The 4th Command of Air Force and Air Defence is operationally the most battle-tested command: it provides the bulk of the strike power for the southern theatre. The focus is on modern Su-34 bombers (Morozovsk) and Su-25 ground attack (Primorsko-Akhtarsk), plus attack helicopters.
| Base | Unit | Aircraft / systems |
|---|---|---|
| Rostov-on-Don | HQ 4th AFADA — 6972nd AFB | Su-27/Su-30 (staff) |
| Krymsk (Krasnodar) | AGp 6972nd AFB | Su-27SM3 / Su-30 |
| Millerovo | AGp 6972nd AFB | MiG-29 / Su-30 |
| Morozovsk | AGp 6972nd AFB | Su-34 (± 54) |
| Primorsko-Akhtarsk | AGp 6972nd AFB | Su-25SM (± 42) |
| Marinovka | AGp 6972nd AFB | Su-24M |
| Korenovsk | 393rd Army AF Base | Ka-52, Mi-28, Mi-8 |
| Budyonnovsk | 387th Army AF Base | Mi-28, Mi-24/35, Mi-8 |
| Yegorlyk (Rostov) | 546th Army AF Base | Mi-24/35, Mi-26, Mi-28 |
| Erebuni (Armenia) | 3624th AF Base (external) | MiG-29, Mi-24/8 |
| Belbek (Sevastopol) | 38th Fighter Aviation Rgt | Su-27SM / Su-30M2 (largely relocated after Aug 2022) |
31st Air Defence Division — Crimea
On 1 December 2014 Russia formed the 31st Air Defence Division in Crimea: two SAM regiments and a radio-technical regiment. Both regiments received the S-400 (the 18th in 2016, the 12th in 2018), spread over sites from Cape Tarkhankut to Kerch.
| Site | Unit | Systems |
|---|---|---|
| Sevastopol | 12th SAM Regiment | S-400 (since 2018; before that S-300PM), Pantsir-S1 |
| Yevpatoria | 12th SAM Regiment | S-400 or S-300 (sources differ) |
| Feodosia, Kerch, Dzhankoi | 18th Guards SAM Regiment | S-400 (since 2016–2018) |
| Olenivka (Cape Tarkhankut) | S-400 battalion | S-400, Podlet-K1 low-level radar |
| Sevastopol | 3rd Radio-Technical Regiment | Air picture over Crimea and the Black Sea (radar) |
On 23 August 2023 Ukraine destroyed an S-400 launcher at Olenivka on Cape Tarkhankut, together with a Podlet-K1 low-level radar and a Bastion coastal missile launcher. Strikes on sites near Yevpatoria, Dzhankoi, Belbek and Sevastopol followed. Russia partly filled the gaps with S-300 — which is why sources differ on what now stands where.
The base at Erebuni (Armenia) illustrates the Russian forward presence outside its own borders — like Kant (Kyrgyzstan). Such forward bases project air power and air defence into peripheral regions.
As a front-line command the 4th AFADA is the hardest hit. Morozovsk (Su-34) and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Su-25) were repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian drones and ATACMS missiles, with aircraft and ammunition depots destroyed. The Su-34s from here are at the same time the main carriers of the glide bombs — the command is both the largest supplier and the largest target.