December 26 — Military Air Defense Day: history and traditions

Every year on December 26, Russia celebrates the Day of Military Air Defense of the Ground Forces, a professional holiday for the military responsible for protecting critical facilities from air strikes. In 2025, the military air defense system turns 110 years old, the holiday date falls on Friday. Read about the history of the service, how it developed, who and how to congratulate on this day in the Izvestia article.

Military Air Defense Day – 2025: the history of the military branch

The holiday was officially established in 2007 by order of the Russian Minister of Defense, the date was chosen in honor of the signing on December 26, 1915, by the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander of the Russian Army, General Mikhail Alekseev, of another historical document on the formation of the first separate light artillery batteries for firing at aerial targets. It is from this moment that the history of the military air defense of the Ground Forces is being counted, which in 2025 marks 110 years since its foundation.

At the beginning of the 20th century, military aviation was rapidly developing. At the height of the First World War, airplanes, airships and balloons ceased to be exotic and turned into a real force. They conducted reconnaissance, attacked rear targets, and threatened major cities. It became obvious that the army needed specialized protection from the enemy in the sky. The above-mentioned order of Commander-in-Chief Alekseev was the answer to this challenge.

The technical basis of the first artillery batteries was the well-known 76.2mm divisional cannon, the Trehdyumovka. The artillery officer, Captain Vasily Tarnovsky, together with the engineer of the Putilov plant, Franz Lender, modified this gun, installed it on a pedestal support with the possibility of circular firing and an increased elevation angle.

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A five-ton White truck was chosen as the platform. This is how the first specialized anti—aircraft gun appeared - the "three-inch anti-aerostatic cannon mounted on an automobile installation." The first batteries armed with such guns covered the sky over Petrograd already in the First World War.

In the following years, air defense evolved rapidly. After the October Revolution, a centralized air defense directorate was created in the Red Army, specialized units were deployed, and the first radar stations and anti-aircraft fire control devices were introduced.

If in 1917 the new government had only about seventy anti-aircraft guns at its disposal, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Soviet air defense units already had several thousand units of these weapons of medium and small caliber, hundreds of anti-aircraft machine guns, radars, searchlights and barrage balloons.

In 1958, the ground units and means of military air defense were withdrawn from the combined arms artillery and formed into an independent branch of the Armed forces — the Air Defense Forces of the Ground Forces. Artillery began to play an auxiliary role in them, and anti-aircraft missile systems began to form the basis for protecting the sky.

Today, the air defense forces of the Russian Ground Forces retain the status of an independent branch of the armed forces and solve a specific task — they provide air cover for army combat formations and key facilities both during operations, on the march, and at points of permanent deployment. Their work is based in cooperation with the Air Defense and Missile Defense forces of the Aerospace Forces, responsible for the defense of the country's airspace as a whole.

Traditions of celebrating the Day of Military Air Defense

Traditionally, on December 26, solemn formations are held in formations and units of the military air defense, the results of the year are summed up, and the best units and calculations are announced. Military personnel are awarded state and departmental awards, certificates of honor and commendations.

Personnel and veterans participate in commemorative events, lay flowers at monuments dedicated to anti-aircraft gunners and defenders of the sky, at the graves of those who fell while performing combat missions. A minute of silence is held to remember those who did not return from service.

Military universities and academies host thematic lectures, round tables, and generational meetings. Exhibitions are opening in museums, officers' homes, and cultural centers that tell about the formation of military air defense, the first "three-inch guns," the development of radar, and modern missile systems. In a number of garrisons, they arrange a demonstration of equipment and equipment, a demonstration of the work of calculations on simulators.

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Corporate events are held at enterprises involved in the development and production of air defense systems, design bureaus and factories, the results of the year are summed up, and teams involved in the modernization of existing complexes and the creation of new designs are noted.

Congratulations on the Day of Military Air Defense

On the Day of military Air Defense, congratulations are addressed primarily to those who serve in the air defense units of the Ground Forces or are in reserve, veterans, cadets of military educational institutions, engineers, designers and employees of enterprises that create air defense systems. Izvestia has prepared several examples of how this can be done.:

"Dear military personnel of the military air defense! Congratulations on your professional holiday. You have a special responsibility to protect troops and critical facilities from aerial threats. We wish you trouble-free equipment, accurate calculations, confidence in every decision, and only training alarms."

"Congratulations on the Day of Military Air Defense! We sincerely thank you for your perseverance, experience and dedication. May your health be strong, the attention of your loved ones remain unchanged, and the memory of your service be worthily preserved in new generations!"

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"Happy professional holiday! Your work is an important part of the united shield of the country. Your ability to detect a target in time, correctly assess the situation and make a decision is the key to the security of our country. We wish you accurate calculations, high professional results and well-deserved recognition!"

"Congratulations on the Day of Military Air Defense! You have chosen a difficult, responsible, but honorable profession. We wish you confidence in your journey and a worthy continuation of traditions. May the service strengthen Russia's defense capability on a daily basis and bring professional satisfaction. May there be peace, prosperity and confidence in the future in your homes!"

"Happy Military Air Defense Day! December 26 is a holiday that reminds us how important a reliable shield over the country is. We wish everyone involved in military air defense good health, a calm sky, professional success and new achievements in the name of Russia's security."

Earlier, Izvestia reported on the history and traditions of celebrating the Day of an employee of the Russian security agencies.