Feature
According to Russian newspaper Izvestya, two Russian Army Aviation air bases will be enlarged to brigade status during 2017 in the Central and Eastern military districts. Each brigade will comprise four component squadrons (compared to two at the existing air bases) and an independent flight equipped with Mi-26 heavy-lift helicopters, tasked to support all branches of the armed services in territory of their military district; with the main task to facilitate mobility of the front-line units and provide fire support. Each brigade will have a fleet of up to 88 helicopters, roughly half of which will be attack types and the other half heavy-lift transport types.
