The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces (Russian: Войска воздушно-космической обороны, tr. Voyska Vozdushno-Kosmicheskoy Oborony or VKO (ВКО) was the branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation responsible for air and missile defence, and the operation of Russian military satellites and the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Formed on 1 December 2011, it replaced the Space Forces.