Russia deploys Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters to Far East region

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Russian military has deployed Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighters to its Far East airbase closest to the Korean peninsula.

Col. Alexander Gordeyev of the Eastern Military District said Friday, "Several new Su-34 fighter bombers have flown over [2,100 miles] from Novosibirsk to the airfield of permanent basing after refueling at the airport Domna," according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Gordeyev also said the strike fighters would be in operation in 2017.

The aircraft is a fourth-generation model and are capable of striking ground and sea targets, according to TASS news agency.

The squadron began arriving in the Russian Far East's Khabarovsk region in mid-December.

At the time Gordeyev had said the aircrew had completed bombing-related tactical tasks at a gunnery range. Pilots trained in air navigation, planned track flight skills and executed horizontal bombing missions aimed at group targets, according to TASS.

It was the last shipment of the strike fighters that arrived at the Eastern Military District's Khabarovsk air unit this week from Novosibirsk.

The Russian bombers can hit smaller moving as well as aerial targets both day and night. Adverse weather conditions are also not an obstacle for the latest aircraft, according to the Russian news report.

The Eastern Military District was established in 2010 and includes the former Far Eastern Military District and a part of the former Siberian Military District.