Serbian Armed Forces inducted six new Lasta advanced trainer aircraft manufactured by UTVA, as reported by the press service of the Serbian military department.
According to the report, Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković have visited Batajnica airport to see “Lasta” airplanes, which were introduced in service in the AF&AD of the Serbian Armed Forces and MiG-29 aircraft undergoing repair and modernization.
“We are particularly pleased that we are here today because of the introduction of six new “Lasta” aircraft in the armaments of our armed forces. It is the product of our knowledge and understanding, these are trainer planes that we designed and manufactured ourselves, and we managed to make them serviceable, operational and valuable to be within the armaments of our armed forces after a long time”, said Defence Minister.
More: Leonardo completes deliveries of T-346A jet trainers to Italian Air Force
Commander of the 252nd Trainer Aviation Squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Boško Šerbedžija, explained that six “Lasta” planes have been introduced into use today, and the remaining eight will be introduced in the middle of this year.
More: Turkish Hürkus-B trainer makes maiden flight
– “Lasta” aircraft is a single-engine trainer plane designed for basic and part of advanced pilot training at the Military Academy. With its new, modern digital avionics and flight features, it provides modern and advanced training in basic, aerobatic, navigational, group, instrumental and night flying. This plane will certainly contribute to raising the training to a qualitatively higher level, Lieutenant Colonel Šerbedžija said.
The aircraft is intended for primary and basic pilot training, acrobatics, and formation flying.
