eehnie wrote:According to russianplanes.net would be:
29 active (of which 11 from 2011 to 2013. It seems the order until 15 was not completed after the bankrupcy of the company in early 2015)
70 reserve
https://russianplanes.net/planelist/Let/L-410
Between the 70 in the reserve, many are in bad condition, but there is someone recently recovered as we can see in the pictures, and likely can be more. Maybe 10 or 20. Not sure.
In other cases like the An-2, Il-18/20/22/24 or Mi-2, the number of recoverable units can be around 5 or less. Russia is in almost full use of the last units of these aircrafts.
The matter with the account in the bottom of the pages of Russianplanes is that are not updated, in some cases, specially for airplanes of little interest since several years.
Some airplanes classificated as "in fligth" are grounded , sometimes are derrelictic , or there are not a single photo in fligth in 25 years after the breakdown of the USSR.
Also , the methodology for classificate the airplanes: "in fligth" , "stored", "scrapped" it is not very successful. This is a civil page (there are not list like this of combat aircrafts) and a civil airplane is always flying , because the civil airplanes are bought for win money. When are not flying is beeter to scrap because to pay the rate of te airport for be parked is very expensive.
However , for the military aircrafy this is not correct, this page use the same situation "in storage" planes in a usual maintenance, that in the case of an An-124 can take several months, planes without use at a specific moment by some reasons but in active status, planes in admnistrative reserve status (several clases of reserve situations: base, depot, plant), planes canibalized and other soviet junk lying on the edges of the runways of many airports
In the case of L-410 , as is a secundary plane , is better to look the planes one by one.
Of the 11 planes listed as new for BBC several are mistaken. Have other registration diferent from RuAF. Also some are supposed because there are not photos or confirmation. Other source says 7 of this planes are of MoD but not clear if the VVS or other branch
Anyway only one of Baltic has the red star in the tail.
Two seems to work as liasion planes or taxi in Rostov (blue tail numbers) and other two in Ekaterinburg (Urals)
One could serve as liasion in the Baltic between Levashovo and Gromovo , but in all the photos are the plane are grounded.
The last plane seems works in Rtishchevo , but is not definitive is have been transfered to VVS from Let Sistems
The plane with yellow number is not clear if it is of the VVS. The yellow number just changed in 2017 for red so could be based in Vladimir.
Of the other 17 listed as "in fligth" in Rtishchevo, several have not any photo , others have a photo in or inside the rerair plant , and the most say "7-10 лет назад" or "10-15 лет назад" : no news since 10 years , not saw in fligth in most of cases this decade.
Rtishchevo has one squadron operational , 12 planes or some more. the other half a hundred based here are grounded for a decade or more
About RESERVE
In the military , "active" or "in the structure" , and "reserve" (1º class,2º class...) are administrative status.
Russianplanes counts planes visually, by the photos , only as "fligth" or "grounded" , that is a different concept. It is a good but incomplete information.
An abandoned , derreclictic or canibalized airplane is not "in reserve".
One plane that not flyes this year (but can do it), because there are a plan for use the airplanes of a regiment to prevent many planes reach the necessary maintenance at the same time, is not "in reserve" , is in the structure of the regiment in "active" status.
The most of the soviet airplanes have been scrapped in the last 5 or 10 years, and other are going to follow soon.
The MiG-31´s stored in Khotilovo after receive other modernizated , the airplanes of Yelizovo, the near 50 Su-27S stored in Besovets, the two dozens of Krymsk , will be recycled for get a lot of Kg. by each plane of rare metals included some gold sylver of platimun. Already there are contracts for recycling and scrap these fighters. Perhaps some planes ends as monuments along Russia.
The main reserve are Lipestk (4020 Aviation Reserve Base) where the planes are preserved correclty for can be retrunred to service.
Last decade there were more of 250 MiG-23 stored (FACE says 266 in 2003) that were scrappped several years ago. In 2013-4 there were about 100 MiG-29 and 50 MiG-31. These last airplanes have been modernized and now there are about 100 MiG-29 , 15 Su-27 and and also one dozen of MiG-31 waiting for the modernization.
With Su-24 and other planes (MiG-27 , Su-17..) was the same. In Chebenki (4215 ARB) were scrapped by hundreds.
Other places as ARZ 514 , ARZ 275 , etc...with planes stored , only uses for parts.
About the big airplanes, most have been scrapped as the case of ships or nuclear submarines.
Russianplanes can have it as "stored" for years after the scrapping. With the satellite you can see how many planes are in each base, depot or repair plants , and in the last years hundreds of airplanes have disappeared from the aerodromes.
With exceptions,(10 An-124, several Il-76), etc ..., the airplanes that now have the RuAF in service are those that will continue operating until the replacement by new ones.