Special Appearance


A founding member of the European Defense Agency, Serbia made its debut at an MHTC exercise this year, contributing two helicopters: the brand-new Airbus H145M and the Mil Mi-17V-5 Hip, both from the 890th Mixed Helicopter Squadron (Mesovita Helikopterska Eskadrila) based at Batajnica Air Base near Belgrade. The H145M has been in service with the Serbian Air Force since 2019. During Fire Blade 2025, it fired 80 mm S-8KOM unguided rockets from a locally produced L80-07 seven-tube rocket pod. The Mi-17V-5 participated in several ground-force training missions during the exercise, including fast-roping and rappelling operations. Another first- time participant during a Fire Blade exercise was the Swiss Air Force, which deployed three AS532UL Cougar helicopters from Alpnach Air Base to Pápa. Slovakia also joined with a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter from the 1st Helicopter Squadron (1. Vrtuľníková letka) based at Prešov Air Base. Both Switzerland and Slovakia have announced their intention to join the MHTC as its 15th and 16th member nations, respectively.


58 Sept/Oct 2025


‘Team, Train, Trust’


Szili says, “Our goal is to create a win-win environment — not only for us, but also for ground troops, electronic warfare units, air-defense systems, fighter jets, artillery and more. We want all participants to meet their objectives. Wherever a conflict is unfolding around the world, there are valuable lessons to be identified and learned. We benefit from observing current real-world conflicts, and that’s exactly why we host an annual Helicopter Tactics Symposium. One year, we had Ukrainian pilots share their experiences; another year, we welcomed Israeli pilots. We gained tremendous insight, and we’re working to integrate those lessons into our Blade exercise scenarios. That’s why nap-of-the-earth (NOE) flying has regained importance in our training. We need to get low and move fast again.


“At the MHTC, we aim to create the right environment — one that brings people together, and keeps them together, especially during courses alongside instructors. What does that mean in


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