Mykola Leonidovych Koval ( uk, Микола Леонідович Коваль, born 2 January 1952,

Kvasyliv Kvasyliv ( uk, Квасилів; pl, Kwasiłów) is an urban-type settlement in Rivne Raion (district) of Rivne Oblast (province) in western Ukraine. Population: Kvasyliv was first founded in 1445, and it acquired the status of an urban-type se ...

, Rivne Oblast) is a Ukrainian

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

, Colonel in the reserve of the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

, participant of the

Afghan war War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

. He is also an honorary citizen of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Education

Koval studied at Novozdolbuniv school No. 3. In 1973, he graduated from the Chernihiv Higher Military School of Pilots (specialization — military pilot-engineer), and in 1978 — from the Gagarin Air Force Academy.Микола Коваль
Квасилів: Фрагменти історії
В 2-х т., Т. II, упор. А. Лимич, Рівне: Волинські обереги, 2012, s. 462—463.: іл., ISBN 978-966-416-270-5. State exams and related flights by the graduating cadets were supervised by a commission of experienced military pilots, headed by the prominent WWII fighter-pilot, three times

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, Air Marshal Ivan Kozhedub. Kozhedub singled out Koval among the other cadets and signed a photograph where he appeared next to Koval with "To pilot Koval from pilot Kozhedub. Become the first among us, equal to the sky."

Career

Koval flew MiG-15, MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-17,

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...

. During his career, he served in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Deployments

In 1976, Koval was a squadron commander in one of the air regiments of the Northern Group of Forces of

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

countries. He received an award from the Minister of Defense of the USSR for high-performance flights. In 1984, as a commander of a MiG-23 squadron, Major Mykola Koval and his subordinates went to Bagram Airfield (Afghanistan), where in the first year of service he was appointed senior pilot-inspector of the combat training department of the

40th Army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fro ...

Air Force. While in Afghanistan, he completed 948 sorties and logged over 1500 hours of flight time.

Demonstration flights

In 1992, Koval demonstrated aerobatics in the United States. He returned home with the title of "Best Diplomat of 1992" and a pendant award from US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. The pilot also received an award from the President of Ukraine

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

. In 1996, as part of the Ukrainian Air Force delegation, Koval participated in one of the world's most prestigious military air shows, RIAT. He was awarded the most prestigious transitional prize "Super King of the Air" by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

of Great Britain. She also invited the winner to her birthday celebration. In 1997, Koval was appointed deputy chief of the Combat Training Center of the Ukrainian Air Force. That year he won top prize at the demonstration performance in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

(dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Israeli Air Force). Later in his career, Koval worked as the general director of an aviation company in Mykolaiv.

Awards

Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky ( uk, Орден Богдана Хмельницького, Orden Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho) is a Ukrainian military award named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks. The award was establi ...

i, 3rd class (23 February 2012) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...

* Order of the Red Banner of Battle * two Orders of the Red Star * honorary citizen of

and

* honorary badge "Glory and Honor" (2012)

References

{{Authority control 1952 births Living people Ukrainian military aviators Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Star