Russian Navy

Russian deck-based aircraft pilots made over 300 flights with NITKA simulator

09/30/2010

Text: RIA Novosti - South
Photo: Su-33. history-of-wars.ru

Russian deck-based pilots made over 300 training takeoffs/landings on imitative deck of aircraft simulator NITKA in Crimea, Ukraine, reported RIA Novosti referring to a source in Northern Fleet HQ.

Drills were held since Aug 25 till Sept 21. All pilots returned to homebase near Severomorsk on Sept 23.

"Total flight experience during the exercise exceeded 200 hours; through this time, over 300 flights were carried out with practicing takeoff/landing on imitative aircraft carrier's deck", said the source. Su-33, Su-25, and Su-27 aircrafts were involved in the training flights.

Distinctive aspect of the latest drills was participation of young deck-based aircraft pilots, pointed out the interviewee. "In contrast to previous years when only experienced pilots (not lower than Majors) took part in the drills, this time Lieutenants were also allowed to try. In particular, Alexei Bitiuk has successfully performed all training flights", said the source.

Ground-based aircraft training system NITKA is used for training of deck-based aircraft pilots. This simulator constitutes an airfield with steel ship's deck equipped with a ski-ramp and arresters. Dimensions of the airfield are equivalent to flight deck of heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov.

The only Soviet-made training system NITKA is located at Novofedorovka air base (nearby Saki, Crimea). The training system was handed over to Ukraine after breakup of the USSR.

Pilots of NF 279th deck-based fighter regiment (homebase Severomorsk-3) had regular 1.5-2-month exercises at NITKA simulator till 2008. However, in Sept 2008 the drills were canceled because of the ban put by Ukrainian administration after Russian-Georgian conflict in South Ossetia in Aug 2008.

Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief ADM Vladimir Vysotsky said early Aug in the interview to RIA Novosti that Russian-made NITKA training system would be constructed in Yeisk, Krasnodar region till 2020.

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