The unit was formed as the 563rd Fighter Aviation Regiment of a two-squadron composition near
Moscow in the fall of 1941. On 3 September 1943, it was reorganized into the 116th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment. On 8 October 1943, the unit was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner. In February 1945, the 116th IAP was given the honorary name "Radomsky" for covering
Red Army forces during combat missions to capture the Polish city of
Radom. In 1982, the 116th Guards received brand new Su-24's of the
Soviet Air Forces. In connection with the signing of the
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the summer of 1989 the regiment was relocated from the Brand Airfield to Ross Airfield in the
Grodno Region of the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the
Belarusian Military District, becoming part of the
1st Guards Bomber Division. In July 1992, the regiment became part of the
Belarusian Air Force, with personnel taking an oath of allegiance to the new republic. During reforms of the Air Force, it was reorganized into the 116th Guards Bomber Aviation Base with the preservation of all its Soviet era awards and honorary titles. == Equipment ==