Croatian Air Force and Air Defence receives overhauled helicopters
Two overhauled helicopters of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence were delivered on 21 February 2014 to the Aeronautical Technical Centre, which is responsible for the disassembly and the overhaul of the major portion of the parts of the helicopters, the assembly and the finishing works, whereas the overhaul of the rest is conducted by the Ukrainian Ukrspecexport. The total worth of the overhaul of the six helicopters is 84 mil kuna (10.956 mil EUR).
General Ščuri, the Commander of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence, announced the delivery of the remaining four helicopters, and stated that although the delivery took longer than expected, safety and proper functioning were of foremost importance.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Directors of the Aeronautical Technical Centre, Darko Cigrovski extended appreciation to the partners from Ukraine for the good co-operation. “The overhaul is a large-scale work, but our results are respectable. The overhaul of the Mi-8 helicopters has further upgraded the capabilities of the Aeronautical Technical Centre and consenquently enhanced its competitiveness in the world market.”
Ivica Josipović extended the appreciation on behalf of the Ukrspecexport to the Croatian Ministry of Defence for assigning the contract to them and to the Aeronautical Technical Centre for the co-operation, and expressed the hope in future joint deals.
The representatives of the three partners visited the overhauling capacities, and had the opportunity to take a short flight aboard a helicopter, organised for media representatives, flying over the flooded areas in the Sisak-Moslavina and the Zagreb County.
General Ščuri stated that the overhaul of the engines and the avionics of MiG 21s was underway , but the delivery depended on the completion of the integration of the air navigation system by a Czech-based firm.
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