Page 85 - HeliOps Frontline Issue 26

HELIOPS FRONTLINE / ISSUE 26 / 2019 85

The Romanian Navy has
three active and passive
sonobuoys at its disposal;
the passive AN/SSQ-53F
DIFAR, the active AN/
SSQ-62E DICASS and the
AN/SSQ-36B Expendable
Bathythermograph. A
new badge is stored in the
hangar, with combined units
of the Special Forces in the
background.

times. Nevertheless, with a tight schedule, his crews manage to be
operational for relatively many hours.
Mitric is looking forward to a renewal and expansion of ‘his’
helicopter fleet: ‘Hopefully, we will have the capability to operate
more than three helicopters in the future. It is difficult nowadays
to work only with three helicopters. But I think we will have the
chance, in a couple of years, to receive new helicopters with better
equipment. With the expansion of our fleet our pilots can make
more flying hours. Crew training is the most important to us. As
long as we are able to train our pilots and personal, we are capable
to execute all kind of missions at high level.’ Mitric does not make
clear statements about a possible new type, manufacturer or year
of replacement.
Nevertheless, there has been much lobbying in Romania
in recent years to replace helicopters of the Romanian Armed
Forces. For example, the Airbus/IAR assembly line for the H215
was inaugurated in 2016 at Ghimbav. Airbus stipulated that
Romania had to purchase at least sixteen H215Ms from the line
to give positive signals to the export market. In November of the