| Unit Name: | 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade 7-ма авіаційна бомбардувальна бригада[1] |
| Dates: | 1951 – present |
| Type: | Brigade |
| Role: | Bomber and Reconnaissance |
| Command Structure: | Air Command West |
| Garrison: | Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast[2] [3] [4] |
| Battles: | Russo-Ukrainian War |
| Decorations: | For Courage and Bravery |
| Commander1: | Colonel Serhiy Blyzniuk |
| Aircraft Bomber: | Su-24M |
| Aircraft Recon: | Su-24MR |
| Aircraft Trainer: | L-39M1 |
The 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade "Petro Franko" is a formation of the Ukrainian Air Force.
The 7th Bomber Aviation Regiment was formed in 1951. In January 1992 the regiment took the oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people.
In October 2005 the former 32 Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron at Kolminyya joined the brigade as its reconnaissance aviation squadron.[5]
In 2005–2006 the Brigade became first Air Force formation to be composed of professional soldiers and not conscripts.[6]
In August 2019 Su-24M took part in the international air show “Gdynia Aerobaltik 2019” in Poland. The Ukrainian Su-24 bomber has become a participant of the international air show for the first time.[7]
In December 2019 Su-24M from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade have completed testing air-to-air docking of the retractable refueling probe for the first time in 20 years. The first flight was successfully performed without refueling.[8]
In March 2019, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that Ukraine fielded 14 Su-24 attack aircraft and 9 Su-24 MR reconnaissance aircraft on operational status.[9]
| Tail Number[10] | Type | Status | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White 02 | Su-24M | Operational | Repaired from 2014 damage. | |
| White 06 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 08 | Su-24M | Shot down - 25 February 2022 in Voznesenske.[11] | ||
| White 12 | Su-24M | Crashed - 6 May 2022.[12] | ||
| White 18 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 20 | Su-24M | Shot down - 24 March 2022 over Hostomel. Major Dmytro Kulykov and Major Mykola Savchuk, died.[13] | ||
| White 21 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 22 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 26 | Su-24M | Shot down - 9 March 2022 over Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast.[14] | ||
| White 28 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 41 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 44 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 45 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 46 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 49 | Su-24M | Shot down - 22 March 2022 in Izyum, Donetsk region.[15] [16] [17] | ||
| White 66 | Su-24M | Operational | ||
| White 69 | Su-24M | Shot down - 19 May 2022 in Soledar, Donetsk. Pilots, Lt. Colonel Ihor Khmara and navigator Mayor Illia Nehar, died.[18] | [19] [20] | |
| White 77 | Su-24M | Shot down - 27 February 2022 in Bucha, Kyiv region.[21] [22] | ||
| White 84 | Su-24MR | Shot down - 26 June 2022 at Snake Island. Colonel Mikhail Matyushenko died, navigator Major Yuri Krasilnikov still missing.[23] | [24] [25] [26] | |
| White 87 | Su-24M | Shot down - 30 April 2022 on Nova Praha, Kirovohrad Oblast [27] | Pilots survived | |
| Yellow 11 | Su-24MR | Operational | Repaired from 2014 damage.[28] | |
| Yellow 16 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 17 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 35 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 36 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 54 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 59 | Su-24MR | Shot down - 12 October 2022 in Poltava region.[29] [30] [31] | ||
| Yellow 60 | Su-24MR | Operational | ||
| Yellow 93 | Su-24MR | Operational |
Another nine unidentified Su-24M/MRs were reported lost or damaged during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine:
On 24 February 2022, a Ukrainian Su-24 was lost in Poltava. Both pilots survived.[32]
On 1 March 2022, a Su-24M from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade was shot down near the village of Krasenyvka, Zolotoni, Cherkasy Oblast. The pilots, were wounded but survived.[33]
On 2 March 2022, a Su-24 was shot down near Novohrad-Volynskyi; the pilot, Colonel Mykola Kovalenko, and navigator, Captain Yevhen Kazimirov, died.[34]
On 12 March 2022, a Su-24 was shot down by Russian forces near Bilyaivka village, Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast. The pilots, Valeriy Oshkalo and Roman Chekhun, died.[35]
On 21 March 2022, a Su-24 piloted by Viacheslav Khodakivskyi was lost near Pokrovsky district, Zaporizhya, Ukraine. The pilot died.[36]
On 30 March 2022 a Ukrainian Su-24 bomber was shot down in Kirovohrad, Kropyvnytskyi region. The crew from 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Maksym Sikalenko, and navigator Kostiantin Horodnychev, were reported dead.[37] The same day another Su-24 was recorded damaged with a trail of smoke in Rivne, western Ukraine on social media.[38]
On 29 September 2022 a Ukrainian Su-24 was hit by Russian surface-to-air missile in Kherson Oblast. The aircraft was recorded on video with one of its engines on fire before it crashed. The pilots managed to eject.[39] [40]
On 1 March 2023, a Ukrainian Su-24M was shot down near Bakhmut. Both crewmembers, lieutenant colonel Viktor Volynets and senior lieutenant Solomennikov, were killed.[41] [42]
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