25.08.2020.
Helicopter H-145M – A Great Technical Step Forward for Serbian Armed Forces
Owing to persistence of President and Supreme Commander Aleksandar Vučić, the previous three years were very important for the Serbian Armed Forces, and for Air Force and Air Defence in particular. That arm of the armed forces has been equipped with new and most modern weapons and military equipment, and the procurement of helicopters H-145M, Mi-35 and Mi-17 is a great technical step forward for the Serbian Armed Forces.
After more than 25 years, Serbia has procured nine “Airbus” modern multipurpose helicopters H-145M, the most modern in their class. We have procured four helicopters for the Police and five for the Serbian Armed Forces which were introduced as formation arms and military equipment last year.H-145M is a multipurpose helicopter used for transport of people and assets, search and rescue operations, medical evacuation, reconnaissance and surveillance of theatre, and for fire support.
It is equipped with the state-of-the-art optoelectronic and navigation systems which enable the use in complex whether conditions, by day and by night. Helicopters H-145M possesses a side jack capable of lifting weight of up to 270 kilograms. The maximal speed of the helicopter is 265 km/h, cruising speed in 240 km/h, while the maximal operational height is 4887 meters and flight range of 638 kilometres.
The Serbian Armed Forces and our defence industry equip helicopter H-145M with assets of nationally produced weapons, which is a great recognition for our engineers, since they have developed weapons that can be integrated into complex aircraft systems.Our aircraft weapons were tested in the Arms and Military Equipment Testing Centre “Nikinci”. The weapons were developed by the Military Technical Institute and “Jugoimport-SDPR”, and produced by “Utva” from Pančevo. The weapons include 80 mm missile launcher and a gondola with a 12.7 mm machine gun mounted on helicopter H-145M for firing in day and night conditions. During the tests the both achieved excellent results.
Having in mind that great attention is paid to aircraft maintenance, a new hangar has been built to house the aircraft and charging station at the airfield “Sergeant-Pilot Mihajlo Petrović” in Niš, which fully provides conditions for housing equipment for helicopter maintenance, H-145M among other. After more than 20 years, a modern facility was constructed that can provide conditions for housing, maintenance and work on assets.
Operational capabilities of Air Force were also enhanced owing to the process of training and advancement of military pilots in country and abroad, and through education of non-commissioned officers in re-established Military High Vocational School. Retraining of pilots and technicians for H-145M was carried out in the Federal Republic of Germany in “Airbus” training centre, while instrumental flight training and night flight training were conducted in our country.Along with equipping the Air Force and Air Defence and creating opportunities for work on modern assets, the pilots and airmen received the state-of-the-art flight equipment – flying overalls, boots, gloves, active underwear, and new pilot hats. Moreover, the number of flying hours has been significantly increased with the procurement of new aircraft.
Owing to the measures introduced by state and military leadership in past three years, the financial status of the pilots and airmen of the Serbian Armed Forces has been improved through increase of salaries, enabled opportunities for faster promotions, due to determination of better formation elements for the pilots and technicians. Also, the new aircraft were procured and with it, the operational capabilities of Air Force and Air Defence have been considerably improved, and consequently the capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces.
