7th Tactical Aviation Brigade
The 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade "Petro Franko" is a formation of the Ukrainian Air Force.
History
The 7th Bomber Aviation Regiment was formed in 1951. In January 1992 the regiment took the oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people.In October 2005 the former 32 Independent Reconnaissance Aviation Squadron from Kolomyia joined the brigade as its reconnaissance aviation squadron.
In 2005–2006 the Brigade became the first Air Force formation to be composed of professional soldiers and not conscripts.
On 20 August 2014, Su-24, bort number Whute 27 was shot down by a Pantsir-S1, the crew survived.
In August 2019 a Su-24M took part in the international air show “Gdynia Aerobaltik 2019” in Poland. This represented the first participation of a Ukrainian Su-24 to an international air show.
In December 2019 Su-24Ms from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade completed air-to-air refueling training for the first time in 20 years.
According to Forbes, 18 bombers were shot down by Russian Forces as of 22 February 2024, but despite being a priority target for the Russians, the 7th Brigade has managed to remain active by scattering its forces to neighbouring air bases whenever missiles are detected by Ukrainian radars or NATO satellites, while the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles allows their Su-24s to strike targets without entering Russian air defenses range. In February 2024, the Brigade commander Col. Yevhen Bulatsyk told the Voice of America that the brigade not only managed to make up for its losses of Su-24M/MR bombers, but expand its numbers by restoring as many grounded aircraft as possible.
Components
- Two bomber squadrons
- One reconnaissance squadron
Aircraft
In March 2019, the International Institute for Strategic Studies reported that Ukraine fielded 14 Su-24 attack aircraft and 9 Su-24MR reconnaissance aircraft on operational status.| Tail Number | Type | Status | Note |
| White 02 | Su-24M | Operational | Repaired from 2014 damage. |
| White 03 | Su-24M | Shot down - 1 March 2023 in Bakhmut. | Crewmembers, Lt Col Viktor Volynets and Sr. Lt Solomennikov killed. |
| White 06 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 08 | Su-24M | Shot down - 25 February 2022 in Voznesenske. | |
| White 12 | Su-24M | Crashed - 6 May 2022 due a technical fault in a field roughly south of Martynivka Air Base | Crew ejected and survived |
| White 18 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 20 | Su-24M | Shot down - 24 March 2022 over Hostomel. | Crewmembers; Major Dmytro Kulykov and Major Mykola Savchuk killed. |
| White 21 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 22 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 26 | Su-24M | Shot down - 9 March 2022 over Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast. | |
| White 28 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 41 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 44 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 45 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 46 | Su-24M | Operational | |
| White 49 | Su-24M | Shot down - 22 March 2022 lost near the village of Sulyhivka, near Izyum | Pilot, Mayor Oleksiy Kovalenko killed, navigator ejected and survived. |
| White 66 | Su-24M | Shot down - 2 March 2022 near Novohrad-Volynskyi. | Pilot, Colonel Mykola Kovalenko and navigator Captain Yevhen Kazimirov, died. |
| White 69 | Su-24M | Shot down - 19 May 2022 in the village of Krasnopolivka, near Bakhmut | Pilot Lt. Col. Ihor Khmara and navigator Maj. Illya Nehar killed in the crash |
| White 77 | Su-24M | Shot down - 27 February 2022 in Bucha, Kyiv region. | Major Ruslan Bilous and Captain Roman Dovhalyuk killed. |
| White 84 | Su-24MR | Shot down - 26 June 2022 by a Russian Pantsir-S1 system in the Black Sea | For destroying a Pantsir-S1 system on Snake Island, the pilot Col. Mykhailo Matiushenko and navigator Maj. Yuriy Krasylnikov were posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine title on August 6, 2023 |
| White 87 | Su-24M | Shot down - 30 April 2022 on Nova Praha, Kirovohrad Oblast | Crewmembers survived. |
| Yellow 11 | Su-24MR | Operational | Damaged on 1 July 2014 by a MANPADS missile, but it managed to return to base and was subsequently repaired. |
| Yellow 16 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 17 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 35 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 36 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 54 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 59 | Su-24MR | Shot down - 12 October 2022, hit by a SAM. Crew tried to bring the stricken aircraft back to base, but it crashed near the village of Zhorzhivka, Poltava Oblast | Pilot Major Dmytro Bortnyk was killed, navigator ejected safely |
| Yellow 60 | Su-24MR | Operational | |
| Yellow 93 | Su-24MR | Operational |
Another eight unidentified Su-24M/MRs from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade were reported lost or damaged during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine:
On 24 February 2022, a Su-24 was lost in Poltava. Both pilots survived.
On 1 March 2022, a Su-24M was shot down near the village of Krasenyvka, Zolotoni, Cherkasy Oblast. The pilots, were wounded but survived.
On 12 March 2022, a Su-24 was shot down by Russian forces near Bilyaivka village, Beryslav Raion, Kherson Oblast. The pilots, Valeriy Oshkalo and Roman Chekhun, died.
On 21 March 2022, a Su-24 piloted by Viacheslav Khodakivskyi was lost near Pokrovsky district, Zaporizhya, Ukraine. The pilot died.
On 30 March 2022 a Su-24 was shot down in Kirovohrad, Kropyvnytskyi region. The crew Brigade Commander of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade Col., and navigator Kostiantin Horodnychev, were reported dead. The same day another Su-24 was recorded damaged with a trail of smoke in Rivne, western Ukraine on social media.
On May-June 2022, during the Ukrainian offensive and recapture of Snake Island, a Su-24MR was shot down by a Russian missile, the crew managed to eject and survived.
On 29 September 2022 a Su-24 was hit by Russian surface-to-air missile in Kherson Oblast. The aircraft was recorded on video with one of its engines on fire before it crashed. The pilots Lt. Col Yevgeny Solovyov and Captain Artem Hanko ejected.