The Air Force of the Russian Federation is designed for:

• repulsing aggression in the aerospace sphere and protecting from air attacks the control points of the highest state and military control, administrative-and-political centres, industrial-and-economic areas, the most important economic facilities, the country’s infrastructure and the groups of troops (forces);
• destruction of enemy objects and troops using both conventional and nuclear ordnance;
• providing combat troops of other armies and armed services for air support.

The Air Force includes: the Aviation, Antiaircraft Missile and Radio-Technical Troops, which are the Arms of the Air Force, as well as the Special Forces (reconnaissance, signal communications, electronic support and automated control systems, electronic warfare, engineering, radiological, chemical and biological defence, land-surveying, search and rescue, meteorological, aeronautic, logistical), the units, subdivisions of military control bodies’ guarding, the medical and other organizations.

According to its mission and tasks the Air Force’s Aviation is divided into the long-range, front-line, military transport and army aviation, which in turn can be composed of the bomber, attack, fighter, reconnaissance, transport and special aircraft units. The basis of the Air Force’s combat strength is presented with air bases and brigades of the Aerospace Defence.