and ‘86 Blue’, respectively. These included
the two aircraft that went to LDARZ in April,
while the trainer (originally ‘10 White’) had been
sent to LDARZ previously, before the conflict.
Having lost a 9.13 (‘53 White’) in combat in
2014, 114 brTA received a new 9.13 and a MiG-
29UB from overhaul at LDARZ in 2015 – these
were ‘57 White’ and ‘30 White’, respectively.
The process of restoring the unit’s potential
culminated in 2016, when five 9.13s arrived
fresh from overhaul at LDARZ (‘71, 72, 73, 75
and 76 White’, the last being handed over on
October 15, 2016). An additional three 9.13s
(‘74, 77 and 78 White’) had arrived straight from
overhaul at LDARZ by the end of last year.
The unit’s high level of readiness was displayed
during the large-scale Nebesnyy Shchyt 2016
(Celestial Shield 2016) exercise in mid-August that
year. On the 10th two of the unit’s aircraft – ‘71
White’ and ‘73 White’ – performed a touch-and-
go on a special 8,202ft (2,500m) auxiliary wartime
landing strip. This is designed as an integral part
of the M06 (Kiev-Chop) highway, situated between
Krupets and Mykhaylivka in the Rivne province.
The unit’s capabilities were also put to the test
in mid-July last year when its quick reaction alert
(QRA) pair was scrambled against two separate
targets – a pair of Su-24M bombers and an
L-39 trainer (the latter playing the role of a light
attack aircraft) of 7 brTA from Starokostyantyniv.
These converged on Ivano-Frankivs’k from
different directions, at low altitude. The aircraft
were successfully intercepted before reaching
their target, the unit being commended
for its swift and efficient response.Training MiG-29 pilots
All the young MiG-29 pilots from the Class of
2016 completed their pre-graduation basic
training at the Spetsializovanyy Tsentr Boyovoyi
Pidgotovky Aviatsiynykh Fakhiftsiv (STsBP AF,
Specialised Combat Training Centre for Aviation
Specialists) based in Mykolayiv. As a result,
they were ready to begin advanced training
on the type immediately after graduating from
the Kharkivs’kyy Natsional’nyy Universytet#363 JUNE 2018 // 91Introducing
new pilot
training
After graduating
from the Kharkivs’kyy
Natsional’nyy Universytet
Povitryanykh Syl
(KhNUPS, Kharkiv National
Air Force University), all young PS pilots were
usually required to accumulate a certain amount
of flight hours (generally a minimum of 150) on
the L-39 Albatros trainer before being allowed to
begin tuition on their primary combat aircraft type.
Only after successfully completing the advanced
syllabus and achieving a certain level of proficiency
(ie after receiving the ‘pilot 3rd class’ qualification)
would they become fully fledged PS pilots.
This whole process was conducted in their new
unit, where they arrived after graduation, and
depended on many factors including availability
of fuel, aircraft and qualified instructor pilots. As
a result, the procedure was highly individualised
for each young pilot and was normally completed
a few years after graduation. It was possible
for two pilots from the same KhNUPS class, and
in the same unit, to finish at a different time –
even if they were serving on the same aircraft.
The PS Command was well aware of the deficiencies
of this set-up and a breakthrough was finally made in
early 2016, when KhNUPS student pilots in their fifth
and final year of study went to the Spetsializovanyy
Tsentr Boyovoyi Pidgotovky Aviatsiynykh Fakhiftsiv
(STsBP AF, Specialised Combat Training Centre for
Aviation Specialists) in Mykolayiv to undergo basic
training on their intended combat aircraft types (MiG-
29 and Su-25 in this case). This was part of their
pre-graduation instruction with the practical element
of the training taking place at the nearby Kul’bakino
air base. The initial process was successfully
completed in early June 2016 and the ‘Class of
2016’ pilots were all educated under the same
programme and ready to begin advanced instruction.
Last year the programme was further improved
by combining the MiG-29 basic tuition and
3rd class training and including them as part
of the pilot’s pre-graduation instruction.Introducing
(KhNUPS, Kharkiv NationalAbove: A pilot deploys the braking parachute of MiG-29 9.13 ‘73 White’ from 114 brTA shortly after
returning to Ivano-Frankivs’k from a training fl ight. Above right: A commemorative patch for all the
attendees of the young pilot training event at Ivano-Frankivs’k in 2016, designed by Valeriy Lyakhov, the
offi cial PS insignia designer. Vladimir Trendafilovski04 White 2960728501 MiG-29 (9.13)A restored
aircraft
05 Blue 2960728125 MiG-29 (9.13)-
09 Blue 2960721108 MiG-29
(9.13)Modi ed
scheme
10 White 50903023325 MiG-29UB -
20 White 50903021006 MiG-29UB -
30 White 50903024147 MiG-29UB Delivered
in 2015
54 Blue 2960731234 MiG-29 (9.13)-
55 White 2960731235 MiG-29
(9.13)Overall grey57 White - MiG-29
(9.13)Delivered
in 2015
58 White 2960731240 MiG-29 (9.13)A restored
aircraft
71 White 2960729002 MiG-29 (9.13)Delivered
in 201672 White 2960729005 MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2016
73 White 2960729012 MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2016
74 White - MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2017
75 White 2960729023 MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2016
76 White 2960729034 MiG-29
(9.13)Delivered
in 2016
77 White - MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2017
78 White - MiG-29 (9.13) Delivered
in 2017
121
White 934643 L-39C Originally
74 Blue
122
White 934663 L-39C Originally
122 BlueOverview of active 114 brTA aircraft
Serial c/n Type Remarks Serial c/n Type Remarks- In the Ukrainian Falcons display scheme. 2. In the current post-overhaul grey digital scheme. 3. The former
55 Blue (in Ukrainian Falcons scheme), repainted in 2017.