[ad_1]
The famous Russian “crocodile”, “flying tank” or “sky armor” has been in the Serbian army for a full year. Four Russian raiders celebrate their first birthday with a Serbian tricolor on their tail on regular assignments in the 714 “Shadows” anti-tank helicopter squadron. That was the reason why the “Novosti” reporters, together with Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, visited the members of this unit in their duties and observed the plane in action, which leaves no one indifferent.
We encountered a three-member Mi-35 crew on the “Pilot Colonel Milenko Pavlović” airport runway in Batajnica while conducting a pre-flight inspection of the helicopter. Aviation regulations are strict, there are no deviations. Each of the crew members has their own task: they turn the plane around, check if everything is in place, and physically check all important assemblies with the touch of a hand.
– Minister, the crew is ready to fly – in a calm attitude in front of the helicopter in the parking lot of the Batajnica airport, Major Branko Stanković reported in a military manner.
This staunch aircraft is the leader of one of the Mi-35 crews, and shares the orders of the armored assailant with the other pilot, Captain Darijan Militar, and the technician, Lieutenant Bojan Tatic. They form a team that is always ready to take on a task with a powerful helicopter.
And it is, they say, for our conditions, almost a miracle of technology. It is characterized by exceptional maneuverability, solid armor, superior equipment, precision … Weapons are a special story: a powerful 23-millimeter cannon “in the nose” of the aircraft, radio-guided missiles “attacks”, unguided missiles. .. Fierce lethal power. All this, combined with a modern attack navigation system and a computer that guarantees a precise hit at every desired point, makes it the celestial song of the army on earth.
FIGHT FOR PEOPLE, HIGHER WAGES ARRIVE
As the Defense Minister emphasizes, members of the Air Force will have better days and higher salaries.
– They do extremely demanding and difficult work, which only seems cinematic. Countless hours of complex training go by. They are guards who are ready to take off at any moment and fight for Serbia. That is why they deserve the State to pay them and take care of them. The main task that I propose myself as Minister of Defense is to fight for man. I am very satisfied that this year you will receive a salary increase of five percent, which was given to the public sector, but also an additional 10, which we agreed in a conversation with President Vučić. Of course, we will work so that this does not end and we will continue to increase their salaries even more. Without humans, neither the Mi-35, nor the “moments” nor the best plane in the world would be worth anything to us.
Helicopter pilots received for the first time equipment that allows the execution of combat tasks in almost all weather conditions, as well as at night.
– What are your experiences with the use of night flight goggles? – Minister Stefanović was interested.
– They are top-notch. You can even see the shadow of the helicopter on the ground, the poles of the transmission line, all the larger objects with total clarity. The glasses are thermographic, so that people, vehicles are also visible … A completely new dimension of flight, the pilots explain with one voice.
Airmen do not hide that flying in the Mi-35 is a unique experience, incomparable with the helicopters in which they had the opportunity to fly. They say it’s like when you compare a racing car to a truck in terms of speed.
However, the path to command of a Rostov-on-Don-born armored assailant was neither easy nor straightforward. He conducted more than six months of training, with the inevitable crash course in the Russian language.
– It was a great challenge, but it was worth it – says driver Stanković. – All of us who trained for the Mi-35 were highly motivated to learn about such a powerful machine in detail. It is a true racial combat helicopter, and the opportunity to fly in it is not lost.
Military Captain and Lieutenant Tatic add that each flight in a powerful attack plane weighing almost 13 tons is an event, but also that a person feels as powerful in it as the plane that carries it.
According to the defense minister, airmen are extremely satisfied with the icon of air warfare:
– Members of the Air Force are extremely capable and highly trained. Considering that they are extremely satisfied with the Mi-35, I think it is a great aircraft. They jokingly say that the only thing they would change is that they would like to have dozens of them – says Stefanović.
REMEMBER “MIRAGE” AND SU-30 WELL
DEFENSE MINISTER Nebojsa Stefanovic does not hide that every arrival at the airport “Pilot Colonel Milenko Pavlovic” and conversation with the airmen is an unusual pleasure for him.
– I came here when I was a kid. I remember especially well the big air show that was held in Batajnica in 1997. The Russians arrived with a Su-30 plane, and the French “Mirage 2000” could also be seen. It was an event to remember – says Stefanović.
Follow us through iOS and Android apps
[ad_2]
