Serbian Air force – present and future prospects

You know who you are. You know what happened.

In this thread i do not want to hear wordls like : Kosovo,Albania,neigbours, x vs y etc. This is a thread about Serbian Air Force only.Serbian Air Force topics are to be discussed exclusively without politics,army comparisons and ratial tensions.

I gave up on debating with some people cause they obviously have mind of their own.If you do not agree with someone present simply present your arguments in a nice menner. It is on us,other members of this forum, to deduce which one of you is right. In order not to get in a heated debate,please post with your arguments a source or a proof. Thats all.

Now,i posted in the last thread an interview with the commander of Serbian Air Force. Here is the translation of the text from serbian to english. This means that it is OFFICIAL document and what will most probably happen.

15th December 2005

From a respectable airforce we came to a situation that our airplanes are grounded and for the airspace control,only a minimal potential is available. Overhauls are late, there are no spare parts, and training is late due to fuel shortages…What are the perspectives of our airforce, missile and radar systems, how they will be defined in the “Strategic defence overview”,what can people expect in the future?

There are enough questions for General Major Vladan Marjanovic and the coming holiday(Day of the airforce and air defence) on the 24th of december is a good enough reason to ask them.

Mr. General, there is a lot of discussion about the poor state of our air force and air defences. Are better days to come?

There is a common view on the presents state of the AF and the common view of the future solutions that will be defined in the “Strategic defence overview”.In that document an overview of the AF and AD will be defined for the next 5 to 10 years. New organisation will be defined, number strength, quality of equipment,training system,new abilities and other details important for the functioning of the Military as a whole.

With the new solutions,the priority is given to AD and transportation systems.

What does that precisely mean?

The reach of the targets set is going to be achieved in stages, in the years 2007,2010 and 2015. During the first phase a new organisation of the AF and AD will take place which will make it more rationall and more efficient. In the future AF and AD only equipment with a perspective to use will stay in service and this equipment will be used in the next 5 to 10 years.

In the first phase the overhaul of the existing systems is planned and later the procurment of new ones. First priority is the overhaul of Mig-29s that we own in order to raise the quality of the control and protection of our air space.

I expect the decision about that to be made up pretty fast that would mean,together with enoug fuel for training,that the steps are being taken to solve the two most critical problems in AF.

Currently and due to intensify in the future,an overhaul of transport helicopters is taking place due to highly needed transport capacities that are defined by unit mobility,more precisely for special forces.

Untill 2010 a decision about a multi role airplane should be made,that would be used for both air patrols and air to ground bombing missions which would lead to a steady withdrawal of Mig-21s and J-22 Oraos from service.

Present and future needs that come from the obilgation to secure the mobility of our special forces and possible involvment in peace missions around the world are goign to result in an acquirement of a new transport helicopter for which the decision will be made untill the year 2010 as well.

How many new airplanes and helicopters do we need?

By taking in the accound future security risks and missions set forth to the AF and AD,our assumption is that one squadron of multi role airplanes will be able to perform these duties.

One squadron of transport helicopters will satisfy our needs for air transport,special cargoes and future search and rescue service,that should be formed very soon as it is not only ment for military but also for civilian purposes.

By SAR missions, mean the rescue of air crews, MEDEVAC, disaster relieft and all other sitations where helicopters might be needed.

That unit would be therefore available to both army and civilian sector all the time.

At the moment, the situation is very harsh?

Present state reflects the times and conditions that we have endured from the 1990s untill today. Each consecutive year was more restrictive. After the year 1999,the two crucial problems surfaced in AF and AD, slowed down overhaul and lack of fuel for training.

Overhaul was slowed down due to two reasons. Overhaul facility “Moma” has reduced its capacities after 1999,due to reasons well know, buy 2/3 and not enough financial support was allocated to this sector. Lack of fuel has limited training abilties,which has become more intense in the last couple of years. At the beginning of next year we are expecting an increased fuel supply which will normalise the training procedures.

Our pilots currently have a very low flying hours number.In order to stay in shape,that is to be ready for the tasks set forth,a pilot needs to have at least 120 flying hours per year and for the special missions crew,about 150 hours.

I want to stress, that even with limited resources,we perform even presently our tasks set forth,especially in the control and protection of the air space and support to the other sectors of the Army.

If the improvments do not materialise,will some neigbouring country take on the task of performing our airspace?

I am conviced that that will never happen. Historical experience has tought us that when we were unable to perform these duties ourselves, the help from other sides has always came too late or in insufficient numbers and we have therefore always suffered the consequences.

It is a question of economics,becaue if someone else is to be patroling our air space,we would have to be paying them and the jobs currently presents would become non existant.

It is also a question of technological advancements,Overhaul and Modernisation system of AF and AD is even currently supporting our technical development as a whole.

Finally it is a question of national pride.We are a country with 93 yeas of air force tradition. We are amonghts the first 15 countries to introduce the air force and amonghts the first 5 to use it for military purposes. To forget all that and ask someone else to protect our skies would diminish the pride of the people that live in this country.

The defence of airspace is the duty to be perfomed by the Army as a whole and is therefore also the task of AD and AF,as defined by the “Defence Strategy”

In VOJIN(C&C) system, improvments have been made?

VOJIN units perform by using current capacities are sufficient for our needs. We currently use radar devices of both western and eastern origin.We have enough of them although for some the resources are used and they need to be renewed.

In cooperation with Agency for Air Control(AKL) we have achieved a very good level of our air control. At the radar emplacement on Zlatibor we have installed a combined radar system and we are very pleased with the quality of the same. All the other AKL systems together with AF and AD systems will be joined to a generalised system for the control of our air space.

Modernisation of several radar emplacements on our teritory is to take place that will most certanly increase the quality of the air control.Overhauld and modernisation of the current systems will also take place.

From special value to us is a radar system on Kopaonik.I hope that our country will get intertational agreement and that this system will be brougt to function soon.

What is the situation with missile systems?

The resources and conditions in missile systems are more favourable. Part of the systems has been modernised with termovision (IC cameras) and work is being done currently on further modernisation.In this way,the systems efficiency will be increased.

What can people expect from this reform?

Strategic Defence plan oversees the reduction of personel in the Army as a whole and therefore in AF and AD sectors as well. Surplus personell problem will be dealth with one of the current law solutions. This reduction in personell will be performed over a period of time.

What does our AF and AD lack the most?

We are lacking the infrastructure that satisfies the current standards,more compatible technology and we do not have enough resources that would enable us to perform peacekeeping roles.

What we have for sure is a young and well qualified personell with enough english speaking people that enables us cooperation and envolvment with international military structures.

I have to stress that currently we have members of AF and AD on peacekeeping missions.

And a message of the Air Force commander before the holiday on 24th December,day of the AF and AD.

I am of the opinon that the times to give messages are long gone.It is sure that in the future orgainsation of the defences of our country, the AF and AD will have a crucial role.

Now from those two blue boxes:

Box 1:Airfields that the Army currently uses are valuable assets that should be brought to function together with the industrial development of the regions they are situated in.Airfields Nis and Podgorica are owned by local governing bodies and the military uses them without any restriction.
Airfields Ladjevci,Ponikve and Sombor with necessary adaptation can be transformed to both military and civilian uses.AD and AF also uses the airfield Kovin.Sjenica Airfield is not in function since the year 1999 and to be brought back in use a lot of financial assets are needed.
Batajnica airfield is a military airfield that can be under certain circumstances be used partially as a civilian airfield as well

Box 2:One of the major improvements in this year are the introduction of new radar system on Zlatibor, that enables a precise 24 hour coverage and tracking in the part of our air space,and repair of the second runway at Batajnica AB.