.
  25. ↑ "Незламні екіпажі: "Хлопці марили небом, і от вони там!" (in Ukrainian). 3 November 2022.
  26. ↑ "Незламні екіпажі: "До останньої хвилини і секунди він тримав нашого птаха у небі!"" (in Ukrainian). 10 November 2022.
  27. ↑ ""Тато, це ж не правда, такі не гинуть! Тато, ти ж прийдеш?"" (in Ukrainian). 24 November 2022.
  28. ↑ Axe, David (7 April 2022). "Where Are Ukraine's Bombers?". Forbes. There however is evidence the Ukrainians have lost at least one Su-24. On March 30, a video circulated on social media apparently depicting a Ukrainian bomber trailing smoke over Rivne in western Ukraine, purportedly after a Russian fighter intercepted it. At least one of those claimed kills appears to be valid.
  29. ↑ Пілот СУ-24М: «Ми записуємося в чергу, щоб відпрацювати STORM SHADOW». Starkon City (in Ukrainian). 28 October 2024.
  30. ↑ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 284002". aviation-safety.net. 29 September 2022.
  31. ↑ "Украинский Су-24 сбит при попытке выйти из-под ракетного обстрела" (in Russian). 29 September 2022.

Bibliography

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