Successful firefighting operation in Albania

Equipped with three sets of Bambi Buckets, the Hungarian helicopters with side numbers 76 and 77 first flew to Split-Divulje airbase, Croatia to get refueled there, and then continued their flight to Albania. Soon after their arrival, the 16-strong Hungarian personnel were visited by Albanian Defence Minister Pirro Vengu. The firefighting operation involved 8 aircrew members, 7 ground crewmembers and a coordination officer.

The two helicopters took off from Kucova and Farke e Vogel airbases to fly sorties, and the Hungarian airmen started performing the firefighting tasks already on the day of their arrival in the area of Shkopet, north of Tirana. A helicopter of the Albanian air force was helping the Hungarian aircrews with orientation over the terrain.

In the following days, the helicopters intervened on several locations: taking off from Farke e Vogel on 24 July, they were helping contain the fires burning around transmission stations and antennas set up in the mountains near Shkopet. On 25 July, they were extinguishing fires in the areas of Mbreshtan (Kucova region) and Delvine (Kopacez), where some houses were already in danger as well. On the latter location, they served together with two helicopters of the Albanian air force. On 26 July, they provided assistance with battling the flames around Kucova airbase.

The Hungarian airmen were being tasked by the liaison officers of Albanian civil defence, who ensured the continuous flow of logistic support at Kucova airbase. Besides the Albanian and the Croatian air forces, two Italian firefighting aircraft also participated in the aerial firefighting operations.

“We were carrying out the task at a stepped-up pace with accentuated efficiency, also thanks to the fact that each training hour of ours in everyday life is about preparing for these real-world tasks” – told us Major Gábor Oláh, the commander of the air force firefighting team on arrival.

The Hungarian helicopters scooped up water 299 times in total, during a flight time of 53 hours 37 minutes. During a single sortie, they released 1900 liters of water on average over the fires. They consumed more than 32,000 liters of fuel while flying the sorties. In spite of the high temperature and the hard-to-access, mountainous environment, the Hungarian personnel carried out the tasks professionally to high standards.

After four demanding days, the Hungarian contingent returned to Szolnok via Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia on Sunday, 27 July 2025.