While taxiing along the concrete runway of Podgorica airport, through the windows of passenger and other aircraft, one can see a part of the not-so-distant past. On the south side of the complex, exposed to the elements, full of history and stories, several jet fighter planes stand and bear witness to the passing of the years. Although the “G-4 Super Galeb” tickle the imagination, they remain briefly in the frame, and even shorter in the memory and before the eyes, because they are usually replaced by a drawn-out scene of speed and excitement of takeoff.
It was this fleeting image and a small prism into the past that inspired "Vijesti"'s visit to the local military airport "Knjaz Danilo". There, among the pine trees, hundreds of thousands of square meters of greenery spread, isolated towers and independent water pumps, collectors, airplanes that have become stunted over time, military and smaller helicopters, training areas and countless facilities, NATO-bombed hangars, former flight simulators and other remnants of wartime and already slowly forgotten military history...
The current version of this place is significantly smaller than it used to be, according to members of the Montenegrin Army, because it no longer includes the area that now belongs to state-owned airports, the auxiliary runway, or the underground shelters of Šipčanik run by "Plantaže".
Military priorities are changing worldwide, including in Montenegro, which currently has no usable fighter jets, nor the number of former airport guards, because the base that once housed 2.500 thousand soldiers now houses only a fifth of that number.
Although the time of tension and conflict has passed and left an indelible mark on the Balkans, the "small" military base and runway, skillfully hidden, still preserve the memories of hundreds of planes and thousands of military and fraternal boots that stepped on them. Those who experienced it at least partially can best tell about that time and the work of that time...
Jet flight as parenthood
The active runways and visits by soldiers from all over the former Yugoslavia are fondly remembered by both the lieutenant colonel and the officer in charge of flight safety in the air force. Vladimir Andrijašević. As he says, the airport was built in the 1950s and completed in 1968, while it was initially used as a military-civilian airport.
It originally belonged to the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and was military in status until the promulgation of the Law on State Property in 2006, when it was registered as state property and handed over to the Army for management.
"I counted from the tower once, it was 1993, 64 aircraft on the ground at one time. It used to happen that 20 aircraft were in the air in the territory of Montenegro. Here was a center for professional and specialist training of subsonic combat aviation from 1968 to 1992, and since then a center for training pilots and helicopters... They operated with training and ammunition. It was intense. The current runway of the Airport was used for takeoff, and next to it was a grass runway. We had an auxiliary one that went towards Šipčanik, 2,5 kilometers long...", recalls Andrijašević.
Asked about the feeling of flying a jet plane, Andrijašević said that he flew one of the school "super seagulls" and that it was one of the most exciting feelings, that is, that the intensity and pleasure can be compared to parenthood. He states that these were school-type planes, because they had two seats, with a student pilot sitting in the front and an instructor pilot sitting behind. These are the planes that are standing on the runway of the military base and waiting for better days, and Andrijašević says that they were made by "Soko" from Mostar and that their quality is undeniable, because one was dismantled two years ago for a donation to Slovenia, while the electronics also started working when the battery was installed.
Upon approaching the runway, the Lieutenant Colonel and Acting Commander of the Air Force Ljubinko Petić he immediately removed his cap, because, as he says, these and similar items are removed for safety reasons. When asked if this includes sunglasses, given that pilots are known for them and whether they have been used significantly more since the 80s and their popularization through the cult film “Top Gun,” Petić emphasized that they are an integral part of protective equipment for pilots and are essential for protection from bright light, as there used to be no visors on pilot helmets.
"Galeb" doesn't waste time.
Upon approaching the exhibited “Seagulls” that are unfortunately gathering dust, he explained that they are combat training aircraft and that they were produced in Yugoslavia until the early 1990s. He states that they last took to the skies for the Montenegrin Army in 2008, but that they are still in use in countries such as Myanmar and Serbia. As he says, the “Seagull” is perhaps the best training aircraft ever produced, and he is convinced that one of them will end up as an exhibit in the Military Museum, while the other could be exhibited on a carrier and become a base guard.
"They have bombers, a cannon, a wide range of weapons... Yugoslavia built them, but a large part of the equipment was imported. The seats and engine came from Britain, everything else was produced in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, from Slovenia to Macedonia, the hydraulics from Trstenik, the aluminum and panels from the Titograd aluminum plant, the other systems and devices were produced by 'Iskra' from Niš. In the 1980s, an inspection by the United States of America (USA) came here and they wanted to include this aircraft for training in the US Air Force, it passed the inspection, but the contract was never signed, because the 'Soko Mostar' factory did not have the capacity to meet the demand...", Petić emphasized.
Although the feeling cannot be compared to their flight at the peak of operational efficiency, sitting in one even today it is clear that this is a fast celestial machine. The cramped seat, dozens of dials, meters and info boards and the feeling of power, can be experienced most closely associated with sitting in a “Formula 1” car - in both cases you do not know what the switches are for, but it definitely gives the impression of speed. Even the cockpit door works perfectly and without creaking, even though the plane has been in the scorching sun and pouring rain for years.
There are currently “seagulls” and one “Utva 75” and one “Cesna 421” on this runway, but they are not in usable condition. The story about them was interrupted by the noise of the engine and rotating propellers of a nearby helicopter that was preparing to fly. The separation from the ground took a while, so the nearby hangar served as a shelter from the sun and the sound of the propellers.
Place for allies to land
In that hangar, the Army stores its air fleet, consisting of three larger “Bell 412” helicopters (one is awaiting repair) and two smaller “505” helicopters of the same make. Petić added that they expect to expand it this year, in order to help more with firefighting and other operations, while the two smaller ones are used for training students from the academy, reconnaissance and transportation...
The helicopters are technically repaired in the hangar, and each one has a small cross on its tail - a roundel. Petić added that this is how their affiliation with the state and the army is recognized.
"The roundel has some traditional values, and the cross itself represents the Crusader banner. You have the flag of the country, the serial number... Rescuers are being trained, who descend from heights to the mountains and seas. We have had a lot of rescues, but unfortunately of a half-hearted type because people sometimes got hurt. The last operation was together with the Army Navy when Ivica Kostelić "He was a participant, the helicopter crew located him face down at sea, and a navy ship picked them up," Petić emphasized, pointing out that they also have "Gazelle" helicopters, but they have not been in use since 2018.
The airport, he says, serves as a base for several units, 500 of which are guards companies, parts of support battalions, while the main one is the air force. To the dark question that somehow always comes to mind when one sees camouflage or green uniforms and the history of the last century - what happens in the worst-case scenario, i.e. war, and whether the airport will be used, Petić answers that, through membership in the collective security and defense system and in the event of the activation of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, the entire airport complex - including the civilian one - is intended as the main port for allied forces.
Petić added that they are an Army unit that has a permanent combat mission and that they are active 365 days a year.
"Times are changing, given that we have entered the collective security system, there is no longer a need for such large aviation units in Montenegro and the number of personnel has simply been reduced. We are conducting all types of training that are necessary for us, training the flight crew to perform basic special tasks, support the Army units and possible participation in the third mission. That is our priority today, to have a sufficient number of pilots, technicians and crew...", said Petić.
The base is completely autonomous.
The size of this place can be estimated from an airplane, but not with the naked eye, from the runway or through the gate, as its total area is about 740.000 square meters. Time, in addition to the number of soldiers, has also reduced the area of the base, which once stretched over 2,3 million square meters, while the entire complex beyond the runway is intertwined with concrete paths, pine trees, various buildings, training grounds and workshops.
The red and white tower, tens of meters high and resembling a giant lollipop, stands out in particular.
Captain and Logistics Staff Officer Zeljko Scekic explained that water is pumped from a nearby well, then transferred via a chlorine station to a 32-meter-high tower, from where it supplies all facilities by free fall.
Šćekić states that in addition to the source, they also have their own wastewater collector system, making them independent from the rest of the municipality. The collector, he claims, is modern even for today, and has several absorption pits, a high sand filler, a pumping station, dry fields...
The system, he claims, is self-sustaining, while they get their electricity from a dual system, and they also have four transformer stations. Aside from the runway, this part of the base is completely hidden from public view and looks more like a large park rich in greenery, which is spoiled in places by outdated buildings, while at the same time a symphony of birds can be heard through the pine trees on every corner. Considering that airports and birds go together like a mouse and a cat, Šćekić emphasized that great importance is given to nature protection and that they have a service that ensures that birds and animals do not interfere with helicopters and vice versa.
The white facades of the old buildings break the park idyll, and a good part of them are still used today, but on a smaller scale or for other purposes. There used to be ambulances, accommodation for squadrons, helicopter aviation, technical staff, oil and grease rooms, a battery charging station, a gym, warehouses, training grounds, a laundry room, barbershop rooms, a car park......
Bombed key
The walk also brings up metal frames with broken solar panels overgrown with thorns and bushes, which Andrijašević says were destroyed during the NATO bombing in 1999. He explained that the system was used to heat water and that every place for housing aviation and materials for its repair were destroyed.
"Here are also the facilities destroyed in the 1990s that we were unable to restore, the workshop for electrical equipment and everything that needs to be repaired on the plane, radios, seats, metal lathes, welders, painters... Nine hangars where the aviation was located were targeted and they were demolished one by one, on the first night of the bombing. There are the remains of the workshops. One man died in Šipčanik," Andrijašević said, walking past a series of damaged facilities and hangars.
Intertwined paths lead to a training range with guard towers, while nearby there is a larger meadow used for soldier training. There is also a plot with several piles of branches stacked several meters high, where firefighting training is conducted.
Petić explained that they have three "FAP 2026" for firefighting, but that they are working on purchasing additional vehicles.
All of this makes for an incredibly hidden piece of history, right across from the busy Airport, under a white gate and strictly prohibited access. Once a place where the entire flying process was handled, people and equipment, with three restaurants - military, student and flight, tailors, equipment such as helmets, oxygen masks, and today after thousands of boots and hundreds of planes - only their tiny footprint remains.
So now at the "Knjaz Danilo" Military Airport, a fifth of the former army, a quarter of the area, a reduced aviation force and helicopters replacing planes, constitute a legacy of a time that gives the feeling that it never really existed...
Regulations "written in blood"
Airports are extremely dangerous to work in, and "stands" (places for aircraft parking and movement) are especially dangerous, says Šćekić, adding that unfortunately, regulations are changed after mistakes, which are sometimes really expensive...
"We usually say that our aviation technical service regulations are written in blood, and that is really true. Aviation accidents and various extraordinary events have happened before, and lessons have been learned from all of them, so the regulations are written in blood," emphasized Šćekić.
Pilots do love to have fun, though, so their club can be found in the school building. The shelves of this room are littered with numerous dials, speedometers and other devices, antennas from several historic aircraft, and other little-known parts...
"It was a simulator room, so after it stopped being used, the pilots renovated it themselves. Everything is handmade, from painting, furniture, construction, laying tiles, ceramics, the pilots did everything themselves, except for the air conditioning and television," Petić emphasized.
People are key
Petić jokingly said that aviation is an expensive sport, but that people are by far the most expensive, because they need to be trained to maintain and operate, and that once that ability is lost, it is extremely difficult to regain it.
He claims that the response to the job is extremely low and that the only way for young people to become pilots in the Army is to enroll in the academy through the Ministry of Defense's competition, which is advertised for various countries.
He pointed out that the domestic Army was greatly damaged by the narratives of the 1990s and that they did not have to worry about their status back then...
Andrijašević added that today they have many more tasks, that they used to only deal with the school part of the job and that the pilots were taken care of exceptionally well. As he says, they did not work 40 hours a week, they had a flight allowance and therefore higher income, 35 days of annual leave and a controlled diet.
"We were taken care of and we didn't have to fight for our status, which is something we spend a lot of energy on today. We didn't have to think about it then. I'm not from the JNA era, but other recidivists from that time were, so we got what was coming to us," he said.
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