companies, including firms in
Canada and South Korea, for
proposals to upgrade the G-4,
but the planned tender to select
a partner was abandoned. In
the meantime, the Serbian
government entered negotiations
for a strategic partnership with
Airbus, leading to a high-level
memorandum of understanding,
which was signed on October 7,
- That document anticipates
technological support for the
upgrade of a “training and light
combat aircraft”, but this may
refer to the improved Orao.
Transport fl eet
Today's RV i PVO has only a
modest capacity to transport
people and materiel – one An-26,
a pair of former Ministry of Interior
Mi-17s, two Mi-17V-5s acquired
in June 2016, and two survivors
from the original fleet of Mi-8s.
An-26 serial 71386 was produced
in December 1984. During
December 2016 it returned to
its Batajnica home base after
being overhauled at Rostov
Civil Aviation Factory No 412 in
Rostov-on-Don. This gave it an
additional six years of service life.
The service lives of the final Mi-8s
will expire next year. Meanwhile,
preparations are under way to
establish a local overhaul facility for
the Mi-17 family, via a joint venture
between Russian Helicopters
and ‘Moma Stanojlović’. The
first two helicopters to be
overhauled at Batajnica were
Macedonian police Mi-171s;
the Serbian plant will carry out
more minor work, while the rest
will be completed in Russia.Lasta heads for service
A total of 14 Lasta piston-engine
trainers were manufactured in theUtva factory from 2011 to 2015.
On December 26 last year it was
decided to introduce the first six
to RV i PVO service; the remaining
eight are due to be delivered in the
first half of this year. At the time
of writing, all 14 Lastas were at the
Tehnički opitni centar (Technical
Test Centre). On entering service,
they will be assigned to the 252.
školsko trenažna avijacijska
eskadrila (252nd Education and
Training Aviation Squadron). The
hangars of these two units are only
around a hundred metres apart.
After testing was completed,
the Lasta’s entry to service was
delayed by five years following
an investigation into an accident
involving the first pre-series aircraft.
One test pilot was killed while the
other ejected when serial 54201
crashed on September 26, 2012.
With the arrival of the Lasta,
the earlier piston-engine Utva-75 has completed its career as
a basic trainer. However, it is
still used to screen candidates
for admission to the Serbian
Military Academy. The five-year
syllabus combines education
for pilots and air engineers.Helicopters old & new
The road to co-operation with
Airbus was paved with a contract
to procure nine new H145M
helicopters on December 28,- Six of these are for the
RV i PVO and three for the
police. The deal includes support
for long-term maintenance,
followed by certification of
‘Moma Stanojlović’ to maintain
Gazelle helicopters in the west
Balkans region (the local state
fleets comprise 50 examples in
Serbia, 16 in Bosnia Herzegovina
and 14 in Montenegro). The
terms also cover initial input
by Serbian industry in the
Airbus production chain.
The first H145Ms will arrive in
Serbia before the end of next
year. Until then, crews will
be trained, and infrastructure
prepared at Niš air base. Four
of the RV i PVO H145Ms will
be in a combat configuration,
while the other two will be utility
versions – one adapted for VIP
transport and one for medical
evacuation/search and rescue.
Serbia is the launch customer
of H145Ms with the HForce
weapon system option (WSO) 1
package that provides for ballistic
weapons firing using a helmet-
mounted sight and display.
Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
Command/unit Base Equipment
Command of RV i PVO Zemun, Belgrade- vazduhoplovna brigade (204th Air Brigade) Batajnica
- lovačka avijacijska eskadrila
(101st Fighter Aviation Squadron)
Batajnica L-18 (MiG-29), NL-18 (MiG-29UB), NL-16
(MiG-21UM)- školsko trenažna avijacijska eskadrila
(252nd Education and Training Aviation Squadron)
Batajnica N-62 (G-4), N-62T (G-4TM), V-53 (Utva-75)- mešovita transportna avijacijska eskadrila
(138th Mixed Transport Aviation Squadron)
Batajnica T-70 (An-26), PA-34-220T Seneca VDetachment Niš An-2TD- mešovita helikopterska eskadrila
(890th Mixed Helicopter Squadron)
Batajnica HT-49 (Mi-17V-5), HT-48 (Mi-17), HO-45,
(SA342L Gazelle)- vazduhoplovna brigade (98th Air Brigade) Lađevci
- lovačko-bombarderska avijacijska eskadrila
(241st Fighter-Bomber Aviation Squadron)
Lađevci J-22/NJ-22 Orao, N-62 (G-4)- protivoklopna helikopterska eskadrila
(714th Anti-Armour Helicopter Squadron)
Lađevci HN-42M/HN-45M Gama (anti-tank SA341H/
SA342L Gazelle), HO-42/HO-45 (basic SA41H/
SA342L Gazelle), HI-42 Hera (reconnaissance
SA341H Gazelle)- mešovita helikopterska eskadrila
(119th Transport Helicopter Squadron)
Niš HT-40 (Mi-8T), GazelleTehnički opitni centar (Technical Test Centre,
directly subordinated to J5/General Staff)Batajnica NJ-22 Orao, N-62 (G-4), N-60 (G-2A Galeb),
V-54 (Lasta)HT-49 (Mi-17V-5) 12492
escorted by a Gazelle carrying
a sniper. An order for another
six Mi-17V-5s has been
announced but is not yet under
contract. Aleksandar Radić
Below: NJ-22 25530 demonstrates
some of the elements of the Orao
upgrade. These include VRVZ-200
missiles on the outboard underwing
pylons and a dismounted Grom-B
TV-guided air-to-surface missile.
Under the fuselage, obscured by
the Grom-B, is an ASVL-500 missile
guidance pod. Dimitrije Ostojic76 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
Force
Report