Nonstop flight route between Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Bratsk Airport (BTK), Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia and Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 5,145 miles (or 8,279 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Bratsk Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Bratsk Airport and Grand Forks Air Force Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Bratsk Airport (BTK):

• Bratsk airport serves as a diversion airport on Polar route 2.
• The closest airport to Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Ust-Ilimsk (UIK), which is located 126 miles (203 kilometers) NNE of BTK.
• In addition to being known as "Bratsk Airport", another name for BTK is "Аэропорт Братск".
• Bratsk Airport (BTK) currently has only 1 runway.
• The furthest airport from Bratsk Airport (BTK) is Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport (PUQ), which is nearly antipodal to Bratsk Airport (meaning Bratsk Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Presidente Carlos Ibáñez International Airport), and is located 12,060 miles (19,408 kilometers) away in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 3 November 1967, the Department of Defense revealed that GFAFB was one of 10 initial locations to host a Sentinel Anti-Ballistic Missile site.
• During 1965, the wing’s three missile squadrons were activated and crew training and certification began at Vandenberg AFB in southern California.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• Opened 57 years ago in early 1957, the base's current host unit is the 319th Air Base Wing assigned to the Expeditionary Center of the Air Mobility Command.
• In October 1977, the PAR came under operational control of the USAF, which operated it thereafter as part of its early warning system.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• On 3 September 1974, the SAFSCOM Site Activation Team was relieved by the U.S.