by late 2017. Estimates provided by the IISS show that VVS combat pilots average 60 to 100 flight hours per year and pilots flying transport aircraft average 120 flight hours per year. Squadrons As of 2014: 8 × Bomber squadrons (4 operating Tu-22M3/MR; 3 operating Tu-95MS; 1 operating Tu-160) 37 × Fighter squadrons (8 operating MiG-29; 3 operating MiG-29SMT; 11 operating MiG-31/MiG-31BM; 10 operating Su-27; 4 operating Su-27SM1/Su-30M2; 1 operating Su-27SM3/Su-30M2) 27 × Attack squadrons (11 operating the Su-24M/Su-24M2; 13 operating Su-25/Su-25SM; 3 operating Su-34) 10 × Attack & Reconnaissance squadrons (1 operating Su-24M/MR; 8 operating Su-24MR; 1 operating Mig-25RB) 1 × AEW&C squadron (1 operating A-50/A50-U) 1 × Tanker squadron (1 operating Il-78/Il-78M) Radars The VVS operates several Nebo-M radars, that combine meter, decimeter and centimeter range. First two Nebo-M regiments were deployed in 2017 to Saint Petersburg and Kareliya. In 2018, further two regiments were deployed to Crimea and Penza. In 2019, a regiment was delivered to Volga region. In 2020, two regiments were deployed to the Far East and Naryan Mar, while another one was announced to be planned to be delivered to Volga region. Additionally, the VVS operates radars that work in meter range only. Such systems are Nebo-UM (first units were delivered in 2018 to Voronezh and Novosibirsk, and in 2020 to Rostov-on-Don) as well as Rezonans-NE radars that have been constructed in the Arctic in Zapolyarniy, Indiga, Shoyna and Nova Zemlya, with another in Gremikha under construction. The air force also uses centimeter-range radar Podlet that was first delivered in 2020 to the Far East. Ranks and insignia The VVS inherited the ranks of the Soviet Union, although the insignia and uniform were slightly altered and the old Tsarist crown and double-headed eagle were re-introduced. The VVS uses the same rank structure as the Russian Ground Forces. Aircraft procurement Production of the Russian aerospace industry for the Russian Armed Forces, by year of manufacture (first flight): Future of the Russian Air Force See also Awards and emblems of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation Orders, decorations, and medals of Russia Honorary titles of Russia List of Russian aviators Air Intelligence of Russia Notes References Higham, Robin (editor). Russian Aviation and Air Power in the Twentieth Century. Routledge, 1998. Palmer, Scott W. Dictatorship of the Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Further reading Further