Formation
40th Tactical Aviation Brigade
Tactical aviation brigade of the MiG-29 fleet — the workhorse fighter of Ukraine's wartime air defence.
Kyiv-alignedAirBrigadeTactical fighter aviation brigade
Broad area of activity
Dispersed fighter operations from airfields across unoccupied Ukraine.
Notable history
A MiG-29 brigade that survived the February 2022 opening strikes by dispersing within hours, and flew air policing and strike escort through the hardest years of the air war on Soviet-era airframes adapted for Western munitions.
Strengths
Dispersal discipline and improvisation — the qualities that kept the fighter force alive in 2022.
Limitations
Legacy airframes at the edge of their service lives; pilot generation limits sortie tempo.
Sensitivity: Public · structuralConfidence: HighSources: Ukrainian military and General Staff statements · Established international media reporting · MilitaryLand.net Ukrainian force-structure tracking · IISS Military BalanceMethodologyCorrections
Assessed as of2026-07Last reviewed2026-07
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