Founding of Talas Air Base (1952)

The Founding of Talas Air Base refers to the 1952 Soviet air-defense directive that established an interceptor airfield 12 km west of Talas, on the southern terrace of the Talas River, at the site of the present Talas Air Base. Built as a dispersal base for interceptors of the Turkestan Military District, it had a 2,500-meter concrete runway and underground fuel bunkers. Its MiG-17 and later MiG-21 squadrons guarded the southern approaches of Soviet airspace against high-altitude bombers.^[1]

In June 1956 internal troops were flown into the airfield during the 1956 Talas Riots. The Provisional Government held it during the siege of Talas in 1992, and US Marines landed there on June 6, 1992, at the start of Operation Starlight. Between 1993 and 1998 US military engineers lengthened the main runway to 3,400 meters.^[1]

References

1. ^ Central Asian Geopolitical Review (2022). 'Airpower at the Crossroads: Talas Air Base and US Posture in Central Asia.' Academic Press, pp. 54–68.