Arrival of the US military aircraft C-17 Globemaster, which delivered to the 22nd base of the helicopter air force the simulator needed for training for the new US helicopters of the H-1 series, March 12, 2023 Vícenice, Třebíčsko.
Náměšť nad Oslavou (Třebíčsko) – The helicopter air base in Náměšť nad Oslavou took over the first part of the equipment for the simulator, which will be used to retrain personnel on new helicopters from the USA. The equipment was transported from the Ramstein base in Germany by a C-17 transport aircraft of the US Air Force. The plane landed on the landing field of the Náměšť base two hours after noon.
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“It is a very important device that we need to train our pilots,” Petr Slíva, commander of the 22nd wing of the Náměšť base, told journalists. He added that the simulator can simulate different environments in which the helicopter moves, even mountains or deserts, thus saving the army a lot of flying hours on helicopters during training. “By acquiring this simulator, we will gain the ability to train all weapon systems here on the base, training will become more efficient and cheaper,” he added.
The arrival of the American transport plane was expected by the Náměšť base already on Friday and then also on Saturday, when the arrival was postponed until today due to bad weather conditions. After being unloaded, the massive crates with parts were transported by military equipment to the prepared simulator building, which is operated for the base by the state enterprise LOM.
The simulator technology will be delivered to the Náměšť base in two vans. An American team will arrive to put it into operation. “Around June, the simulator should be ready for training our pilots. It will undergo demanding certification,” said Slíva.
The base has now received a simulator for AH-1Z Viper helicopters. With the delivery of additional helicopters, according to the commander, he is negotiating the delivery of a second simulator in the future. According to Slíva in Náměšt, the space for both simulators is ready.
The army is buying eight UH-1Y Venom multipurpose helicopters and four AH-1Z Viper combat helicopters from the United States. According to Slíva, the first two new helicopters should arrive in May, and the delivery of the other two machines should follow approximately one month apart. The new helicopters in the Czech army will be replaced by Russian Mi-24/35 combat helicopters.
A group of pilots and on-board technicians from the base in Náměště has already been retrained for seven months on the new types of UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper helicopters at the US Marine Corps Pendleton base.
The United States will provide the Czech Republic with another eight helicopters free of charge, the Czech Republic must pay for their transport and modernization. To modernize these helicopters, the army will use the compensation provided to the Czech Republic by the USA for the equipment delivered to Ukraine. They will be delivered by 2026, said the commander of the Czech Air Force, Petr Čepelka, during a visit to the Náměšť base on Wednesday.
