Minister Anušić to members of the “Wings of Storm”: All these years you have been representing Croatia and the Croatian Air Force in a special way

Today, 5 April 2025, the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the “Wings of Storm” acrobatic group of the Croatian Air Force attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia and Minister of Defence Ivan Anušić and the Chief of the CAF General Staff LTG Tihomir Kundid was held at the Colonel Mirko Vukušić barracks at Zemunik.

Minister Anušić presented a certificate of merit to members of the “Wings of Storm” for successful 20 years

Minister Anušić and General Kundid congratulated members of the “Wings of Storm” acrobatic group for 20 years of successful work.

Minister Anušić presented the members of the “Wings of Storm” with a certificate of merit, which was received on their behalf by the leader of the acrobatic group, Major Darko Belančić.
The Minister congratulated the pilots and emphasized: “I congratulate all members of the ‘Wings of Storm’ on their successful 20 years. All these years you have demonstrated your exceptional knowledge and flying skills.”

The Minister also expressed satisfaction that the “Wings of Storm” represent Croatia and the Croatian Air Force in a special way throughout Europe and the world.

“The ‘Wings of Storm’ are in a way what is most recognizable in our Croatian Air Force,” the Minister said and wished the pilots a lot of success in their future work.

LTG Tihomir Kundid told the members of the “Wings of Storm” that today they particularly showed excellent flying skills, knowledge and experience and commended them for their perfectly executed acrobatic flights.

Leader of the “Wings of Storm”: The best thing for us is to perform in front of a home audience

The leader of the “Wings of Storm” acrobatic group, Major Darko Belančić, pointed out that he is extremely glad that the acrobatic group marked its 20th anniversary with a great flight programme.

Regarding the special skills and competences that a member of the acrobatic group must meet, Belančić pointed out: “As flight instructors, we look for excellent grades in flying, we also look for a character and personality, and some other values that are actually very important. We fly in specific conditions and do complicated things.”

Major Belančić pointed out that the best thing for the “Wings of Storm” is to perform in Croatia in front of a domestic audience and at the same time represent the attractiveness of the pilot’s calling.

Impressive flight programme at Zemunik – parachute jumps, overflight of the Rafale airplanes and the “Wings of Storm” thrilled the audience

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the “Wings of Storm”, a flight programme was held in the sky above Zemunik. At the beginning, parachute jumps were performed. Three members of the Special Forces Command jumped out of the Croatian Air Force Mi-171 Sh helicopter with the flag of the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Air Force and the 93rd Wing of the Croatian Air Force.

The “Wings of Storm” performed a full flight programme with 19 elements lasting 21 minutes, and the Rafale multi-role fighter airplane, Bell 206B3 helicopters, Kiowa Warrior OH-58D, and Canadair CL-415 and Air Tractor AT-802 firefighting airplanes flew over Zemunik.