1. SA
  2. All Volumes and Issues
  3. Volume 7, Number 4, 2025
  4. FORMATION OF A NEW MODEL OF MILITARY AIR BASE IN UKRAINE

FORMATION OF A NEW MODEL OF MILITARY AIR BASE IN UKRAINE

SA.
2025;
Volume 7, Number 4
: 151-166
https://doi.org/10.23939/sa2025.04.151
Authors:
  1. Kh. B. Palianytsia
1
Department of Architectural Design, Lviv Polytechnic National University

The design of an air base on Ukrainian territory, in the context of the current Russian-Ukrainian war, is a necessity, given the key role of aviation in the course of hostilities. Modern military aircraft require adequate space and infrastructure, as well as technical maintenance for the safe conduct of air operations, which requires the presence of military air bases.

Most studies related to the architectural aspect of the formation of military air bases are focused on the problem of the functioning of such complexes in different countries with an uneven distribution of modern weapons, highlighting the importance of finding effective methods of camouflage and protection of military air bases: both at the stage of site selection, and through the application of several urban planning and architectural measures, a well-founded selection of structures and materials for individual elements of the complex.

Based on an analysis of the master plans for military air bases in the United States in the 1950s and current regulatory documents regarding their design, changes in the functional content of such complexes are traced, and recommendations are given on ensuring the protection of air bases with a multi-level system of active and passive air defense, given the rapid development of the latest weapons—ballistic and cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The article examines the main factors influencing the choice of territory for the location of a future military air base, outlines the key features of the design of such a complex: functionality, safety, compliance with standards, integration, social comfort, economy and aesthetics of architectural solutions. 

As a result of the research, an own concept of the functional structure is proposed, and therefore the latest model of a military air base in Ukraine.

military air base
air force base
airfield
functional model
functional zoning
  1. DBN V. V.2.2-XX:2022 Buildings and structures. Aerodromes. Part I. Design. Part II. Construction (Project, second edition). Kyiv: Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, 2022. (State Construction Standards of Ukraine).
  2. Zakhoeva, D. (2023). Obstruction of military assistance to Ukraine by individual NATO member states. May Studies: History, Political Science, International Relations, 45-47.
  3. Issues of using the airfield area, Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1427 (2021) (Ukraine). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1427-2021-п#Text
  4. On approval of the List of territories in which hostilities are (were) being conducted or temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, Order of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine No. 376 (2025) (Ukraine). https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0380-25#Text
  5. Tvorydlo, O. 2022. ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF RUSSIA'S WAR IN UKRAINE. Grail of Science. 17 (Aug. 2022), 38-41. https://doi.org/10.36074/grail-of-science.22.07.2022.002
  6. Ustymenko, O. V. (2013) "Retrospective analysis of the state of the airfield network of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine." Science and Technology of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 3 (2013): 32-34.
  7. Shmal S.G. (2018). Military Topography. Textbook. 5th ed., revised and supplemented (5th ed.). Lira-K Publishing House, 644 p.
  8. How defense spending changed over the years of Ukraine's independence // finance.ua [Electronic resource]. - Access mode: https://finance.ua/ua/goodtoknow/vydatky-na-oboronu
  9. Buontempo J. T., Ringer J. E. (2020). Airbase Defense Falls Between the Cracks. Joint Force Quarterly, no. 97, 2nd Quarter 2020, https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/jfq/jfq-97/jfq-97_114-120_....https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12168
  10. Dąbrowski A. (2014). Broń rakietowa a bezpieczeństwo Polski, Przegląd SiłZbrojnych no. 5/2014., Warsaw.
  11. DAFMAN 32-1084 Facility Requirements Standards | WBDG - Whole Building Design Guide. https://www.wbdg.org/airforce/manuals/afman-32-1084
  12. De Longe, M. E. (1943). Modern Airfield Planning & Concealment. Pitman publishing corporation.
  13. Dobija K. (2013). Potrzeby doskonalenia systemu obrony powietrznej Polski z perspektywy ewolucji środków napadu powietrznego, w: K. Czupryński, A. Glen, P Soroka (sc. ed.) System obrony powietrznej Polski.
  14. Gimiee, A. F., Barakat, M. A., & Mahmoud, E. H. (2014, May). CAMOUFLAGING AND CONCEALING STRUCTURES FROM VISUAL RECONNAISSANCE TECHNIQUES. In The International Conference on Civil and Architecture Engineering (Vol. 10, No. 10th International Conference on Civil and Architecture Engineering, pp. 1-16). Military Technical College. https://doi.org/10.21608/iccae.2014.43774
  15. Grenda B. (2013). Bazy lotnicze w systemie bezpieczeństwa państwa, w: T. Zieliński (sc. ed.) Potęga powietrzna w systemie bezpieczeństwa państwa.
  16. Iranian UAVs in Ukraine: A Visual Comparison-August 2023 Update (2023). DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, 15 с.
  17. Jakes, L. (2024). Ukraine could deploy f-16s as soon as july, but only a few. The New York Times.
  18. JP 3-01, Countering Air and Missile Threats. Washington, DC: The Joint Staff, April 21, 2017.
  19. KOŁATA, G. (2019). Airbase as Defended Asset for Air Defense. Safety & Defense. 5, 1 (Aug. 2019), 37-45. https://doi.org/10.37105/sd.41
  20. Millar, D (2023) Evolution of Airbases - Darwin revisited, Air/Space 2, BP30742060.
  21. Nowak J., Grenda B. (2015). Ochrona i obrona lotniska wojskowego, praca naukowo-badawcza.
  22. Radomyski, K. Dobija. (2009). Podręcznik przeciwlotnika, AON, Warszawa, s. 169-172.
  23. Rehberg C., Gunzinger M. (2018). Air and Missile Defense at a Crossroads: New Concepts and Technologies to Defend America's Overseas Bases (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 2018), 1.
  24. Shill, S. K., Al-Deen, S., Ashraf, M., Rashed, M. G., & Hutchison, W. (2022). Consequences of aircraft operating conditions at military airbases: degradation of ordinary mortar and resistance mechanism of acrylic and silica fume modified cement mortar. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 23(1), 98-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680629.2020.1820892
  25. Ukraine hit by wave of Iran drones - officials. (2022) [Електронний ресурс] BBC, December 30 , 2022. Режим доступу: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64125257.
  26. Vick, A. (2015). Air base attacks and defensive counters: Historical lessons and future challenges. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation
  27. Vick, A., & Ashby, M. (2021). Winning the Battle of the Airfields: Seventy Years of RAND Analysis on Air Base Defense and Attack. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RRA793-1
  28. Wallin, Matthew. (2018). US military bases and facilities in the Middle East. American Security Project.
  29. Zajas S., (2012) Użycie Sił Powietrznych we współczesnych operacjach, w: B. Grenda, J. Nowak (sc. ed.) otnictwo w doktrynach i konfliktach zbrojnych XX i XXI wieku