On 29.10.2013 (Tuesday) as part of the bilateral cooperation between the ARM and the Armed Forces of the Republic of France, the Air Force Brigade was a host to pilots of the French Air Force as well as the Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Mrs. Laurence Auer, accompanied by French military attaché to the Republic of Macedonia Lieutenant Colonel Stéphane Loechleiter.
The visit of the representatives of the Republic of France is aimed at exchanging experiences in the field of defence, exchanging of experiences in working with NVG – night vision goggles (system for night flying helicopters) and FLIR forward-looking infrared imaging systems (thermal camera system) Mi -24 helicopter systems.
As part of the programme, the French representatives were first given a presentation on the air force brigade, the equipment and organizational structure with a review of plans for further development. The pilots were acquainted with the helicopters and systems through presentations. Also, they were informed on the purpose and performances of the helicopter. The second part of their flight preparation was called ‘ ground preparation ‘ where they are made familiar with the helicopter and where experiences are exchanged on the use of FLIR- system to locate targets day and night using NVG systems, as well as on the possibilities and practical use of the systems of the helicopter in flight .
This type of collaboration with the French Air Force has been continually performed for several years in terms of our pilots visiting the Republic of France and vice versa in order to exchange experiences which contribute to improving the process of training and qualification while performing flying duties.
At the end of the visit, H.E. Mrs. Laurence Auer expressed her satisfaction with the reception and hospitality as well as her desire and hope for continued cooperation between the armies of the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of France.
