The flying part of the VKS is organised into five tactical air armies, in full Air Force and Air Defence Army (Russian: Vozdushnaya Armiya VVS i PVO) — in this learning environment shortened to AFADA. Each AFADA combines fighter, strike and transport units with the corresponding ground-based air defence in one geographic district. That combination of flying and air defence under one command is typically Russian and the core of the IADS thinking (see chapter 5).
Above them sit two centrally controlled commands: Long-Range Aviation (LRA) for strategic bombing and Military Transport Aviation (VTA) for air transport. The capital is separately protected by the 1st Special Purpose Air & Missile Defence Army (see § 5.4).
| Command | Military district (after 2024 reorg) | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| 6th AFADA | Leningrad MD | Saint Petersburg |
| 1st PVO (Special Purpose) | Moscow MD | Moscow (missile defence) |
| 4th AFADA | Southern MD | Rostov-on-Don |
| 14th AFADA | Central MD | Yekaterinburg |
| 11th AFADA | Eastern MD | Khabarovsk |
| 45th AFADA | Northern Fleet (Arctic) | Severomorsk |
| LRA (37th VA) | Central — strategic | Moscow |
| VTA (61st VA) | Central — transport | Moscow |
5 tactical air armies + 1st PVO (Moscow) · Long-Range Aviation · Military Transport Aviation · total strength ± 160,000–165,000 · ± 4,000 aircraft (with significant war losses).
In 2024 the large Western Military District was split into a new Leningrad MD (anti-NATO, after the accession of Finland and Sweden) and a Moscow MD (among other things to direct the war in Ukraine). The 6th AFADA has since fallen under the Leningrad MD; the capital's air defence under the Moscow MD. The older single Western MD layout is therefore outdated.