The Helicopter unit () is the

police aviation Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...

unit of the

Police of Serbia The Serbian Police (), formally the Police of the Republic of Serbia (), is the national civilian police force of the Serbia. The Serbian Police are responsible for all local and national law enforcement. It is under the jurisdiction of the Minist ...

History

The Helicopter Unit was founded in 1967 when a Bell 47 J-2 was donated to the Republican Secretariat of Internal Affairs of the

Socialist Republic of Serbia The Socialist Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Социјалистичка Република Србија, Socijalistička Republika Srbija), previously known as the People's Republic of Serbia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / " ...

by the Federal Geological Institute of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

who had used it for geological exploration for uranium. From 1980 onwards, a number of new generation helicopters with jet engines entered service including the Bell AB-212, the

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...

, Soko Gazelle and later the Aerospatiale AS365N Dauphin. When riots broke out in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

in 1989 and 1990, helicopters were used to break up the mass demonstrations by

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

. The AB-212s were used to transport

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

units to rebel strongholds. The Federal Secretariat of Internal Affairs established a helicopter squadron during the 1960s acquiring a number of helicopters. This squadron was dissolved in 1992 and integrated into the Republican Secretariat of Internal Affairs Helicopter Unit. In 1992, the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

of the

Republic of Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

was established, consisting of the Public Security Directorate, which oversaw the ''Milicija'' (later renamed to ''Policija'' (police) in 1996) and the State Security Directorate. Public Security Service i.e. police helicopter fleet included the Bell 206B/L, Soko Gazelle SA-341/342, Bell AB-212, Aerospatiale SA-365N Dauphin,

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories in Russia, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russia ...

and

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

. In 1998, a

Sikorsky S-76 The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically developed for the civilian market. The S-76 ...

had entered service in the fleet for VIP transport. The State Security Directorate had its own Aviation Unit with a fleet of helicopters within its Special Operations Unit. The Special Operations Unit took part in numerous combat operations during the

Kosovo crisis The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

s were used to attack rebel training camps and hundreds of transport and medevac flight were carried out. During the 1999

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Serbia and Montenegro, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing ...

, Special Operations Unit's helicopters continued to fly liaison and medivac missions and no helicopters were damaged but the fleet hangar was destroyed. In 2002, the Ministry of Internal Affairs was re-organised and consequently the Special Operations Unit's aviation personnel was integrated into the Helicopter Unit of the Police while its helicopter fleet (

and

) was transferred to the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. The unit has recently undergone the process of massive modernisation of its fleet with the addition of 4

Airbus Helicopters H145M The Airbus Helicopters H145, formerly the Eurocopter EC145, is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the ''BK 117'', the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1 ...

, 2 Airbus Helicopters H215, and 2

Kamov Ka-32 JSC Kamov () is a rotorcraft manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia. The Kamov Design Bureau ( design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for naval service and high-spee ...

Missions

The Helicopter Unit undertakes a wide variety of missions for the police as well as for the Ministry of Internal Affairs: *Air monitoring of general public security (riot control) in cooperation with the General Police Directorate *Air monitoring of road traffic in cooperation with the Traffic Police Directorate *Air monitoring of borders in cooperation with the Border Police Directorate *Air support (including parachuting) for the Special Anti–Terrorist Unit and the

Gendarmery A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (). In France and som ...

Aerial firefighting Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...

and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

in cooperation with the Directorate of Emergency Situations of the Ministry of the Internal Affairs *

Medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to patients requiring evacuation or transport using medically equipped air ambulances, helicopters and ...

VIP A very important person (VIP or V.I.P.) or personage is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social rank, status, influence, or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War II when it was populari ...

transport (transport of the President of the Republic, Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs) The Helicopter Unit has its own training course for its pilots and its own aviation technician support unit.

Fleet

Helicopters are typically painted in blue and white color scheme except for three helicopters (used as air support to the Gendarmery and Special-Anti-Terrorist Unit) that are painted in military camouflage pattern used by the helicopter fleet of the

Serbian Air Force The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (), is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Serbian airspace, and jointly with the Serbian Army, to protect territ ...

and two fire-fighting helicopters that are painted in red.

Current

Retired

References

External links

Serbia police aviation – aeroflight.co.uk
{{Law enforcement in Serbia Aviation in Serbia Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia) Police aviation