The 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was formed at
Dzyomgi Air Base on 1 August 2000 following the amalgamation of the 60th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO and the 404th Fighter Aviation Regiment as a result of the
1997 Russian military reform. In December 2009, the 23rd Fighter Aviation Regiment was reorganized as a result of the
2008 Russian military reform, becoming the 6987th Aviation Base. On 29 January 2018, the regiment was reformed once more as part of the 303rd Composite Aviation Division of the
11th Air and Air Defence Forces Army, receiving the honorific "
Tallinn" perpetuating the traditions of the 404th Fighter Aviation Regiment. In
Estonia, the addition of "Tallinn" to the regiment's name was characterized as "provocative". Beginning in early August 2018, a flight from the regiment was stationed at
Yasny air base on
Iturup in the
Kuril Islands. The regiment participated in
aerial warfare in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Regimental navigator Major Viktor Anatolyevich Dudin was awarded the title
Hero of Russia on 4 March for downing a
Ukrainian Su-27 during the invasion, becoming the first pilot to receive the award during the war. Regimental deputy commander Lieutenant Colonel
Ilya Andreevich Sizov received his Hero of Russia medal on 21 July, credited by state media with the destruction of eleven Ukrainian aircraft and thwarting an attempt to recapture
Snake Island. For "mass heroism and courage in battle," the regiment received the
Guards designation on 17 November 2022 as a reward for its performance in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. in formation, 2025 In November 2022, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Sizov, in an interview with the newspaper
Suvorovsky Natisk, stated that pilots of the unit were undergoing
conversion training for the
fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 at the
4th Center for Combat Employment and Retraining of Personnel, with the regiment to become the first operational fighter unit to operate the type. Echoing the initial deployment of the
Sukhoi Su-35, the regiment is co-located with the
Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant to allow for easier logistical support, maintenance and technical assistance during the initial phase of the deployment of the new aircraft. == References ==