Croatian Air Force and Air Defense

Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana
Croatian Air Force emblem
Lineup	December 12, 1991
Country	Croatia
Armed forces	Croatian armed forces
Type	Armed forces ( air forces )
structure	Air Force Staff Headquarters company 91st Military Airfield Division 93rd Military Airfield Division Air Force Reconnaissance Battalion Air Force Training School
Headquarters	Pleso Air Force Base, Zagreb
motto	Hrvatskim nebom bdiju i plove (Observe and fly the Croatian sky)
Anniversaries	12th of December
Wars	Croatian War Bosnian War
commander
Current commander	Brigadier General Miroslav Kovač (since 2016)
Important commanders	General Imra Agotić (†) (1st Com. 1992–96)
insignia
Aircraft cockade
National emblem ( vertical stabilizer )
Aircraft
Fighter aircraft / helicopter	MiG-21bisD , MiG-21UMD
education	PC-9M , Z-242L , Bell 206
Transport aircraft / helicopter	An-32B , Mi-171Sch , Mi-8T , Mi-8-MTW-1

Croatian Air Force and Air Defense ( Croatian Hrvatska ratna zrakoplovstva i protuzračna obrana , short HRZ i PZO ) is the official name of the Croatian Air Force , a branch of the Croatian Armed Forces .

history

Today's Croatian Air Force was established on December 12, 1991 during the war of independence with Yugoslavia . At that time, she did not have any fighter planes, as these were taken or destroyed when the Yugoslav army withdrew. Instead, the first missions took place with converted agricultural and sport aircraft such as the An-2 .

The first combat aircraft were four MiG-21s that came from pilots who deserted from the Yugoslav army between 1991 and 1992. The first plane landed Rudolf Perešin (later commander of the 21st Jägerstaffel) on October 25, 1991 in Klagenfurt, Austria. Further machines were acquired from the CIS despite UN sanctions.

After the war, various aircraft were retired and almost the entire fleet was renewed by 2003. With joining NATO , the requirements for compatibility have also increased. In the future, the Air Force wants to replace the MiG-21 with a modern combat aircraft.

organization

As the smallest branch of the armed forces, the Air Force has 2,300 men. These operate with a dozen 3rd generation interceptors, 20 training aircraft and ten transport aircraft. These are supplemented by 45 transport, training and armed transport helicopters. As a ground-based component, the air force is subordinate to the air defense. This has around 300 anti-aircraft guns (FLaK) and flak tanks with a caliber of 20-57 mm as well as twelve batteries of medium-range mobile air defense systems (FlaRak) of the Strela SA10-CRO-A type and around 400 portable air defense systems of the Strela and Igla types. For internal political reasons, a separate unit is provided for fighting fires from the air.

structure

Structure Plan ( Military Symbols )

• Air Force Command of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defense ( Zapovjedništvo HRZ i PZO ) - Zagreb Air Force Base ( Zrakoplovna baza Zagreb , military part of Franjo Tuđman Airport Zagreb , also Zagreb - Pleso Airfield)
  • Management staff ( Stožer zapovjedništva )
  • Headquarters of the Air Force Command ( Zapovjedna satnija Zapovjedništva HRZ i PZO )
  • 91st Air Force Base - Zagreb Air Force Base (Pleso, Zagreb)
    • Command of the 91st Air Force Base ( Zapovjedništvo 91. zrakoplovne baze )
    • Headquarters Company ( Zapovjedna satnija )
    • Combat aircraft squadron ( Eskadrila borbenih aviona ( EBA )) - MiG-21bis -D / UMD (with a second alarm group in Pula airport )
    • Transport aircraft squadron ( Eskadrila transportnih aviona ( ETA )) - An-32
    • Multipurpose helicopter squadron ( Eskadrila višenamjenskih helikoptera ( EVH )) - Mi-171 Sh ( Zagreb-Lučko Airport )
    • Aviation Technical Battalion ( Zrakoplovno-tehnička bojna ( ZTB ))
  • 93rd Air Force Base - Zadar Air Force Base - Zemunik
    • Command of the 93rd Air Force Base ( Zapovjedništvo 93. zrakoplovne baze )
    • Headquarters Company ( Zapovjedna satnija )
    • Transport helicopter squadron ( Eskadrila transportnih helikoptera ( ETH )) - Mi-8 MTW-1 / Mi-17 ( Split Air Base - Divulje )
    • Fire extinguishing [aircraft] squadron ( Protupožarna eskadrila ( PPE )) - Canadair CL-415, AirTractor AT-802F
    • Airplane [training] squadron ( Eskadrila aviona ( EA )) - Pilatus PC-9 M, Zlín 242L
    • Combat helicopter squadron ( Eskadrila borbenih helikoptera ( EBA )) - OH-58 D, Bell 206 B-3 (until 2016 she was the helicopter [training] squadron ( Eskadrila helikoptera ( EA )). Then she received ex-US Army Kiowa Warrior helicopters and changed its name, but the training tasks and the Bell 206B-3 were retained).
    • Aviation Technical Battalion ( Zrakoplovno-tehnička bojna ( ZTB ))
  • Airspace surveillance and direction battalion ( Bojna zračnog motrenja i navođenja (BZMIN) )
    • Podvornica Air Monitoring Center ( Središte za nadzor zračnog prostora ( SzNZP Podvornica ))
    • Sector Operations Center Split ( Sektorsko operativno središte ( SOS Split ))
    • 5 radar trains in Sljeme, Borinci, Papuk, Učka and Rota
  • Training Center of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defense " Rudolf Perešin " ( Središte za obuku Hrvatskog ratnog zrakoplovstva i protuzračne obrane "Rudolf Perešin" ( SzO HRZ-a i PZO-a )) - Zadar Air Force Base - Zemunik
    • Command of the training center ( Zapovjedništvo SzO-a HRZ-a i PZO )
    • Pilot School ( Pilotska škola )
    • [Officer] Training Department ( Odjel za obuku ) with a section for candidate aviation officer, a section for air traffic control officer candidate and a platoon for candidate aircraft technology officer.
    • Training company ( Satnija za obuku ) with a train for air traffic control specialists and a train for flight technology specialists .

equipment

Warplanes

Croatian MiG-21UMD "Mongol" , called kockica (cube)

• 08 × Mikojan-Gurewitsch MiG-21bisD "Fishbed"
• 04 × Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UMD "Mongol"
• 12 × Lockheed Martin F-16C / D Block 30 "Barak" (in procurement as a MiG-21 replacement)

Training aircraft

• 20 × Pilatus PC-9M
• 05 × Z-242L "Aerobatic"

Fire-fighting aircraft

• 05 × AT-802 FireBoss
• 06 × Canadair CL-415

Multipurpose helicopter

Mi-8MTW-1

• 16 × OH-58D Kiowa Warrior
• 10 × Kazan / Mil Mi-171Sch "Hip"
• 03 × Kazan / Mil Mi-8T "Hip"
• 11 × Kazan / Mil Mi-8-MTW-1 "Hip"

Training helicopter

• 08 × Bell 206

See also

• Krila Oluje

Web links

• Croatian Air Force website. Retrieved July 12, 2013 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} archenemy fire - 20 years of the Croatian air force . In: FliegerRevue , pp. 30–34, January 2012
2. ↑ Information from the Croatian Air Force as of July 30, 2012
3. ↑ Igor Salinger: Croatia receives overhauled MiG-21s after long delays. In: Flightglobal.com. August 13, 2015, accessed August 14, 2015 .