Vatega (air base) explained

Vatega
Onega Andozero
Ensign:Flag of the Russian Air Force.svg
Ensign Size:90px
Native Name:Ватега авиабазы
Location:Onega, Arkhangelsk Oblast
Country:Russia
Type:Air Base
Pushpin Map:Russia Arkhangelsk Oblast#Russia
Pushpin Map Caption:Shown within Arkhangelsk Oblast
Pushpin Label:Vatega
Ownership:Ministry of Defence
Operator:Russian Air Force
Used:1977 -
Icao:ZA0F
Elevation:87m (285feet)
R1-Number:12/30
R1-Length:3500m (11,500feet)
R1-Surface:Concrete

Vatega (also Onega Andozero (US)), Ватега авиабазы, is an abandoned air base in Russia located 16 km east of the port town of Onega, Arkhangelsk Oblast and 127 km southwest of Arkhangelsk. It was designed as a highly modernized, large airfield for the Soviet Union's heavy bomber fleet.

The earliest available Western intelligence documents identified the airfield in 1977 as under construction.[1] Some Russian sources claim the airfield was intended to serve as an alternate landing site for the Soviet 'Buran' space shuttle. Construction ceased in the mid-1980s due to the slowdown in the Russian economy, and the military abandoned the property in 1995.[2]

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Vatega was extensively dismantled and sold for scrap. Around 2004 some of the guilty parties were reportedly convicted and either sent to prison or forced to pay heavy fines.[3]

References

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20170120155331/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/document/cia-rdp78b07179a000200010001-6 VOL. 1 OF 4 VOLUMES ANNUAL INDEX TO PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLOITATION PRODUCTS JANUARY-DECEMBER 1977
  2. http://sanatatur.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=122&t=7408 Vatega Village
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606230334/http://www.forgottenairfields.com/russia/archangelsk-oblast/onega-andozero-s744.html Onega Andozero -- Abandoned, Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe