Aerial reconnaissance or the Air intelligence in Russia was created in 1911 as part of the
Imperial Russian Air Service. During the
First Balkan War of 1912 to 1913, Russian air units under the command of Captain Shchetinin, together with Bulgaria, carried out
aerial reconnaissance tasks, obtaining photographs of the fortresses. During the
First World War the Air reconnaissance began to operate as an independent air force unit. After the creation of the USSR in 1922 and after the German invasion (
Operation Barbarossa of June 22, 1941) 12% of Soviet
aircraft carried out intelligence missions. With the escalation of hostilities, the intensity of air patrols also increased. In 1941, the number of patrol aircraft was 9,2%, in 1944 — 15%. Aerial intelligence not only collected data on the enemy, but also supplemented and documented data on other types of reconnaissance for the
Red Army. Aerial intelligence was often the only means of obtaining information on the enemy for the military command. Air intelligence during the war was carried out in two ways: visual observation and aerial photography. Moreover, if in 1941 aerial photography accounted for a little more than 10% of all reconnaissance missions, then in 1945 it was exceeded 86%. The weak link of domestic reconnaissance aviation was the absence during the war years of a specialized reconnaissance aircraft. During the
Cold War era (c.1947-1991) it was carried out as part of the Soviet Air Force. Versions of the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (ASCC "Foxbat") and
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27 (ASCC "Flogger") were designed and used for aerial reconnaissance. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 the aerial reconnaissance service cooperated with The electronic warfare forces and jointly controlled Russian
unmanned aerial vehicles. ==Literature==