Georgian Air Force marks 25th anniversary
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The Georgian Air Force celebrated its 25th anniversary today with awards to its personnel and a ceremony involving officials and military commanders in Tbilisi.
The Alekseyevka Military Airfield, home to the Mixed Aviation Squadron, hosted the event designed to mark the date and involving Minister of Defence of Georgia Levan Izoria as well as high-ranking commanders from the military.
Izoria took the opportunity to speak about planned reforms for the country's air force involving modernisation of its current hardware and purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The ceremony was hosted at the Alekseyevka Military Airfield. Photo: Georgia's Defence Ministry press office.
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Vladimer Chachibaia and Aviation and Air Defence Commander Lieutenant Colonel Sergo Ninua were also present to award air force personnel at the base.
Six service members were awarded defence ministry medals and presents for "impeccable service" in the branch, while four more were distinguished with special award of sniper rifles and other handheld weapons.
In addition, distinguished visitors attending the ceremony were invited to an exhibition of air force hardware on the airfield within the event.
The air force day, formally the Georgian Military Aviation Day, is celebrated on September 19 to mark the day in 1992 when pilots Mizan Tsertsvadze and Valeri Nakopia first took off for a flight in two Su-25 ground attack aircraft, marking the founding of the current air force of the country.
Lieutenant Colonel Sergo Ninua (left) awards air force personnel. Photo: Georgia's Defence Ministry press office.
Its predecessor dates to 1918, when the first ever Georgian air force unit established by a parliament decree during the first democratic republic of Georgia.
Pilots of the unit took part in combat activities against the invading Soviet armies in February 1921, before the republic lost its three-year independence the same month.
The air force and air defence branch was reestablished in 1992 after Georgia regained its independence from the Soviet Union, with the branch currently under the command of the General Staff.
Officers and sergeants for the Georgian Air Force graduate from the National Defence Academy and the Giorgi Antsukhelidze NCO Training Centre.
Georgia’s airspace will be increasingly protected over the next two years under an agreement with France that includes providing the Georgian Armed Forces with new air defence equipment and personnel training.
The legacy of a Georgian aircraft designer who contributed to the allied victory in World War II was the theme of a special occasion at the Embassy of Georgia in the United States (US) earlier today.
The people of Georgia and the country’s servicemen and women are today celebrating a military milestone; the 24th anniversary of the country’s Air Force.
Georgian Defence Forces are celebrating 28 years since their founding, with formal celebrations involving officials and military commanders joined by congratulatory messages from the public today.
Official occasions to mark the date were held in Georgia as well as locations where peacekeepers from the country are serving in international missions, while service members from allied nations offered their messages of support.
Today Georgia is marking the 30th anniversary of the country’s air force, celebrating the day in 1992 when Izani Tsertsvadze and Valeri Nakopia became the first pilots in the independent country to take off for a flight in two Su-25 ground attack aircraft and signalled the founding of the branch of its defence forces.