BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 30. Thanks to the helping hand of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) helicopter, the multi-day wildfires in the broader Grude area were snuffed out come Monday morning, June 30, 2025. After completing its mission, the AFBiH helicopter returned to its base in Mahovljani near Banja Luka, Trend reports, citing the country's Defense Ministry.
The operation involved a UH-1H-II Huey 2 helicopter with crew members from the 1st Helicopter Squadron of the AFBiH Air Force and Air Defense Brigade, who dropped seven buckets of water on the fire site that morning. Over three days of deployment, the crew logged 10.9 flight hours and dropped a total of 78 water buckets, each weighing one ton.
AFBiH helicopters were deployed to the municipality of Grude immediately after receiving approval from the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, June 26, to assist in extinguishing fires burning in inaccessible terrain at the Šušnjari–Pejića Draga and Bobanova Draga locations. A helicopter from the AFBiH’s 2nd Helicopter Squadron based in Rajlovac was sent to the site. Helicopters from both AFBiH helicopter squadrons spent the following days battling fires in Sovići, near Tihaljina and Drinovci, also in the municipality of Grude, in the immediate vicinity of a solar power plant, despite strong winds.
The triumphant operational engagement in firefighting transpired merely 24 hours subsequent to the execution of the "Disaster 25" drill conducted on June 25 at Mahovljani Airport, aimed at evaluating the preparedness of AFBiH flight crews for the impending wildfire season of the current year.
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