Pilot Training in the 101st Fighter Aviation Squadron
Tuesday, 18.3.2025 | Training
Members of the 101st Fighter Squadron, based at the Military Airfield “Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlović” in Batajnica, train continuously in order to sustain high combat skills needed to control and protect the airspace of the Republic of Serbia.
Along with engagement in the permanently deployed forces, training is the most important task in this squadron equipped with the most powerful aircraft in the Serbian Armed Forces’ arsenal — the MiG 29 multi-purpose combat aircraft.
The training is carried out in order to maintain skills and high competence of the flight and technical staff, as well as to train additionally new pilots in performing the tasks of airspace control and protection.
Captain Žarko Žarković, pilot of the MiG-29, points out that the main goal of flight training is to train new unit members to reach the required level of combat readiness so that they can go on duty as part of the permanently deployed forces.
— Of course, the flights themselves bring a lot of excitement and each of them is special in its own way, and you can always feel the adrenaline. To be able to perform this job in the first place, you really need to love it, and to be into flying — emphasized Captain Žarković.
Through intensive training and skill improvement, the pilots get necessary experience that makes them capable of dealing with all the tasks, affecting directly the increase in their combat skills, but also the unit’s ability to protect the airspace of the Republic of Serbia and the security of all its citizens.
Young men and women willing to become pilots of the Serbian Armed Forces, who have completed their basic academic studies at civilian faculties and are up to 27 years of age this year, can apply to a public advertisement for attending the SAF Reserve Aviation Officers Course, which is open until March 31. After the six-month training, the most successful ones will be given the opportunity to start performing professional military service right away, continue training as aviation officers and earn the title of airplane pilot, helicopter pilot or pilot-operator of remotely piloted aircraft.
