That permitted Germany to evade treaty restrictions on the development of military aviation, while the Soviet Air Forces received technical advice and access to test results.

[4][5][6] The 4th Center of Combat Application and Conversion of Frontline Aviation, Russia's Top Gun school since around the 1960s, is the most well known unit on the base.

Its chief, Col. Kharchevski, became famous after air combat exercises in the US and has become the personal pilot of President Putin.

From the 1960s to 1990, units stationed at Lipetsk include: In 1992, the 968th Fighter Aviation Regiment arrived from Falkenberg in East Germany.

[8] On 8 August 2024, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, the airbase was struck by a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack that caused numerous explosions and fires.