Dolon is an air base in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

 that served as a major Cold War bomber base with significant tarmac space and over 50 revetment

Revetment

Revetments, or revêtements , have a variety of meanings in architecture, engineering and art history. In stream restoration, river engineering or coastal management, they are sloping structures placed on banks or cliffs in such a way as to absorb the energy of incoming water...

s. Dolon Southwest

Dolon Southwest

Dolon Southwest is a former air base in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan located 43 km southwest of Dolon. It is a demolished airfield from 1950s; almost no trace remains. It was probably part of the Dolon nuclear testing zone....

, a former airfield 32 km to the south, no longer exists.

In 1955, Dolon was one of only six Soviet bases capable of handling the Myasishchev M-4

Myasishchev M-4

The Myasishchev M-4 Molot , USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 37", NATO reporting name 'Bison'.) is a four-engined strategic bomber designed by Vladimir Myasishchev and manufactured by the Soviet Union in the 1950s to provide a bomber capable of attacking targets in North America...

 (Bison) bomber. The 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division was created at Dolon in 1957. The Tupolev Tu-160

Tupolev Tu-160

The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Although several civil and military transport aircraft are larger in overall dimensions, the Tu-160 is currently the world's largest combat aircraft, largest...

 (Blackjack) was temporarily deployed to Dolon in the late 1980s. In 1990, Dolon had 40 Tupolev Tu-95

Tupolev Tu-95

The Tupolev Tu-95 is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040...

 (Bear) aircraft, which were eliminated by 1994, ending the base's strategic bomber role.

Units based at Dolon included:

• 79th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division
• 1023rd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (1023 TBAP) flying Tu-95 and Tu-95M aircraft (1957-62), Tu-95K (1960-83), and Tu-95MS aircraft (1983-92).
• 1226th Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment (1226 TBAP) flying Tu-95 and Tu-95M aircraft (1957-62), Tu-95K and Tu-95MS aircraft (1984-92).

The 79th TBAD was under the control of Long Range Aviation from 1957 to 1960, the 8th independent Heavy Bomber Aviation Corps from 1960 until 1980, and, finally, the 37th Air Army

37th Air Army

The 37th Air Army of the High Supreme Command was the strategic bomber force of the Russian Air Force from 1998 to 2009...

 from 1980 until 1992.

Both regiments were taken over by Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

in 1992 and the aircraft were withdrawn to the Russian Federation.