Defence Minister and the Charge d' Affaires of the US Embassy inspect the two Black Hawk helicopters at Farka Air Base

Published: Tuesday, 16 January 2024 13:34

 

 Defence Minister Niko Peleshi accompanied by the Charge d' Affaires of the US Embassy in Tirana David Wisner and the Chief of Defense of Albanian Armed Forces Major General Arben Kingji were at the Farka Air Base, where they watched closely the two Black Hawk helicopters that arrived recently in Albania.

In his speech, Minister Peleshi expressed his gratitude for the support of Albania's strategic partner, the United States of America, evaluating the arrival of two helicopters as one of the most important operational capacities of our country in relation to NATO.

“This year is the 15th anniversary of our membership in NATO and we have started it with a big event, the arrival of two Black Hawk helicopters. It's just the beginning. We are in talks for two more in the medium term and by 2030 we hope that Albania will have a fleet of six Black Hawk helicopters. It is a donation from our US strategic partners, but also with a part from the state budget. We are building two specific hangars for Black Hawk helicopters, which will be completed within this year, here at “Farka Air Base.” , - underlined Minister Peleshi.

Together with the two Black Hawk helicopters, according to Minister Peleshi, Albania has been able to benefit from a complete package of support, which includes maintenance for a certain period, technical assistance and pilot training.
"It is an excellent model of cooperation, because it is not just the purchase of two aircraft, but with it, we call it a complete package, we also bought the maintenance for a certain period, the technical assistance, the training of our pilots. 8 pilots were trained in the US through the state partnership that we have with the New Jersey Guard, as well as various equipment for testing, diagnostics, so it's a complete package. We want to follow this model with other capacities as well.", - said the Defence Minister.

 Minister Peleshi also spoke about the other helicopters that are expected to be added to our Air Fleet. "We will continue to unify as much as we can our Air Fleet towards Black Hawk helicopters. We want to spend very carefully and intelligently the dedicated budget of 2% of GDP for Security and Defense. The times we are living in are difficult. Security and Defense has became a challenge for all our countries especially in our region, which is a fragile and, therefore, we especially appreciate the strengthening of our Air Force, but also all the other plans we have with our strategic partner USA", - emphasized the Defence Minister.

Meanwhile the Chargé d' Affaires of the US Embassy in Tirana, David Wisner, praised the preparation of Albanian pilots and maintenance teams: "We have heard from Washington, from Alabama and all the other trainings that you have done, what excellent pilots you have and of course, the pilots cannot fly without a maintenance personnel. We're so proud of all the work that all the maintenance teams have done to make this possible. We are really proud of this partnership and of all these excellent people who exemplify this partnership." - said Mr. Wisner.

The two Black Hawk helicopters are Albania's first order for this model, supported by the US aid fund worth over 50 million dollars. The new helicopters will help strengthen the capabilities of the Albanian Air Force and the ability to carry out medical evacuation, personnel recovery, search and rescue missions as well as supporting NATO logistical movements for operations and training.