169th Guards Mixed Aviation Regiment, Soviet Naval Aviation, flew Tupolev Tu-16 and Tu-16K tankers (1st Squadron); Tupolev Tu-95RTS and Tu-142M were flown 1982-1993 with the regiment's 2nd Squadron; and MiG-23MLD, late 1984-1989 (3rd Squadron). From November 1986 to December 1993 the regiment reported directly to the Soviet Pacific Fleet. During the 1980s many Tokyo Express flights went to and from the base, sometimes violating Japanese airspace. Offensive weapons, including the MiG-23s and Tu-16s, had been withdrawn by 1989, and the number of personnel was halved to 2,500 from a high of 5,000. The Russian government continued the earlier Soviet arrangement in a 1993 agreement that allowed for the continued use of the base for signal intelligence, primarily on Chinese communications in the South China Sea. By this time, Russian aircraft had been withdrawn, with only support personnel for the listening station remaining. In June 2001, the Vietnamese government announced that following the expiration of Russia's lease in 2004, Vietnam would "not to sign an agreement with any country to use Cam Ranh Bay for military purposes". On 17 October that year, the Russian government announced that it would be withdrawing from Cam Ranh Bay completely before its rent-free lease was to expire in 2004, due to what was assumed to be a dwindling defense budget. The reversion of the base back to Vietnamese control took place on 2 May 2002. On 25 November 2014, an agreement was signed during a visit to Sochi by Nguyễn Phú Trọng, that established standards of use of Russian warships in the port of Cam Ranh simplified procedure: Russian ships would only have to give prior notice to the Vietnamese authorities before calling on Cam Ranh Bay, while other foreign navies would be limited to only one annual ship visit to Vietnamese ports. In January 2015, Russia's Defense Ministry said that Russian Il-78 tanker aircraft had used Cam Ranh Bay in the previous year, enabling the refueling of the Tu-95 strategic bombers conducting flights in the Asia-Pacific region. Current use On 19 May 2004, after major reconstruction, Cam Ranh International Airport received its first commercial flight. Cam Ranh remains a minor base of the Vietnam People's Air Force, housing the 920th Training Squadron. Vietnam Naval Air Force also operates a small VTOL runway within the base. See also Republic of Vietnam Air Force Soviet Air Force Russian Air Force References Other sources Milne, Duncan (1967).