7th Tactical Aviation Brigade (Ukraine)

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 at Kolminyya joined the brigade as its reconnaissance aviation squadron.

In 2005–2006 the Brigade became first Air Force formation to be composed of professional soldiers and not conscripts.

In August 2019 Su-24M took part in the international air show “Gdynia Aerobaltik 2019” in Poland. The Ukrainian Su-24 bomber has become a participant of the international air show for the first time.

In December 2019 Su-24M from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade have completed testing air-to-air docking of the retractable refueling probe for the first time in 20 years. The first flight was successfully performed without refueling.

Components

 * Two bomber squadron
 * 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-24 MR reconnaissance aircraft on operational status.

Another nine unidentified Su-24M/MRs were reported lost or damaged during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine:

On 24 February 2022, a Ukrainian Su-24 was lost in Poltava. Both pilots survived.

On 1 March 2022, a Su-24M from the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade was shot down near the village of Krasenyvka, Zolotoni, Cherkasy Oblast. The pilots, were wounded but survived.

On 2 March 2022, a Su-24 was shot down near Novohrad-Volynskyi; the pilot, Colonel Mykola Kovalenko, and navigator, Captain Yevhen Kazimirov, died.

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 Ukrainian Su-24 bomber was shot down in Kirovohrad, Kropyvnytskyi region. The crew from 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade, Maksym Sikalenko, 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 29 September 2022 a Ukrainian 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 managed to eject.

On 1 March 2023, a Ukrainian Su-24M was shot down near Bakhmut. Both crewmembers, lieutenant colonel Viktor Volynets and senior lieutenant Solomennikov, were killed.