The members of the Air Force WING, within the Operations Command (OC), marked June, 10 – the Day of the unit, with a military ceremony in the barracks “Strasho Pindzur” in Petrovec,
Congratulating the day of the unit to its members, the Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska informed on the development plans for the Air Force, as well as on the agreement signed yesterday among the Republic of North Macedonia and nine other allies to form the Pilot Training Centers network, which will increase the capacity of the Alliance for training military pilots.
“Our plans are to completely renew the Air Force, in terms of equipment or helicopters from Western production, but the first payments related to the matter are to start in 2024-2025, which means we will practically work on the acquisition in the next three years, until then, we can use the existing helicopters,” said the Minister.
Considering the newly established Training Centers network, the Minister noted that ten NATO partners, including North Macedonia, signed an agreement to establish a network of pilot training centers.
“For the first time, our Pilot Training Center in Skopje, within the Army General Staff, i.e. part of the Air Force WING, will be part of this NATO pilot training network. This means that we will be able to rely on the resources of other allied countries, but their candidates and pilots will be able to receive part of the training here as well, “said Minister Shekerinska.
The commander of the unit, Colonel Stojko Pejovski addressed the audience, talked about the development of the unit, emphasizing the participation in international exercises, missions and assistance to citizens which make the Air Force WING a unit that achieves respectable results.
In his address, he encouraged the unit members to apply the experience gained so far, to continue achieving the goals in implementing the assignments arising from NATO membership. He pointed out the importance of the training squadron tasked to train new pilots, also declared in the flight training initiative, to train pilots for the needs of NATO countries.
The Commander of the OC, Brigadier General Besnik Emini, congratulating the special day, said that the unit is well trained for its mission, assignments, and for a number of challenges they faced in the past and always responded successfully. He pointed out that the members of the unit are always with the citizens helping in the most difficult moments during natural disasters. Acknowledging the results shown, he expressed the expectation that they will continue with the same pace and commitment in the future.
The Chief of the General Staff and the OC Commander gave incentives to the unit’s members in front of the lined up soldiers.
As part of the military ceremony, there was a flight of Greek Air Force F-16 aircraft, NATO air patrol, followed by the WING aircrafts flights.
Besides Minister Shekerinska, the ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Defense Bashkim Hasani, State Secretary Dragan Nikolikj, army generals, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff, commanders of Army units, former commanders and members of the unit and other guests.
The day of the unit was chosen in commemoration of the Army’s first military aircraft flight in 1992. In the beginning, this unit was composed of an aviation brigade with an aviation, transport and combat helicopter squadron. In 2005 it was transformed into a smaller, more compact unit called the Air Wing (air reconnaissance attack group) until 2012, when the Air Force Brigade was formed. In 2020, with the transformation of the Army after joining NATO, it was re-formed as an Air Force WING.
