The new air force army is equipped with Russia's latest aviation technology, including Su-35S, Su-30SM, and Su-30M-2 fighters, Mi-8AMTSH and Ka-52 helicopters, while the new air defense army is equiped with the anti-aircraft missile systems S-300, S-400, and Tor-M2U.

The reorganization was instigated to improve the effectiveness of the Russian military's command and control, as well as improving the organization of peacetime activities and troop-mobilization planning.

"The 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army was formed in the Eastern Military District. It is composed of formations and military units of the 3rd Air Force and Air Defense Command, stationed in the Far East and Eastern Siberia," Gordeyev was quoted as saying by the Russian Defense Ministry.

The airspace of eleven of Russia's federal subjects and more than 22 thousand kilometers (13.7 thousand miles) of its land and maritime borders fall under the new unit's responsibility.

"The pilots are performing combat training missions in the gulfs of the Seas of ??Okhotsk, Japan, Chukchi, and the East Siberian Sea, in the Pacific Ocean and in the Arctic zone of responsibility of the Eastern Military District", the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Eastern Military District is one of the four operational strategic commands of the Russian Armed Forces. The district was formed by a Presidential Decree, signed in September 2010.