«Flights that are not secured in the search and rescue are prohibited…» on the issue of combat use of 40th army aviation in Afghanistan in 1979–1989

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the combat experience of the USSR Air Force during the period of Soviet troops’ participation in the war in Afghanistan in 1979–1989. The specifics of the mountainous desert terrain and climatic conditions of this country are characteristic of almost all the states with
which the Russian Federation borders in the south, starting from Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and to China and Mongolia in the Far East. The combat experience acquired by the Air Force then is important today not only because of the very high price paid in 1979–1989 in Afghanistan by the blood and lives of soldiers and officers, but also by its relevance. The equipment and weapons that are currently being used by the Russian aerospace forces, in many of their components remained either the same or modernized to various degrees, therefore, the forms and methods of working with them – operation, maintenance, supply, etc. – the former. In addition to technical issues, veterans of the war in Afghanistan – military leaders and commanders of various
ranks and levels – emphasize in every way that issues of interaction and control play a special role. In order to avoid negative factors in the organization and conduct of hostilities due to poorly set interaction between the ground forces and aviation, constant improvement of command is necessary. Prepared large operations, as a rule, take place without large losses, while small unprepared often lead to failure. Therefore, the experience of organizing the interaction of large operations must always be transferred to small ones.