The Berkuts (English:
Golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
s) are a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
and later
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n aerobatic performance demonstrator team connected with the
Russian Air Force.
History
The Berkuti were founded as a helicopter aerobatic team in 1992 and used first four, later six, Mil Mi-24 of different versions. The helicopters were painted in the usual camouflage colors, however, had at the height of the cockpit starting a lightning-shaped strip of over the whole length of the hull in the Russian national colors (White, Blue, Red). And on the righthand side area of the cockpit the team emblem.
The Berkuti changed to six Mil Mi-28N combat helicopters. On August 2 2015 at the end of the flight demonstration at
Ryazan
Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...
a helicopter of the Berkuti teams crashed down and caught fire. One pilot was rescued while the other pilot was killed. The reason for failure was seen in the hydraulic system and led to a temporarily grounding of the whole Mi-28 fleet.
However, already at the
MAKS Airshow end of August 2015, the team showed again its air display show.
The three teams Berkuti,
Russian Knights/Russkiye Vityazi and
Swifts/Strizhi belong to the standard teams at the
MAKS (air show)
MAKS (russian: МАКС, russian: label=short for, Международный авиационно-космический салон, Mezhdunarodnyj aviatsionno-kosmicheskij salon, "International Aviation and Space Show") is an international air ...
and the victory parades in Moscow.
See also
*
Soviet air shows
In the life of Soviet Union, air shows were a highly regarded type of parade, almost always of military nature. They happened on various occasions and anniversaries, in many locations across the country. A notable air show was the Tushino Air Show ...
References
External links
Berkuti mit Mi-24 2007 in MoninoAbsturz Mi-28
{{Authority control
Units and formations of the Russian Air Force
Units and formations of the Soviet Air Forces
Aerobatic teams
1991 establishments in the Soviet Union
Russian ceremonial units