Serbian Air Force and Air Defence

The First Balkan War broke out in October 1912; Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia waged it against the Ottoman Empire. In this war, the Serbian Aviation Command had its first combat experience. In February 1913, the High Command of Serbian Army formed an expeditionary Coastal Airplane Squadron in order to aid the Montenegrin ground force against Ottoman troops who were reinforced at the town of Skadar near the Adriatic coast. Air support for this formation was assigned to the newly established "Coastal Airplane Squad", the first Serbian air combat unit, with 4 airplanes (Blériot XI one-seater, Blériot XI two-seater, Deperdussin TT and Farman HF.20) and 5 pilots under the command of Major Kosta Miletić. In mid-March 1913, this combat air unit was relocated near the frontline at a newly built auxiliary airfield in the village of Barbalusi. The first reconnaissance flight was made on 20 March (7 March, oldstyle), by Lt. Zivojin Stanković and Sgt. Mihailo Petrović. In this combat-reconnaissance flight on his Farman HF. 20 over the Skadar Front on 20 March 1913, Sgt. Mihailo Petrović was killed, thus becoming the first casualty in the history of the Serbian military aviation and the second one in world aviation history. Mihajlo Petrović was the first trained Serbian airplane pilot. He completed his training and exams at the famous Farman pilot school in France and was awarded the international FAI license no. 979 in June 1912. His Serbian pilot's license carries the number 1.[4] The next day, pilots Lt. Zivojin Stankovich and Sgt. Miodrag Tomich successfully completed their first reconnaissance flights, and in the following days, pilots Milos Ilic, Stankovich and Tomich dropped a number of small bombs and conducted reconnaissance flights. A fascinating fact represents that the pilot Tomich and Esad Pasha, the former Turkish commander at the Skadar frontline, would meet in a completely different situation two years later, during the First World War, when pilot Tomich needed help.

After Bulgaria attacked at Bregalnica in Serbia, the Second Balkan War began. The first reconnaissance mission had been performed by Miodrag Tomić, and after that Tomić and Stanković took turns and during a period of a month and a half, as the war with Bulgarians lasted, the two airmen performed 21 reconnaissance missions, of which Tomić did 14 flights. During one flight above Kriva Palanka, Tomić encountered a Bulgarian plane in the air, but neither one had weapons and they just greeted one another by hand waving.

2nd Lt. Miodrag Tomić and observer Milutin Mihailović seated in their Blériot XI-2, 1915

General mobilization in the summer of 1914 found the Serbian Aeroplane Escadre not well prepared. The Aeroplane Escadre had only 9 aeroplanes of which 7 were in flying condition. Five planes and three pilots were relocated to the auxiliary airfield at Dabića. From that airfield, Captain's Živojin Stanković and 2nd Lieutenant Miodrag Tomić on 13 August 1914 commenced their first reconnaissance flights in the Great War. Tomić took off from the airfield at Jevremovac on 27 August, at five o'clock in the afternoon. Above Mishar he encountered an enemy plane and they were quite close to each other. The enemy plane opened fire on Tomić, who did not expect this, but he avoided it with an appropriate and fast maneuver, so the plane did not sustain any hits. Fire was coming from a Parabellum. It was – probably – the first exchange of fire between aircraft in history.[6] Because of air superiority of the K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen over the Serbian Front, in March 1915 the French Escadrille arrived (Escadrille MF 99 S) under command of Captain Roger Vitrat (1885 Libourne – 1945 Neuengamme) to aid the weakness of the Serbian Aeroplane Escadre. The French Escadrille held the frontline from Smederevo to Loznica, and the Serbian Escadre from Smederevo to Golubac. After the conquest of Serbia by the Central Powers in the autumn of 1915 and the great retreat of the Serbian army to the Greek island of Corfu, the Salonica Front was formed. During the invasion on Serbia in October 1915, Manfred von Richthofen was commenced its first combat flight as a pilot. Also, in the autumn of 1915, the first medical transport of the wounded and sick in world aviation history was realized in Serbia. One of the ill soldiers in that first medical transport was Milan Stefanik, a Czechoslovakian pilot-volunteer.[7] In June 1916 the reconstituted Serbian army sailed from Corfu and joined the French and British at Salonika. At the Salonica Front line, with the support of the Allied force, the Serbian Aeroplane Escadre was reorganized. From mid-1916 to 1918 at the Serbian part of the new established frontline, 5 Escadrilles (N521, N522, N523, N524 and N525) were operated, and squadrons were staffed with most of French and Serbian personnel. These air force units were officially known as the Aéronautique de l'Armée Serbe or Serbian Army Air Service and were attached to the High Command of Serbian Army which was a part of Allied Macedonian Army or Armée de l'Orient.[8] It was commanded by a French officer, Major Roger Vitrat.[8] In the beginning of 1918 the new reorganisation was started when the 1st Serbian Escadrille was formed on 17 January, and the 2nd Serbian Escadrille on 1 May 1918, staffed with Serbian personnel.

A Royal Yugoslav Air Force seaplanes operating in the Western Desert, February 1942.

The attacking forces engaged in the April War (6 to 17 April) were 2373 aircraft strong, including 1212 aircraft from Germany, 647 from Italy and 287 from Hungary, while the Royal Yugoslav Air Force had 494 airplanes, only 269 of a modern type. Thus the ratio in the beginning of operations was 5:1 in favor of the enemy, and if we count only modern Yugoslav aircraft the ratio climbs to 7:1 in favor of the Axis powers. In spite of huge logistic difficulties and acts of treason (proclamation of the so-called "Independent State of Croatia" on 10 April 1941) the Royal Yugoslav Air Force fulfilled its duties with honor. Yugoslav airmen fought with incomparable courage against an enemy superior both technically and numerically. Especially, the 5th and 6th Fighter Wing pilots showed their bravery. During the war operations (6 to 15 April) a total of 1416 take-offs was made, 993 of which were performed by fighters and 423 by bombers. During this short war 135 flight crew members and 576 ground personnel bravely lost their lives. About 300 Yugoslav Air Force personnel escaped, first to Greece then to Crete.[9] After the Battle of Crete they went on to the deserts of the Near and Middle East, where for a short time they found a safe place. Meanwhile, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had already arrived with his Afrika Korps. In June 1941 the 20th Hydroaviation Escadrille under command of Lt Vladeta Petrovich with their no surrender war flag was renamed in the 2nd Yugoslav Squadron, attached to No. 230 Squadron RAF.[10][11] Up until 23 April 1942 the squadron flew 912 combat mission (1.760 flaying hourse) and lost four aircraft. The main mission of the squadron was anti-submarine patrol and protected allied shipping.

An important portion of the 1999 war between Yugoslavia and the NATO coalition involved combat between the Yugoslav air force, which was the predecessor of today's Serbian Air Force, and the opposing air forces of NATO. United States Air Force F-15s and F-16s flying mainly from Italian air bases attacked the defending Yugoslav fighters—usually MiG-29s, which were in bad shape, due to lack of spare parts and maintenance. A total of six Yugoslav MiG-29s were shot down in 1999, of which three were shot down by USAF F-15s, one by a USAF F-16, and one by a RNAF F-16.[12] One aircraft was hit by friendly fire from the ground.[13] Another four were destroyed on the ground.[14] During the course of the air war, Yugoslav anti-aircraft defenses downed a USAF F-16C and an F-117 Nighthawk, the first stealth aircraft ever to be shot down in combat, along with dozens of UAVs.[15]

The air force fleet consists of several Soviet combat aircraft, consisting of a number of MiG-21s, and MiG-29s. Serbia is looking to replace its aging fleet with new multi-role combat aircraft. Before its demise, the former Yugoslav Air Force was developing the Novi Avion project which was intended as a replacement. The project was canceled in 1991 due to the collapse of Yugoslavia. Serbia, as the largest succeeding nation of Yugoslavia, took possession of the entire Yugoslav Air Force inventory. After the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control was enacted in 1996, dozens of J-22, J-21 and G-2s have been withdrawn from service. The air force operates from three major air bases, the 204th Batajnica Air Base and 98th Morava Air Base and Constatine the Great Air Base. Following the crash of the final MiG 21 on September 25, 2020, the MiG 21 has been retired from the service altogether primarily due to a lack of spare parts, age, and security record.[16]

A MiG-29B on take off

A Serbian Airbus H145 helicopter

The Serbian air force operates a variety of Soviet surface-to-air missile systems. Many are long-range with a moderate amount of short-range weapons assigned to infantry units. The 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade operates SA-3 and SA-6 surface-to-air missile systems. The military is upgrading both types with fire-and-forget ability. The air force has upgraded "Neva-M" to the "Neva-M1T" standard and "Kub-M" to "Kub-M2".[20][21][22] For defending air bases and important infrastructures Bofors 40mm L-70 in complement with M-85 Zirafa radars are used, and for engaging low flight targets 9K38 Igla or SA-18. SA-6 were upgraded also with improved R-60 (missile) and R-73 (missile). Those air-to-air missiles were added on the existing SA-6 system.[23]

2K12 Kub SAM of the Serbian 250th Air Defense Brigade

The inventory includes Marconi S-600 series radars: model S-605/654 Observation radars, and model S-613 Altitude measurement radar; AN/TPS-70 3D radar; of which 2 were acquired from Slovenia in 2015.[33] AS-74 and AS-84 automatized systems.[34] Along with the Soviet produced P-18 radar which has been paired with the S-125 missile system.[35]