The Albanian Air Force has focused on rotary-wing operations since retiring its fixed-wing assets in the early 2000s, taking a major step forward in modernization and increased capability when it acquired its first pair of UH60 Black Hawks from US military surplus in 2024.

US Assistance

With significant financial assistance from the United States (US), Albania purchased two Alpha-plus model Black Hawks through the FMS (foreign military sales) program, with further examples of the type on order. Along with the aircraft purchase, the program sets aside various funding lines for ongoing costs including parts acquisition. As a member of the NATO alliance, these aircraft will go a long way to increasing Albania’s military effectiveness and its ability to contribute to combined NATO efforts. Such acquisitions take considerable time as they must be approved by each nation, US congress and the US Ministry of defense but with the aircraft now in service from Farkë Airbase near the capital of Tiranë, rapid progress is being made in establishing an effective Black Hawk squadron.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Ervin Buzi is the Base Commander at Farkë Airbase, where the Black Hawk squadron is located. He has been involved since the very beginning of the project to obtain the Black Hawks, originally as commander of the squadron that now fields them. Although he is responsible for all administrative, organizational and operational management, all base facilities and the missions conducted from the base, he still gets to fly and is one of the Albanian pilots being trained to fly the UH-60. He stated that the addition of the Black Hawk to the existing complement of AS532 Cougars will significantly increase the Air Force’s capabilities to deploy; acknowledging, “Especially when we have a team from the US to support us and increase our standards to how the US Army does things. These Black Hawks are projected to be involved in NATO activities in both hostile and non-hostile environments, so we need to aim for the same standard as the US Army.”

Operations

The Farkë squadrons operate AC145 Lakotas and Cougars, with the Cougars operating primarily on firefighting, medevac and troop transport. The Black Hawks will also be able to conduct those missions, supplementing the Cougars in those roles. Buzi pointed out that the base is unique in Albania as it supports not only the Albanian military but also Police, Ministry of Health and Emergency Services with its aircraft. He stressed that he is extremely appreciative of the personnel working to maintain and operate the aircraft in those roles of national significance, as well as the Resicum TAFT team for their expertise in training and supporting the Black Hawk squadron.

Buzi explained though, that the main purpose of the new aircraft is to extend into the mission roles for which they were built, commenting, “That is air assault, supporting Special Forces missions, infiltration and exfiltration from enemy zones. The maintenance support and training support have been great and we’re increasing our skills in new areas so we will be able to perform tasks that the Albanian Air Force has never done before.” He advised that cooperation with Albanian Special Forces had increased significantly since acquiring the Black Hawks, with the SF units already familiar with the type from deployments in overseas combat theaters where they operated with US forces.

 

Private Support

Included in the Black Hawk purchase is extensive training from Resicum International LLC, a private company started in 2014. It has supplied training and support for FMS customers via its TAFTs (technical assistance field teams) since 2016. Three or four companies such as Resicum bid for FMS contracts and the US government selects the company that offers the best quality service for the price, with Resicum being a leader in the helicopter segment. Resicum won the contract in December 2023 and commenced assembling an appropriate TAFT for the Albanian aircraft. The two Black Hawks were delivered to Albania at the beginning of 2024 and the Resicum TAFT arrived in February to commence training, after personnel had completed the mandated US State Department ground-course security training that covers basics such as small-arms use, driving and threat assessment.

Mike Rohrbeck selected and leads Resicum’s TAFT in Albania. He explained the team’s function, outlining, “What we do is train the FMS customers on the aircraft that they bought, how to fly them and how to maintain them. We train up RL-1 (readiness level one) pilots for day/night and NVGs, and the maintainers up to a certain level so they can take care of the aircraft after we depart.” Rohrbeck and James ‘Elvis’ Costello are the two primary instructor pilots in the Albanian TAFT and both boast extensive US Army aviation backgrounds that includes service in regular units and the elite 160th SOAR (special operations aviation regiment). Although the customer is the Albanian Air Force, the TAFT is comprised of ex-Army personnel, and the program is run as per the US Army procedures, methods and training manuals because the Black Hawk is primarily a US Army asset.

 

Use of the Army training system does present somewhat of a challenge however, as Costello explained. “The Albanians have a different training system and although I believe that the Army system is great, it doesn’t suit every customer nation because not every country has the same available assets, experience level or mission-set that the US Army has. We have to figure out what they need to learn versus what they want to learn. Everybody wants to learn the fun stuff like fast-rope, but they don’t really need to learn it.” He pointed out that the Albanians have no real demand for fast-roping yet because their primary roles are search and rescue (SAR), troop transport, medical transport and firefighting. The fast-roping does however build up a good working relationship with the ground forces, something that has not developed significantly prior to the arrival of the UH-60s as there has been little joint-force training.

“Albania is a part of NATO now though, and they are trying to work up to where they can offer more of a tactical capability for NATO, but at the moment I believe they’d be tasked with providing two medevac or support Black Hawks” Costello noted. Some basic fast-rope training is provided, and it enhances cooperation with Albanian ground forces so, while the current program is focused on the support roles and basic operations demanded of all helicopter pilots, future level-2 and -3 training will extend the capabilities into the more tactical, mission and unit-specific roles that will potentially require future additional TAFTs.

Experience

Rohrbeck counted 25 years of active service before also retiring as a CW4, with nine years in the 160th  SOAR - flying everything from the original A models up to the MH60M DAP – undoubtedly the most lethal of all Black Hawk versions out there. He is a qualified test pilot and conducts test flights in Albania, teaches test piloting, runs the safety program and fills in as an instructor pilot when Costello is unavailable. After his service he flew AW139s on VIP operations and has led three TAFTs for Resicum prior to the Albanian contract. “The Albanians all seem to love America, they’re highly motivated, intelligent and especially at the command levels, they want to assume the US military’s best practices because they know that their success has been proven over the years. The previous Latvian TAFT was very similar; the Eastern Europeans are great customers and great partners to work with. After coming out from communism around twenty years ago, they’re feeling their way forward and looking to emulate the rest of the western world,” he related.

Costello retired as a CW4 after 24 years in the Army, with his last ten years spent in the 160th flying Lima and Mike model UH60s, including the DAP (direct action penetrator) variant. “I’ve done pretty much everything you can think of in helicopters, so I have a broad base of experience,” he commented. In Albania, Rohrbeck manages the entire TAFT and Costello manages the flight training program.

Training

Apart from Lt. Col Buzi, seven pilots are being trained on the UH60 by the TAFT, four of whom were already qualified on the AS532 at the Farkë-based Cougar squadron. The others received their basic rotary qualification in Albania and then attained their UH60 rating in the USA, up to two years prior to the Black Hawks’ arrival, but then did little or no flying until the TAFT arrived. “Some of these guys were sitting there uncurrent so when we showed up, we had to do refresher training, take them out and do all the maneuvers to make sure they could still fly safely,” recalled Rohrbeck. The TAFT is nearing the end of mission training, after which the Albanian pilots will be able to go out with a pilot-in-command and perform all mission maneuvers. The newer pilots each now have around 250 hours logged, while the senior pilots like Buzi have around 1,000hrs.

Currently, daily training consists of one flight period of up to two and a half hours flight time, as there is no hot-refueling capability. “We usually try to be back on the ground by around 2 p.m. and by that time the students are pretty much done training anyway, even though they’re not going to admit it,” commented Rohrbeck. “We try to do that about four days a week, but maintenance drives that to an extent and most days we’re out of here by around 15:00 or 15:30.” He reported that the two Albanian Black Hawks have proved to be reliable so far and neither aircraft has failed the team yet. Maintenance standards are high, thanks to the TAFT personnel and it is hoped that the Albanian maintainers will utilize the knowledge and experience they are receiving to continue that high level of readiness and reliability.

Maintenance

On the maintenance side, Stuart Doolin is the TAFT’s aircraft component repair supervisor. He is the subject matter expert for the UH60 engines, drivetrain, rotor-head, rotors, hydraulic system and airframe patches and repair. He worked for ten years in 15-Bravo (aircraft powerplant repair) for the US Army and ten years as a civilian contractor overseas. Albania is his second TAFT deployment, and he supervises the workshop with Albanian engine and powertrain specialists working alongside him. “I can take them and teach them in different specialties so that their tangos and crew-chiefs will be more well-rounded, not only for when the aircraft is down, but also when it’s in flight,” he pointed out.

The Albanian mechanical technicians started out from scratch, attending English classes in Albania and then attending general and specialist courses in the US. Just like the pilots, they returned to Albania and had a lengthy wait before the arrival of the aircraft and TAFT, so the TAFT had to conduct refresher training. “We had to remedial work, or what we call front-loading in the military to ensure everything was in order. I also teach them the system that’s used to get parts through the FMS program that aren’t the high-dollar return-and-repair items such as engines,” Doolin advised, adding that the team has great respect for countries like Albania that have to achieve with small teams of maybe eighteen engineers, what the US does with 100 personnel.

Jaymen Byrd served 22 years in the military, primarily in the 160th after around seven years in the ‘conventional’ Army, followed by further civilian contracting work with the 160th after retirement. Like Doolin, Albania is his second TAFT after Latvia. He is a trainer for four crew-chiefs who are also the maintainers, so they face a steep learning curve. He recounted, “They’ve all been to maintainer school before we come here, but we’ve got to take them through the very basics like APMs and aero-meds, then start basic flight training – which is about twenty hours of you’re lucky – then slowly start progressing into some missions after that.”

 Byrd added that a large part of what the TAFT deals with is understanding the differences in the way the host country operates, invariably significant variations from the US Army methodology are encountered and sometimes the rationale behind the differences are logical. “It’s cultural, organizational and ingrained throughout the structure so we have to learn that, adjust to it and try to figure out how to influence them in small changes where we need to. As US Army types, we’re wound tight when we get into mission mode but they’re far more laid back and we have to learn to tone it down. It’s an exercise in patience.”

Rohrbeck added that despite the cultural differences, the training has progressed well, and Albanian Special Forces members have been introduced to the Black Hawk while assisting with training the aircrews in SF support missions such as fast-roping. “The aircrews have done really well at the tasks we’ve trained them in, especially with Jaymen in the back of the cabin. If they spoke better English, you couldn’t tell their performance apart from a fairly experienced US Army crew, and the fast-roping went very well, with no one hurt and no major incidents at all,” he reported.

TAFT senior aircraft maintenance advisor Jacob Klawitter is responsible for on-the-job-training for the Albanian Air Force technicians, everything from maintenance on the aircraft to maintaining the historical records. Eleven of his 22 years in the Army as a 15-Tango were served with the 160th and he explained, “My role here is basically helping them develop their maintenance program, train production control and quality control, and then also train the crew-chiefs on how to do their job as a mechanic. We have to ensure they can meet the minimum criteria required to maintain the airworthiness release, which is important for them as a NATO partner. An additional aspect is helping them understand sustainment and logistics to ensure parts are obtained, held as needed and inventoried effectively.”

Klawitter advised that Albania will be the first foreign customer to also get Aircraft Notebook, the electronic aircraft logbook used by the US Army, which includes extra information such as aircraft tooling, and which will aid the Albanians significantly by automating things to maintain oversight on stocks and speed up many procedures. “My impression of the Alpha model is that they have less gadgets and there’s less to go wrong. They tend to be a really reliable helicopter and with the stronger engines in the Alpha-plus, they have the power of the -Lima but in a lighter airframe.

Joshua Martin was in the US Army reserve for just over eight years and qualified as an aircraft powertrain repairer and NDT (non-destructive testing) inspector. “I’ve been a contractor for thirteen years for various companies including Space-X, Lockheed-Martin and Electric Boat for General Dynamics. This is my first TAFT and I’m trying to pass on the experience I’ve gained over the years so my student will eventually be able to pass that on when someone else joins him in his role,” he stated.

 

Because the Albanian personnel are part of an active-duty unit and have to carry out training simultaneously with being available for their national duties such as medevacs or firefighting, scheduling can be problematic at times. Although the team attempts to schedule two weeks in advance, disruptions are not uncommon, and rescheduling is frequently necessary. “It’s kind of frustrating for us,” Rohrbeck admitted, adding, “As US military we’re used to reacting to change though, it’s just what we do.” While the active missions could provide valuable training opportunities, the team is specifically prohibited from partaking, as the US government assumes the risk for all the TAFT’s flights and receives its training and flight schedules.

Costello agreed with Rohrbeck, saying that although the team has a much longer-term plan, it is difficult to put dates to anything that far out. “For example, we’re close to making these pilots RL-1 and shortly after that, a couple of them will be pilots-in-command. Some of them like ‘Vin’ (Buzi) will be P-in-C right away. Then we want to get into some other training like NVGs, and they all want to do it but that entails shifting to night work, which gets into stuff like scheduling the support elements, so we’ve still got to figure that out. It’s probably best that we wait until Fall when the days are shorter so they can start and finish earlier.”

Night Ops

Costello commented that he is looking forward to getting into the NVG training with the Albanians. “As a former Nightstalker, I love flying NVGs because it’s a challenging mode of flight so I’m excited. At the same time, I’m nervous though because the pilots are young and I remember that when I was young, flying NVGs was definitely not fun.” Buzi pointed out that Albanian Air Force pilots have never operated with NVGs so the Black Hawk NVG training with the TAFT will be an entirely new and challenging experience for them. The night capability will, however, open a whole new range of potential mission profiles.

Chain of Command

Adding somewhat to the team’s frustration is the fact that every single Albanian Air Force flight has to be approved by the Air Force Commander. Although Rohrbeck admitted to some frustration over the inevitable delays this sometimes incurs, he understands that it is due to the Albanians requirement for strict oversight and control of all Air Force operations to minimize risk. Operations that require the collaboration of other units – ground forces for example – demand written requests for signed approval through the chain of command of each service, so that introduces even more background work for the team and creates additional delays.

While the TAFT mission is specifically to train the squadron to operate, fly and support the Black Hawk, Rohrbeck acknowledged that the team had learnt to adapt to the Albanians’ wider needs, including some publicity-oriented missions to elicit public and governmental awareness of the new aircraft and their capabilities, thereby enhancing access to the necessary funding and support. “Really, that’s now part of our mission because no matter how well we train them, if the program falls apart due to lack of support, then our efforts have been for nothing,” he commented.

Fortunately, Rohrbeck and the other team members all find Resicum to be highly supportive without micro-managing any aspect of the operation, leaving the team free to adapt to the local situation and determine how best to deliver the training in an effective manner. For example, Rohrbeck instigated a collaboration with the taskforce commander at the NATO base in Kosovo, granting the Albanians privileges to visit the base maintenance facility where they have been able to see major component disassembly, repair and reinstatement for items that have not yet required attention on the Albanian Black Hawks. This is valuable first-hand experience that will be highly beneficial in the future when their UH-60s do eventually require such attention and Buzi remarked that he sees it as a valuable partnership with US forces in Europe.

 

Black Hawk Success 

The two Alpha-plus Black Hawks are just the beginning of Albania’s planned Black Hawk fleet and Buzi reported, “We’re very happy with this helicopter and hope to increase the number of examples of this type. This project is very successful but as a pilot and as a commander, you always want more numbers, and I hope to have more Black Hawks and more pilots.” He stated that eight pilots are currently in the Black Hawk program, with plans to send two more to the US next year for Black Hawk conversion. Two pilots will be trained to instructor level, and one will be qualified as a maintenance test pilot.

Rohrbeck advised, “In the future, they’re looking at getting -Mike models, or possibly extra -Lima models to expand the fleet and cover all the national missions that they have planned.” He commented that the TAFT was acutely aware that the team’s role is to prepare the customer for the future and that if successful, the Albanians will be entirely capable of managing, flying and maintaining their fleet effectively, long after the TAFT has left the country. “The people we’re working with are all really great and if they succeed, we get the satisfaction of having trained them well but if they fail, then it’s because we have somehow failed. Our goal is to make them self-sustaining so that, in the future, they can do for their own people what we’re doing for them now.”