Who will maintain the Italian ‘Leonardo’ helicopters? Union warns of technician exodus, Ministry says staff trained
Union says dozens of technicians were pushed out of the aviation WING; the Ministry replies that staff completed training and first helicopters are due soon.
The future maintenance of eight Italian-made Leonardo helicopters has become a flashpoint between a union representing professional soldiers and the Ministry of Defence, after the union warned of a significant outflow of trained technical staff while the ministry insists the required personnel have completed training.
Training, delivery timelines and staffing concerns
In March 2024 the Ministry announced the procurement of eight Leonardo helicopters — four AW149 and four AW169M — accompanied by a logistics package that explicitly included "complete training of flight and technical personnel." The contract foresees deliveries between the second half of 2026 and the end of 2028, and the ministry has stated it expects the first two helicopters to arrive "by the end of this year."
Aleksandar Naskovski, president of the Independent Union of Professional Soldiers, posted on social media that the situation in the aviation WING is "catastrophic" and that dozens of professional soldiers — technicians — have been pushed out. He also questioned whether staff who attended training in Italy have actually passed the courses, noting that the training was paid for as part of the helicopters' price.
"Have you, due to a shortage of aviation specialists, engaged a retired member of the WING to work on a contract for additional pay, even though he also receives his pension?!" Naskovski asked, adding that "in the last two years dozens of professional soldiers — technicians were expelled from the WING and are now unemployed, while the Ministry has been bringing pensioners back to work and additionally pays them for helicopter duties." He accused the ministry of intentionally dismissing professional soldiers so they would not acquire pension rights.
The Ministry responded that, "Regarding the training of pilots and aviation-technical personnel (engineers and technicians), and in accordance with the government-to-government agreement, we inform you that to date on two occasions the required number of personnel have been sent for training, of which the first group of pilots have passed their final exams, and for the second group of pilots the training is ongoing. The entire aviation-technical personnel have successfully completed the necessary training and are qualified to maintain the aircraft." The ministry also denied having engaged retired aviation technicians specifically for work related to the Italian helicopters.
Acknowledging a staff outflow, the ministry noted it ran recruitment competitions in 2024 and 2025 to bring in new, younger personnel who are now serving within the Army and the WING, and that training continues both inside the unit and with allied countries. The ministry added that service on WING technical maintenance positions ended in some cases "at the request of the individual and due to reaching 45 years of age," and that some of those individuals were later employed as civilian staff within the ministry and the Army. It also stressed that maintenance personnel in the aviation system have the status of assistants rather than direct executors and signatories of completed aircraft activities.
To bridge the transition from Eastern to Western helicopter platforms, the ministry said it is reactivating the pilot training centre at the "Strasho Pindzur" barracks in Petrovec. For that purpose a contract was signed with one person for the period 4.6. to 31.12.2026 with a monthly fee of 35,000 denars, the ministry explained, calling the engagement necessary to close the gap during the platform changeover.
Photo: Илустрација / ЕРА/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
