Helicopters Return Home after Successful Firefighting Operation in Albania

After four days of firefighting and over 53 hours of flight time, two H225M helicopters of the Hungarian Defense Forces have returned home to the Szolnok air base from Albania. Hungarian soldiers and the pair of aircraft helped to contain the forest fires that had been raging there for weeks.

Shortly after their arrival in Albania last week, the 16-member Hungarian crew was visited by Pirro Vengu, the Albanian Minister of Defense. Eight flight crew members, seven aircraft technicians, and one coordination officer participated in the firefighting efforts, honvedelem.hu reports.

The two helicopters carried out their missions from the Kucova and Farkë e Vogël air bases.

The Hungarian soldiers began firefighting operations on the day of their arrival in the Shkopet area north of Tirana, with one of the Albanian Air Force’s helicopters assisting the Hungarian crew in orienting themselves on the ground.

In the following days, the helicopters intervened at several locations: on July 24, taking off from Farkë e Vogël, they helped to contain the fires around the relay stations and antennas set up in the mountains near Shkopet. On July 25, they also extinguished fires in the areas of Mbreshtan (Kucova region) and Delvine (Kopacez), where residential buildings were already in danger. At the latter location, they worked together with two helicopters from the Albanian Air Force. On July 26, they helped extinguish the flames around the Kucova air base.

The Hungarian soldiers received their tasks from Albanian civil defense liaison officers, who also provided continuous logistical support at the Kucova Air Base.

In addition to the Albanian and Croatian air forces, two Italian firefighting aircraft also participated in the aerial firefighting operations.

“We carried out the task at a fast pace and with exceptional efficiency, thanks in part to the fact that all of our training sessions on a daily basis are focused on practicing for these kinds of real-life situations,” said Major Gábor Oláh, commander of the Hungarian air force firefighting team, upon arrival.

The Hungarian helicopters carried out a total of 299 water scoops during 53 hours and 37 minutes of flight time. During each mission, an average of 1,900 liters of water were delivered to the target. Over 32,000 liters of fuel were used during the missions. Despite the high temperatures and the difficult-to-access mountainous environment, the Hungarian team performed their tasks professionally and to a high standard.

After four strenuous days, the Hungarian contingent returned to Szolnok via Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia on Sunday, July 27.

As reported by Hungary Today, another H225 took off on Sunday, this time to Bulgaria, so that the Hungarian unit would also be able to help combat the forest fires there. The Szolnok helicopter brigade announced on its Facebook page that a quick exchange of experiences took place with those returning from Albania before departure. In addition to experienced pilots, the helicopter crew also includes soldiers who have recently achieved full Combat Ready status and are now facing a real-life mission, they wrote.

Via honvedelem.hu, Featured image: honvedelem.hu/ MH Kiss József 86. Helikopterdandár