Serbian Air Force and Air Defence

The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (Serbian: Ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана / Vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana) is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Established in 1912, it is one of the oldest air forces in the world.^[1]

History

In 1912, a group of Serbian officers were sent to France for flight training. Serbia ordered several Blériot XI-2 aircraft by act of Marshal Radomir Putnik. Subsequently, the military at this time established its air force command centre in the city Niš. This made Serbia, one of the first 15 states in the world to have an air force. On 30 September 1915, during World War I, Serbian Air Defence members shot down the first enemy aircraft over the city of Kragujevac. This day was, by the act of King Aleksandar I, proclaimed the Air Defence Artillery Division’s day. Front-line Serbian-French joint escadrilles formed in Thessaloniki, and the government formed the first and second fighter escadrilles in 1918.

The Serbian Air Defense is the only military force in history to have shot down a stealth aircraft.^[2] This occurred during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. The 3rd battalion of the 250th Air Defense Brigade shot down a F-117 stealth fighter using a S-125 Neva missile.^[2]

General information

Role

• Maintaining airspace dominance.
• Intercepting airspace violators.
• Providing air support and transport for terrestrial units.
• Responding to natural disasters.

Equipment

Aircraft

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 outbreak of war.

Serbia as the largest succeeding nation of Yugoslavia, received the bulk of the former air force. Since the Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control was enacted in 1996, dozens of J-22s, J-21s and G-2s have been withdrawn from service.

The air force operates from two major air bases, the 204th Batajnica Air Base and 98th Lađevci Air Base.

Air Defence

Serbia 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.^[3]

Radars

• S-605/654 Observation radars
• S-613 Altitude measurement radar
• AN/TPS-70 3D radar
• AS-74 and AS-84 automatized systems

Multirole combat aircraft acquisition

The air force has declared its intent to purchase new multirole combat aircraft to replace its aging fleet of MiG-21s, still serving as Serbia's primary dogfighter. Officials have not yet announced a tender but have expressed interest in several aircraft.^[4][5][6]

Organization

• Air Force and Air Defence Command
  • 210th Signal Battalion
  • 333rd Engineering Battalion
  • Air Medical Institute
  • Aeronautical plant "Moma Stanojlovic"
  • Yugoslav Air Force Museum
  • Section for Air Control, Protection and Allocation

• 204th Air Brigade Batajnica Air Base^[7]
  • 101st Fighter Squadron
  • 252nd Training Squadron
  • 138th Transport Squadron
  • 890th Mixed Helicopter Squadron
  • 24th Air Technical Battalion
  • 17th Airfield Security Battalion
  • 177th Air Defence Artillery Missile Battalion

• 98th Air Brigade Kraljevo-Lađevci Airport^[8]
  • 241st Fighter-Bomber Squadron
  • 714th Anti Armor Helicopter Squadron
  • 119th Mixed Helicopter Squadron
  • 98th Air Defence Artillery Missile Battalion
  • 98th Airfield Security Battalion
  • 161st Airfield Security Battalion
  • 98th Air Technical Battalion

• 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade^[9]
  • Command Company
  • 1st Air Defence Missile Battalion
  • 2nd Air Defence Missile Battalion
  • 230th Air Defence Self-Propelled Missile Battalion
  • 240th Air Defence Self-Propelled Missile Battalion
  • 310th Air Defence Self-Propelled Missile Battalion

• 126th Air Surveillance, Early Warning and Guidance Brigade (ASEWG Brigade)^[10]
  • Command Company
  • 20th ASEWG Battalion
  • 31st ASEWG Battalion
  • Air Maintenance and Supply Company

Aircraft inventory

Air Defence

Aircraft markings

The Serbian Air Force roundel was officially adopted in 2006. The roundel is an adapted version of the former Royal Yugoslav Air Force roundel which ceased to exist in 1943. It is composed of a blue trim on the outside rim followed inward by the Serbian national colours red, blue and white, with a white cross in the centre with blue trim.

The Air Force also uses a low visibility roundel of the same design only replacing the traditional roundel colours of red,blue and white with two grey colour variations of light and dark for contrast, these roundels have most recently been placed on refurbished MiG-29s. Most other aircraft continue to use the standard coloured roundel.

Ranks

See also

• Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro
• Yugoslav Air Force
• Yugoslav Royal Air Force

References

• Air Forces Monthly Magazine, Aeroflight
• Vazduhoplovstvo Srbije na Solunskom frontu 1916-1918, Vladeta D. Vojinovic, 2000
• Srpska Avijatika 1912-1918; MJV, Sky, EUROSINI; 1992

External links

• Serbian Ministry of Defence
• Official homepage

Commander-in-chief •  Minister of Defence •  Chief of the General Staff