26.08.2011.

Successful live firing of air targets at Shabla training ground

Members of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence have successfully carried out live firing at air targets in the training area Shabla, Bulgaria. This concluded a ten-day international military exercise of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Bulgarian Army "Autumn 2011" in which, together with their counterparts from the Bulgarian Air Force, members of the 250th missile brigade for AAA and 204 air brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces took part.

Joint live firing exercise of two armies, about seventy kilometres from Varna, was observed by the highest state and military leaders, among whom were Serbian President Boris Tadic and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, the defence ministers of the two countries, Dragan Sutanovac and Anyu Angelov, Serbian Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Miloje Miletic and Bulgarian Army Chief of Defence Gen. Simeon Simeonov. Besides them, among the VIP guests were the Ambassador of Serbia to Bulgaria Alexander Crkvenjakov, foreign military representatives accredited in Bulgaria, Commanders of Air Force and Air Defence of the two armies and other senior military leaders.

After a short briefing, at which the guests were informed about today's activities, participants and goals of the joint live firing exercise, missile firing which began in the morning was continued. At launching one of the missiles the fire broke out and it was quickly extinguished.

Expressing his satisfaction that he was present at joint air defence firing exercise in the Shabla training ground, Serbian President Boris Tadic said that this exercise testifies about the friendship of our defence systems, our armies and friendly relations between our peoples and our countries.

- I wish to congratulate to all participants of the exercise, members of the Bulgarian Army and the Serbian Armed Forces on the successes they have achieved and the results demonstrated during the firing exercise. At the same time, I would like to say that Serbia wants to join the European Union. Serbia is in the Partnership for Peace Programme and for me it is always a great honour and opportunity to exchange experiences with the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, the EU member state, in all forms of state activities, defence, security sector, combating organized crime, economic cooperation, bilateral and multilateral relations, providing a full contribution to the development of friendly and good neighbourly relations – Tadic said.

- These exercises contribute to building and keeping peace in the region and Eastern Europe and show that we care about the region in which we live. Our relations are now at the highest point in the last several decades, and in two years we will raise the standard of living of our two countries, developing infrastructure and cooperating in science, health, cultural and artistic spheres – President Tadic pointed out.

Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac in his address stressed that cooperation in the field of defence between the Bulgarian Army and the Serbian Armed Forces is one of the most vital types of cooperation between the two countries that we have and "therefore I wish to thank my colleague".

- This exercise again is an example of how two countries can conduct joint exercises both in Serbia and in Bulgaria. I'm glad that we are back in Shabla, where Air Force members fired last year for the first time after the year 1989. It speaks enough how important are this exercise and cooperation between our two countries, the Serbian Minister of Defence said.

Addressing the guests from Serbia the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said that the cooperation between the two European and Balkan peoples and two countries in the field of security increases mutual understanding in the region.

Firing on the Shabla training ground passed well, as expected. Our men hit everything they targeted. Like last year, crews of the 310th AD self-propelled missile battalion using Kub and the 1st AD missile battalion using Neva, with twelve rockets 3M9M3E (Kub) and 5B27D (Neva) targeted three types of goals in the airspace over the Black Sea - missile Volhov MAB 755, parachute SPM-100 and radio-guided RUM target, different for its flight and other characteristics.

The novelty of this year's live firing was participation of fighter aircraft of the two armies. Pilots of 201st Fighter Air Squadron of 204th Air Brigade with two MiG planes successfully carried out missile firing on parachute targets SPM-100 by R-60MK AA missiles and thus confirm the high level of operational capabilities. It was the first live firing of our fighter aircraft from MiG 29, after that in Russia, conducted in 1989.

After successfully completed firing, all members of the 250th AAA missile brigade were extremely satisfied, ready to talk and exchange impressions. Summing up the impressions immediately after the firing, Brigadier General Miodrag Gordic, Commander of the 250th AAA missile brigade recalls that this is the second year that missile operators come to the "Shabla" training range and participate in an international exercise with the live engaging targets in the air space.
- Based on the excellent results achieved last year, we introduced a novelty and this is the participation of fighter aircraft MiG 29 which fired at their targets. The members of the 5th Zenith Missile Brigade of the Bulgarian Army and the 250th AAA missile brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces and this year they have achieved excellent results. It is also confirmation of soundness of our model of training and maintenance techniques in the Air Force and Air Defence, and justification of high criteria that are applied in the process of personnel qualification evaluation. Excellent results in the firing exercise are also a confirmation of a successful intergenerational transfer of knowledge, especially having in mind the fact that most of the people who took part in the firing exercises have never had similar experience - General Gordic says.

Commander of Missile Battalion Neva of 250th AAA missile brigade, Major Zvonko Maric points out that this was a new and very responsible task. He emphasizes that it is not the same to fire at a parachute target, declining very slowly, or radio-guided one, which has much higher speed, especially the Volhov missile, moving at a much higher speed than the usual targets of our missile system.

- For all of them we had to calculate specific algorithms, to predict what might happen and to find appropriate counter-measures just in case. Therefore we had exhausting preparations, not just in these ten days in Bulgaria, but also the entire year in Serbia – Major Maric said.

- In preparations, the task was to reduce or neutralize any possible uncertainty, or to find an answer to every challenge, from the weather ones, to those relating to the characteristics of the targets, Captain Darko Neskovic, the guiding officer in the missile battalion Neva. He points out that the targets were very different in every segment, in type, speed, reflexive surface, reflection, and other characteristics, very important for missile operators.

- It is important that we felt this atmosphere. Many times I watched the target at the training simulator, including the exercises, we fired at about three and a half thousand targets which have similar or the same characteristics as our targets today, we monitored the real targets in the air space, but I have never had the opportunity to participate in launching missiles before. There was a little stage fright, but we rightfully expected such good results – said Captain Neskovic.

Major Igor Vidanovi?, commander of the 1st Battery of the 310th self-propelled missile battalion Kub of 250th AAA missile brigade said that the worst fears were related to technique, as in Bulgaria are only our missiles, and all other techniques is from the 1st missile brigade of the Bulgarian Army.

- In the first few days we checked the technical means and missiles, adjusted combat parameters, and then practiced the procedures that lead to goals to the routine. Time in which the missile operators are thinking, in which they make decisions and launch a rocket, is measured in seconds, and for some activities and parts of seconds. We have no time for error, for certain updates, improvements. Missile flight, depending on the type, lasts from 15 to 100 seconds, at that time everything happens, from detecting and acquisition of the target, through guiding the missile, to an encounter with the target. Therefore each member of the crew must know in middle of the night what to do. And, here we are, we hit all the targets and appropriately responded to the challenge – Major Vidanovi? says.

The results achieved in this firing exercise show that success of the missile operators is always common, the success of all the crew, all of them in the unit. Major Boris Štrk, Commander of the 3rd Battery of 310th self-propelled missile battalion Kub of 250th AAA missile brigade.

- This is a confirmation of good quality and training in the brigade, battalions and batteries. We have ignored the fact that firing of Volhov missile is something new, unusual for our missile system as a target with such features is beyond the scope of our technical capabilities. We have shown that Kub can do more than we thought and knew. We believed in the success of the firing exercise, weather served us as well, so nobody is surprised with the destroying of targets.

When it comes to the basic firing programme or destruction of parachute and radio-guided targets, superior training level has also been demonstrated. Lt. Col. Miroslav Perisic, Commander of the 310th self-propelled missile battalion Kub, expresses gratitude to colleagues from the 98th air brigade from Kraljevo who generously helped them in recent months to develop skills in monitoring the targets.

- It is a great experience when you shoot by real, not virtual missiles and instead of training simulators and in the simulations, we are launching a live missile and inhale the smell of gunpowder. To sense when the earth shakes. This is the best reward for any missile operator, especially people on the radar stations and guiding officers because they are the first in the chain of those who are contributing to the destruction of targets.

Members of the missile technical battery, who test the soundness and functionality of missile parameters, load them and prepare for launching also contributed to the success of the firing exercise. Of course, there are operators, radar plotting board operators, battery commanders... Anyone of them must not have failed. And they did not.