Russia 2018
In August 2018 4Aviation travelled to the International Military Technical Forum “ARMY” at Kubinka for the third year in a row. With the previous two visits yielding great photos, we were hoping for great weather this time. And that is exactly what we ended up with.
On Wednesday 22 August, after the first 4aviation group had already left for Radom in Poland, a second group gathered at Amsterdam airport for a weeklong tour to Moscow. About half the group joined at Amsterdam airport, whereas the remainder of the group had travelled to Moscow on their own. The group had a very international character with nationalities from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Republic of China, South Korea and Russia.
After arrival in Moscow, the group quickly went to the bus, which took a scenic route through the city, passing the famous Red Square on to the hotel where the check-in was done in a matter of minutes. Afterwards the group enjoyed a nice dinner in the restaurants nearby the hotel.
From Thursday 23 August through Sunday 26 August the coach headed for Kubinka every day. The participants were free to join the coach, take the train or subway to their preferred destination of the day. Besides the ‘Army’-events some guests also choose to visit Moscow centre or the Air Force museum at Monino.
On the first full day in Moscow the group was ready for departure at 7am. Because of a delayed arrival of the bus and the busy Moscow traffic, the group arrived at Kubinka around 10am but on this non-flying day the airfield was still very quiet, and the static display could be photographed in nice light and in some cases with some efforts required due to the fences and flag posts around the static area.
The Thursday was the first of four days at the ARMY exhibition. Besides the air force cluster at Kubinka, there is also the land cluster at Alabino and the general exhibition at the Patriot Park.
Between the three locations runs a special bus service so that the group could visit all three locations during these four days.
The Patriot Park is the central point for the ARMY exhibition, in this large facility all major Russian weapons manufacturers have their stands, such as Russian Helicopters who showcased a number of their factory-owned helicopters. On the Patriot Park are also a number of preserved aircraft and helicopters and just outside is a museum with about 20 aircraft.
The display ground at Alabino is most known for the tank shooting demonstration. This training ground of several square kilometres gives the Russian army the opportunity to display their latest hardware and do live firing on the range. During this 90-minute display visitors are treated to a continuous barrage of fire and explosions, but before it all starts an Il-76 performs a water drop to prevent too much dust is blown around on the range. Throughout the demo the Air Force also participates with a number of helicopters such as the Ka-52 and Mi-35 firing at targets on the range and Mi-8 and Mi-26 dropping troops and vehicles.
After the army demonstration several of the demo teams flying from Kubinka also performed at Alabino but direct backlight makes photography difficult at this location.
With the air force assets flying from Kubinka, most of the group decided to stay at Kubinka on the flying days. The demo teams such as the Russian Knights, Swifts, Berkuts and the Chinese 1st of August team all performed multiple times on Friday through Sunday. When the Russian Knights and Swifts performed at Alabino, the solo pilots also performed at Kubinka when the team returned giving the spectators a nice bonus besides the departure and arrival of the team.
On all days at Kubinka there was a number of visiting aircraft and helicopters from the air force dropping off supplies and personnel. Ka-226, Mi-8 came in for a quick visit on several occasions and on the Friday an An-12 dropped in and departed later during the day whereas on the Saturday an An-26 was present most of the day parked just in front of the crowd line.
Compared to 2016 and 2017, the area to get head-on photos of the aircraft leaving the runway and dropping their chutes was decreased in size. This made it a bit more difficult to find a good spot, but on the other hand the aircraft stayed a bit further away from the fences making it easier for photography and safer with wingtips and pylons no longer passing over our heads.
On Monday 27 August 2018 it was anticipated that a good number of aircraft would leave Kubinka back to their home bases (Kubinka only houses the Russian Knights and Swifts demo teams together with an Open Skies intelligence unit). After an early drop off just outside the air base, the group spread to have a look near the storage area of Kubinka or go directly to the end of the runway and await all that would come. Standing along the woods the group had a clear view and not before long the first take-off happened, a locally based Open Skies Tu-214. After a short wait 2 Chinese Il-76 appeared in the circuit, somewhat high but at least a half-decent photo could be taken. The Chinese Il-76’s were parked at the far end of the base to prepare the 1st of August team for departure back home later in the week.
The first ARMY participants finally departed late in the morning, with several MiG-29SMT’s, various helicopters and a Beriev A-50 among the highlights. During the morning it became clear that the MiG-31K was towed from its hangar to the flight line and with high hopes the group waited. After a while excitement all along as the MiG-31 taxied to the runway and blasted out low and fast showing the large cruise missile underneath. Late afternoon the group was treated to a last treat when the characteristic Tu-95 took off, a sight and sound to behold.
On Tuesday 28 August 2018 it was time to go home. The group enjoyed a relaxing morning before flying back home. ARMY has proved to be a show with some nice photo opportunities of rare Russian aircraft. The static display, the recoveries after the demo’s and the Monday departures, together with the excellent weather, made this another successful tour to Russia.
