First category airport

The Smolensk-Severny airfield is a military facility and has not been certified for “meteominimum”, that is, the minimum necessary visibility conditions under which the reception and departure of aircraft at a given location is permitted. Depending on the availability of navigation equipment, the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO divides airports into three categories. Moreover, the last category is divided into three more: IIIa, IIIb, IIIc. Assignment of the highest category IIIc means that the airport can allow a “blind” landing, using instruments, in the absence of visibility almost to the ground. In Russia and the CIS countries, certification of civil airports according to this indicator is carried out by the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC). The management of Smolensk-Severny states that it is equipped in accordance with the requirements of the lowest category - the first. This means that aircraft landing is possible with visibility of at least 60 m vertically and 600 m horizontally. To support the landing of aircraft in Smolensk-Severny, the Radio Engineering System of Short-Range Navigation (RSBP) is used. In the Soviet Union, this system was widely used for navigation support for both military and civil aviation flights. In modern Russia, the RSBP is still used by military pilots, but in the civilian sphere it has been replaced by similar complexes of foreign origin. In particular, aircraft such as the Tu-154M ( on which President Kaczynski crashed ) are not equipped with an RSBP receiver.

The length of the concrete runway in Smolensk-Severny is 2500 m. This is less than at large metropolitan airports (Sheremetyevo - 3700 m, Domodedovo - 3794 m), but more than enough to accommodate such a medium-range aircraft as Tu -154M.

Smolensk-Severny is formally subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), but at the same time it is a dual-base airfield. In addition to the military, the Ministry of Industry and Energy is authorized to carry out flights there: the flight test station of Smolensk Aviation Plant OJSC is located in Smolensky-Severny.

Currently, both the military and aircraft manufacturers have reduced their activities at the airport to a minimum. Until October 2009, the 103rd Guards Krasnoselsky Red Banner Military Transport Aviation Regiment named after Hero of the Soviet Union V.S. was stationed at the airfield. Grizodubova, equipped with Il-76 aircraft). Last year the regiment was disbanded, its aircraft were transferred to Orenburg and Taganrog).

The Smolensk Aviation Plant in the late 70s and early 80s assembled Yak-42 aircraft. However, after that, he switched to the production of light multi-purpose and sports aircraft, as well as the production of individual parts for the training Yak-130 and civilian Tu-154M, the final assembly of which takes place at other aircraft factories. In partnership with JSC OKB im. A.S. Yakovlev" the enterprise has established serial production of the unmanned aerial vehicle "Pchela-1" in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Mikhail KUKUSHKIN