11th Air Defence Army

11th Air Army
Active	1998 - 2009; 2015 -
Country	Russian Federation
Allegiance	Russian Air Force

The 11th Army of VVS and PVO (11-я армия ВВС и ПВО) was a formation of the Russian Air Force, which was located in the Russian Far East and Pacific Coast area, and its zone of responsibility covered the Far East Military District.

It was first formed during the Second World War from the Soviet Air Forces of the 2nd Red Banner Army. It was re-created in 1998 from the Soviet Air Defence Forces' 11th Air Defence Army units (except for a regiment of MiG-31 interceptor aircraft on the Kamchatka Peninsula, handed over by Russian Naval Aviation) and the 1st Air Army of the VVS. The 1st Army of the VVS had been reformed on 1 July 1957. In 2007 the commanding officer was Lieutenant General Valeriy Ivanov, former commander of the 1st Air Defence Corps.

The 11th Army of VVS and PVO was disbanded in 2009 by being redesignated the 3rd Air and Air Defence Forces Command.

The 11th Air Defence Army (or 11th Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, 11 A PVO) appears to have been formed in 1960. During the Soviet period, the 11th Air Defence Army gained headlines due to the defection of Viktor Belenko in September 1976, and the KAL 007 shootdown in 1983. The KAL 007 shootdown occurred on 1 September 1983. After a protracted ground-controlled interception, three Su-15 fighters from Dolinsk-Sokol airbase and a MiG-23 from Smirnykh Air Base managed to make visual contact with the Boeing 747 and later shot it down.

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