24.12.2010.
Marking the day of the Air Force and Air Defense
On occasion of 24 December, the Day of the Air Force on 204th aviation base in Batajnica, a ceremony marking the day of the branch was held today which was attended by the chief of the air force HQ Brig. Gen. Jovica Draganic, commander of 204th aviation brigade and Brig. Gen. Mirko Vranic as well as other SAF dignitaries.In congratulating the Day of the Branch, General Draganic stressed that today is a great opportunity to recall the heroic deeds of SAF Air Force.
We recall with reverence all the members of the air force who laid their lives in the April war in 1941 when despite being outnumbered they performed 1400 flights on fighter air crafts shooting down 60 enemy planes. In this battle 138 pilots and 567 non flying members of the Royal Air Force of the Kingdom of Serbia laid their lives for the freedom of their motherland and became a legend thus inspiring new generations for great deeds.
Draganic reminded of the development stages of the Air Force branch stressing that the development and survival of this branch is based on renewed project, overhauled, production, medical and educational capacities.- The first and basic task was the protection and control of sovereignty of the aerial space. We have managed to enable a continuous functioning and necessary effectiveness in the air force system. In the course of the last year we carried out a number of exercises, the most important being live shooting on Sabla training ground in Bulgaria. We gained extensive experience in planning, organizing, and execution of such complex exercises.
He emphasized that in the previous period an organizational upgrade of commands was performed as well of aviation units in security-related affairs.- In the domain of normative during 2010 an important document was drawn up-the Air Force Doctrine Draft which is undergoing adoption procedure and will be a basis for the continuation of developing and building the basic rules and guidelines as well as other lower level rules and documents, as Draganic said. He said that in 2011 work will be continued on existing projects with an accent on the economic aspect of equipping and finding an optimal model for procurement.
