Šiauliai International Airport


Šiauliai International Airport is located southeast of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. It covers an area of.

History

The airport was one of the largest military airports in the former Soviet Union. In 1955 it was only one of six Soviet bases capable of handling the new Myasishchev M-4 bomber. The Tupolev Tu-126 was based here between the 1960s and 1970s. It was home to the 53 APIB flying MiG-23 aircraft with the ML, MLD, and UB variants and the MiG-27. It was also home to the 18th Guards Military Transport Aviation Division, and the 196 VTAP flying Il-76 aircraft. It was a base of the 117 OAP flying An-12PPS aircraft. The last Soviet troops based here left in 1993.

Baltic air policing

Šiauliai is home to the NATO Baltic Air Policing forward deployment, providing airspace security for the three Baltic members of NATO.