In Europe today, there is almost no country that does not have any military transport aircraft. According to available data, only 7 smaller European countries do not have them. In doing so, we count only states that have armies, and therefore military air forces. The situation is similar in the rest of the world, most armies own transport planes, even if they were light transporters with limited capabilities, which are very welcome in various crisis situations.
The equipping of a country’s military air force with transport planes is primarily influenced by the state leadership, ie its political goals, which can be influenced by various factors. One of them is belonging to a military alliance that brings with it certain obligations. In crisis regions around the world, only large military forces are usually capable of operating, which requires the ability to transport large amounts of cargo in a short time. Possession of an appropriate fleet, primarily a large number of medium and heavy transport aircraft.
Today, the Air Force and Air Defense of the Serbian Army have more than modest capacities when it comes to transport planes, both in terms of number and capabilities and quality of aircraft. Having only one type of military aircraft (Serbia has only one active An-2 and An-26) cannot be a good solution because, in certain situations, such as regular technical inspection, breakdown or sending for repairs, the aircraft is unavailable.
Until now, Serbia has pursued a policy of sending members of the Serbian Army to peacekeeping missions around the world, participated in various military exercises in the country and abroad as well as air rallies, parachute units survived and all that required RV and PVO to have at least minimal transport aviation capacities. In recent years, the state leadership has decided to re-form certain military units and announced an increase in the number of troops, which could affect the increase in the number of military transport aircraft.
In our previous text on the transport aviation of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Serbian Army, we looked back and paid attention to what is currently in the inventory and what are the potentials of the technology of our only transport aviation squadron. The only active An-26 resources are running out in the period 2023-2026 (2023 on engines). According to the currently prescribed lifespan of 50 years, the plane could possibly fly by 2034 with another overhaul. The second specimen, which has not flown since the end of 2015, could be repaired, but its lifespan would expire in 2025.
Both planes are in excellent technical condition, well maintained, have a small takeoff and have been modernized. However, in order for the second An-26 to expire very quickly, the question is whether it is reasonable to use only one aircraft of this type during this decade or should we already consider purchasing a new transport aircraft that would replace the An-26 in a few years.
As Tango Six has already reported, in July 2015, the then Minister of Defense Bratislav Gasic stated in an interview with Tanjug that within the talks with the European company Airbus on technical cooperation, the procurement of one transport plane is being negotiated. Cooperation with Airbus was realized, helicopters H145M and Super Puma were procured, but instead of procuring a transport plane (we assumed then that it would be a C295 plane), Serbia decided to repair one An-26.
At the beginning of November 2017, the Russian agency Sputnik transmitted the information that the Serbian Army would receive a donation in the form of two An-26 transporters, and then it was stated that they would arrive in the next ten months (ie during 2018). The planes did not arrive. Whether it is because the information was inaccurate or because of the lack of manpower in our transport squadron, we do not know.
What is on the market today?
There are currently not many types of aircraft on the market that are of the same class as the An-26, there are only the Spanish C295 and the Italian C-27J Spartan which in many countries have just replaced the An-24, 26 and 32 family as well as DHC-4, DHC -5, F27 Friendship and HS 748. Compared to the An-26, the C295 and C-27J have a much higher payload (An-26 5500 kg, C295 9250 kg and C-27J 11300 kg) and a longer important range with maximum load. If Serbia decides very quickly to have an aircraft in this category, it would have to choose between C295 and Spartan, but if that decision is postponed for a few years, then a new Russian Il-112V aircraft could be considered, the development of which is underway, whose performance is much lower than European aircraft (payload is only 5000 kg or 44 soldiers).
However, it is not only the load capacity that is important, but also the dimensions of the cargo cabin, then the load capacity of the personnel (soldiers with and without full equipment, parachutes), flight autonomy and the possibility to upgrade the aircraft for other purposes such as medical evacuation (CASEVAC and MEDEVAC), evacuation of the wounded and injured, installation of various medical equipment for monitoring the condition of the injured, various modules for transporting infected patients, then installation of fire extinguishing systems, various sensors that allow the aircraft to be used for surveillance and reconnaissance (and as a flying command post), to make the plane also a flying tank for refueling in the air. The larger the aircraft, the larger the volume as well as the payload, but the same applies to costs, the larger the aircraft, the higher the costs, both for procurement and use.
There are many examples in the world where some countries have replaced their old transport planes of a certain class with larger planes of much higher payload, and we had one of such examples almost in our neighborhood. Of these aircraft, the most represented on the market today are the American C-130J Super Hercules, the Brazilian C-390 Millennium and the European Airbus A400M Atlas. Their payload ranges from 19-20 tons (Super Hercules), over 26 tons in the C-390 to 37 tons in the A400M. Of the other planes, there are only Chinese Y-9 and Japanese C-2, but these planes are used only by China and Japan, respectively, and are not an attractive option. For now, the Ukrainians are making slow progress with their An-178 project, and it does not seem that they will experience any success on the market.
For Serbia, the key feature for the eventual selection of a new aircraft could be the range, ie the range with the maximum load.
Until now, when sending An-26 to regions where Serbia has soldiers in peacekeeping and other international missions (Cyprus, Lebanon, Djibouti), the plane, due to its relatively short range, had to land once or twice to refuel, which together with airport taxes represented an additional cost. It often happened that our peacekeepers were transported by planes of foreign military air forces, foreign charters and national airlines. Serbia currently has 274 soldiers in 8 peacekeeping missions.
In the last 10 years, the state has exported relatively large quantities of weapons and military equipment, and ammunition has been sold the most. We are witnesses that all of that was transported mainly by heavy transport or cargo planes of foreign private companies, but also medium or heavy transporters of foreign Air Forces.
The question is whether, when defining the tactical and technical requirements for the new transport plane of the Serbian Army, it might be necessary to think in that direction as well, as well as for commercial aircraft to do commercial work, ie earn money. That line of thinking would also require the purchase of a heavy transport plane and the question of whether it would, in every sense, and most economically justified (although such justification for the military should not be questioned)? Reports Tango Six.
