Pilot Training for Multirole Fighters
Thursday, 14.5.2026 | Training
Pilots of multipurpose combat aircraft “Mig-29”, which are part of the arsenal of the 101st Fighter Squadron “Knights”, are intensively trained for the implementation of tasks in the permanently deployed forces for control and protection of the airspace of the Republic of Serbia.
In accordance with the training plan in this phase, take-off and landing in pairs, interception of targets by classical guidance and free fight, as well as elements of air combat are practiced. The focus is placed on the tasks of intercepting aircraft in favorable, but also in complex meteorological conditions, day and night, for the purpose of identification and tracking, escorting the aircraft from the prohibited or dangerous zone, returning to the planned flight path, taking it out of the airspace of the Republic of Serbia or forced landing on the assigned airport.
The skills of the technical staff of the squadron in applying procedures during the preparation of the aircraft for flight is also checked, because their expertise is crucial for the proper functioning and availability of the aircraft for combat and flight tasks.
The commander of the 101st Fighter Squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Bogdan Kovačević, emphasizes the training of fighter pilots in complex meteorological conditions at night as particularly important, which, as he explains, is the most complex phase of their training because it is carried out in conditions of reduced visibility, without visual orientation with ground landmarks and without a visible part of the horizon, which makes it difficult for the pilot to determine the position in three dimensions.
— What’s interesting about flights in complex weather conditions at night is that the instinctive, human, primary, sensory feelings lose their primacy in relation to the display of aircraft instruments, and every pilot must fully know all the procedures during flight, recognize the situations and put the pilot’s instruments above his senses. All pilots are taught to stay calm in those situations, to keep their awareness and react in accordance with the learned procedures, trusting the aircraft’s instruments and not their feelings — the squadron commander emphasized.
According to Deputy Squadron Commander Captain 1st Class Boško Marković, the tasks performed during regular flight training stem from the purpose of the MiG-29 aircraft.
— There is a wide range of tasks that we carry out in the air-to-air mission, among other things, these are the interception of targets in the air and air combat at long and short distances. In addition to combat training, we also have regular flight training where piloting this plane is practiced, group flying, navigational flying and other elements of flying tasks — said Captain Marković.
Bearing in mind that the competition for the aviation courses of the Military High School and the Military Academy is underway, he invited young people to apply for the competition, which is open until May 31, and thus take the opportunity to become pilots of modern airplanes and helicopters the Serbian Armed Forces are equipped with.
