DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

Flyi ng over Ko so vo re ga rdless of we ather co ndi ti ons
“Whi le pre pa ri ng for this mi ssi on, we le arned from
the expe ri ences of our co lle agu es from Slo ve nia and
Ma ce do nia. We ha ve ve ry go od re la ti ons wi th them,
bo th fo rmal and info rmal. In addi ti on, we ana lyzed
Czech Mi-17, but mo st of them we re not go od for
the Cro ati an Air Fo rce, be ca use the Czech unit has
a di ffe re nt co nce pt and appli ed an enti re ly di ffe re nt
ma inte na nce system. The ir he li co pte rs we re enga -
ged in the mi ssi ons for lo nger pe ri ods of ti me and
the re gu lar ma inte na nce was mo re co mplex,” sa ys
Kri za nec.
The fi rst Cro ati an co nti nge nt sta yed in Ko so vo for only
three mo nths be ca use a lo nger mi ssi on wo uld ha ve re -
qu ired co ndu cti ng so me pa rts of the tra ini ng in Ko so -
vo. But the se co nd co nti nge nt, led by Ma jor Andre as
Du vnjak, de ci ded to stay for fo ur mo nths, the sa me
pe ri od ea rma rked for the thi rd co nti nge nt.
Pho to: Anto nio Prle nda
After be ing de plo yed in Ko so vo, each pi lot ne eds to
fly 2.5 ho urs of ori enta ti on fli ghts, so me thi ng usu ally
co mple ted in a co uple of da ys. The fli ghts are affe cted
by the mi cro cli ma te: two va st Ko so vo pla ins, Ko so vo -
Ppo lje and Me to hi ja, are di vi ded in the mi ddle by sli -
ghtly hi lly te rra in, so the re are alwa ys pla ces to cross
from one va lley to ano ther. The hi lls on the no rth and
ea st, and the Sar Mo unta in on so uth are not a ge ogra -
phic obsta cle, so the fli ght pro fi le and ve lo ci ty can ea -
si ly be adju sted to pre se nt co ndi ti ons.
Sa ys Kri za nec: “We flew at alti tu des of 2,000 and 2,500
me te rs ne ar Sar Mo unta in, so uth of Pri zren. The se he li -
co pte rs ha ve exce pti onal hot-and-high fe atu res which ena -
ble them to fly amid hi gh te mpe ra tu res and alti tu des.
But the wi nds are impo rta nt too, and that is when we
ma ke go od use of our tra ini ng, such as our annu al tra ini -
ng in Ve le bit and other hi gh ele va ti on pla ces in Cro atia.”
The Mi-171[ has the sa me TV3-117VM engi nes as the
older Mi-8MTV ve rsi on, but it is be twe en 500 and 600
ki lo gra ms he avi er due to addi ti onal equ ipme nt. The
cre ws ho we ver can alwa ys ca lcu la te ma xi mal we ight
and the qu anti ty of fu el ne eded for a mi ssi on, so this
di ffe re nce can be annu lled.
“Acco rdi ng to the ri sk asse ssme nt, it was not ne ce ssa -
ry to arm the he li co pte rs, be ca use no thre at aga inst
KFOR was expe cted. Over the la st ni ne ye ars, the re
was no inci de nts, but we are alwa ys re ady to re act if
ne ed be”, sa ys Kri za nec. n
KFOR Re du cti on
72
KFO R’s ma in ta sk is to pro vi de a sa fe envi ro nme -
nt for eve rybo dy in Ko so vo. At the ti me of our vi -
sit, at the be gi nni ng of Octo ber, KFOR had 12,688
tro ops from 32 co untri es, whi le to day, the nu mber
has go ne do wn to aro und 10,700. As for the air fo -
rce, the re we re Ge rman, Au stri an, and Swiss he li -
co pte rs, Ita li an ai rcra fts we re sta ti oned in the ba se
in Dja ko vi ca and Fre nch he li co pte rs we re in Pla na
ne ar Mi tro vi ca. The fo rces ha ve be en re du ced wi -
thin the thi rd pha se of the “pre se nce for pre ve nti -
on” ope ra ti on and the nu mber of ba ses has be en
re du ced as we ll, so so me air fo rce uni tes ha ve be -
en di spla ced. But the Bo ndste el ca mp, the bi gge st
US ba se in Eu ro pe, is not go ing to be clo sed so on,
and Cro ati an ai rmen wi ll co nti nue to use D class
Ame ri can me te oro lo gi cal and air tra ffic se rvi ces.
Squ adron co mma nder Ma jor Mi cha el Kri za nec sta nds
ne xt to one of two ba ckup ve hi cles bro ught from Za greb
Pho to: Anto nio Prle nda