Albania: NATO to open Balkan airbase converted from old communist-era facility (Video)

After the fall of the communist regime in 1990, Albania’s military had more than 200 jets — mostly various models of MiGs — across three airbases.

Most of them have now been scrapped and the country’s old Russian and Chinese-made jets stopped flying in 2005.

For a few years, old Antonov AN-2s, Soviet-era single-engine biplanes, were used for agriculture and other purposes.

Albanian Air Force now has several helicopters — mostly Bells and Eurocopters — and is expecting to get a few Blackhawk ones, but no jets.

Albania, a NATO member since 2009, also hopes to join the European Union. It’s joined in on the EU’s hard-hitting sanctions against Russia and has strongly denounced Kremlin’s aggression.