Gudauta

Gudauta გუდაუთა, Гәдоуҭа, Гудаута Gwdowtha
town
View of Gudauta's centre
Location of Gudauta within Abkhazia
Gudauta Location of Gudauta in Georgia
Coordinates: 43°06′7.16″N 40°37′29.28″E / 43.1019889°N 40.6248000°E / 43.1019889; 40.6248000Coordinates: 43°06′7.16″N 40°37′29.28″E / 43.1019889°N 40.6248000°E / 43.1019889; 40.6248000
Country	Georgia
Partially recognized independent country	Abkhazia
District	Gudauta
Population (2011)
• Total	8,514
Time zone	MSK (UTC+3)

Gudauta (Georgian: გუდაუთა, [gudɑutʰɑ]; Abkhaz: Гәдоуҭа, Gwdowtha; Russian: Гудаута, Gudauta) is a town in Abkhazia and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia.

43°06′07″N 40°37′29″E / 43.10199°N 40.6248°E / 43.10199; 40.6248

Gudauta used to be home to a Soviet Air Defence Forces base, Bombora airfield, where the 171st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment flew Su-15TMs until 1982. The 171st Fighter Aviation Regiment was then transferred to Ugolnye Kopi, Chukotia Autonomous Okrug. The 529th Fighter Aviation Regiment, flew Su-27 'Flankers' from the base in the last years of the Cold War. This regiment was under the command of the 19th Army of the Air Defence Forces. Gudauta was a center of Abkhaz separatist resistance to Georgian government forces during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in 1992–1993.

Bombora airfield outside Gudauta later became home to a Soviet Airborne Forces unit, the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment, later redesignated the 50th military base after the Soviet collapse, and then the 10th Independent Peacekeeping Airborne Regiment. The unit was subordinated directly to the Russian General Staff (earlier it used to be under the HQ of the Russian Airborne Forces). In 1999, its equipment includes 142 AIFV/APC (among them - 62 BMD-1 and 11 BMD-2); and 11 self- propelled artillery systems 2S9 "Nona-S".