Serbian Air Force and Air Defence: Difference between revisions
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==Serbian Air Force fleet== |
==Serbian Air Force fleet== |
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This is just the list of aircrafts in Serbian Air Force inventory. The corect number of operational aircrafts is unknow because aircrafts are in bad condition, and Air Force always put some aircrafts back in service, and put some aircrafts out of service. |
This is just the list of aircrafts in Serbian Air Force inventory. The corect number of operational aircrafts is unknow because aircrafts are in bad condition, and Air Force always put some aircrafts back in service, and put some aircrafts out of service. |
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Revision as of 09:29, 16 August 2007
| Serbian Air Force and Air Defense | |
|---|---|
File:Airforceser.jpg Serbian Air Force | |
| Active | 1912 - 1918 2006 - |
| Country | Serbia |
| Size | about 3,000 personel 170 aircraft |
| AF HQ | Zemun, Belgrade |
| Patron | Saint Elijah |
| Motto(s) | За слободу и част Отаџбине Serbian: "For Honor and Freedom of Fatherland" |
| Commanders | |
| Comander of Serbian AF & AD | General-major Dragan Katić |
| Chief of AF & AD HQ | Colonel Nebojša Đukanović |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Fin Marking | File:Fin Marking of the Serbian Air Force.svg |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | J-22, G-4, Mi-24, SA.342 GAMA |
| Fighter | MiG-29,[1], MiG-21Bis |
| Interceptor | MiG-21Bis |
| Reconnaissance | MiG-21M, IJ-22, INJ-22, SA.341 HERA |
| Trainer | Utva 75, G-4, NJ-22 |
| Transport | An-2, An-26, YAK-40, Falcon 50, Mi-8 |
The Air Force of Serbia consists of a relatively large array of combat aircraft, cargo aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, UAV, combat helicopters, and cargo/utility helicopters.
History
The idea to form air forces in the Serbian Army was first mentioned in the General Army Formation Act from August 2 1893. This act envisioned that within each division of the Army of the Kingdom of Serbia be formed one air force balloon company.
Twenty years later, in 1912, a group of Kingdom of Serbia officers were sent abroad to school- to a Pilot Training Program in France. At the same time aircrafts were purchased and by the Act of the Minister of War Marshal Radomir Putnik, on 24 September 1912 an Air Force Command was established in Nis. This places Serbia as one the first 15 states in the world to have had military air force at those times. A year later, during the siege of the town of Skadar, Serbian Air Force had their baptism of fire.
Our pilots soon applied the experience gained in the Balkan wars to the WWI battles, thus becoming a worthy opponent to the stronger enemy forces. On 17 September 1915, according to the Julian calendar, that is 30 September in Gregorian calendar, Serbian Air Defense members shot down the first of many enemy airplanes over Kragujevac. This heroic deed was performed by the famous gunner Radivoje-Rade Ljutovac, and this day was by the Act of king Aleksandar I Kardjordjevic proclaimed the Air Defense Artillery Division’s day. At the Thessalonica frontline, with the support of the Allied force, Serbian Air Forces were reorganized. First, Serbian-French joint escadrilles were formed, and by the end of 1916 a Nieuport division, while at the beginning and in mid 1918 the First and Second Serbian Fighter Escadrilles were formed.
The period between two world wars was marked by a significant growth of our Air Forces, accompanied by the production of modern and sophisticated air crafts, with then ongoing organizational-formation changes within the Air Force. As of 1924, 2 August, the Saint Elijah day was observed as the patron saint day of Serbian Air Forces, with the Saint Elijah the Lightning bearer as a patron saint of military and other pilots of then existing Yugoslavian Kingdom.
During the April war in 1941, in 9 war days, 145 pilots died heroically in air combats, while 576 members of the Air Force perished on ground. In that period 1416 combat flights were performed, landing 60 enemy air crafts. Especially, the 5. and 6. Fighter regiment pilots showed exceptional their bravery, and also bombers pilots, causing significant casualties to the enemy at airbases in Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria.
After WWII our Air Force underwent several developmental stages, the first major air force modernization being performed from 1953 to 1959. Aircrafts made in the West are introduced thus broaching the era of jet aviation.
With the forming of first helicopter escadrille in 1954 the chopper units were also incorporated within the Air Forces branch. At the beginning of 60-ies supersonic fighters were introduced, followed by intensive growth of our aviation industry in that period. A number of jet planes prototypes were constructed, which served as basis for the development of training fighters and fighter aircrafts, such as ”Galeb” and “Jastreb”, “G-4” and “Orao” and the most advanced fighter air craft MiG-29 was introduced in mid 80-ies.
Since its establishment, the Air and Air Defense Forces has numbered tens of thousands of pilots, more than 5000 air crafts, and four types of missile launching mid-range systems, a number of small-range missile launching systems and 15 radar types.
Serbian Aviation in December 1912
Serbian Air force (Serbian Aviation - Srpska Avijatika) was the fifth ever air force founded in the world in 1912. Serbian Military Aviation was created when the aviation as vital part of the ground units was the question of the prestige under the military commands of the world. When we see what was Serbian position into the account, it was really hard to form the air force knowing that Serbia was very small and poor at the beginning of 20th century. The real reason why Serbia hurried to form the Aviation unit was the growing tension between the Kingdom of Serbia and Austria-Hungary. Also, it was the question of preparing the Balkan countries for the final driving out of Turkish forces from Europe. Serbia was not only aware of all these problems but was also forced to equip Serbian military with the aircraft and the balloons (of course with a great material renunciation). Serbia had purchased the first two balloons in 1909 from Augsburg; the same place where almost 30 years later the Royal Yugoslav Air Force had purchased the Messerschmitt ME 109 E3 in 1937. The time of purchasing these balloons was the time of the growing crisis about annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under Austria-Hungary, which could have easily caused the war with this great military force. The first six military pilots were trained in France. They finished the course in the beginning of the First Balkan war. On the December 24, 1912, the head of the military Minister Radomir Putnik signed the papers about forming the Aviation Command situated in Nis which included : the Aircraft squad which counted 11 military aircraft, the Balloon squad, the Pigeon post and the Base. This date is the date of forming the Military Aviation of Serbia and as well as the whole Yugoslavia. Its first combat experience, Serbian Aviation had experienced in March 1913 over Skadar which was in the Central Force hands. On the first combat flight, sergeant-pilot Mihajlo Petrovic was killed as the second victim of World Military Aviation. The first victim of military aviation was a Bulgarian pilot Topradzijev who was killed in 1912 when he was flying back from the reconnaissance mission over Jedrene, Turkey.
Mihajlo Petrovic 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 #979 in June 1912. His Serbian pilot's license carried the number 1.
Balkan wars and operations around Skadar
The First Balkan War broke out in October 1912. Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, and Bulgaria waged it against the Ottoman Empire in a final attempt to liberate the last of the territories that the Turks still occupied in Europe. The Serbian army advanced south through Kosovo into Macedonia, then turned west toward the Adriatic coast, through central Albania. At the same time, the Montenegrin army advanced into Albania from the north and laid siege to the historic fortified city of Skadar.
In February 1913, the Serbian Army High Command formed a separate Coastal (Primorski) Army Corps in order to assist the Montenegrin army on the Skadar front. Air support for this formation was assigned to the newly established "Coastal Airplane Squad", the first Serbian air combat unit, with 3 airplanes and 4 pilots under the command of major Kosta Miletic.
First World War
World War I started with Austro-Hungarian declaration of war on Serbia on June 28, 1914. The S.A.F (Serbian Air Force) saw action from day one. At the beginning of the WWI Serbian pilots who were actually skilled and experienced from the Balkan wars, had succeeded to give the valuable information about the number, the movements, and the position of the enemy troops. They contributed to early Serbian victories in 1914 at Cer Mountain, Kolubara and Drina river. At the beginning of 1915, armed with machine guns and bombs, Serbian pilots succeeded to fight back the enemy by attacking their aircraft flying over the Serbian sovereign territory or by bombing the important targets in the background positions.
Serbia formed one of first truly powerful air defense units in Europe. This is due the massive onslaught of German and Austro-Hungarian aircraft. Serbian air defense units and air warning units were formed officially on June 8, 1915. The first airplane shot down by ground fire unit in WWI happened over skies of Serbia. During the German air attack on city of Kragujevac on September 30, 1915, air defense artillerist Radivoje "Raka" Lutovac - from regiment "Tanasko Rajic", shot his first hit, by his artillery modified gun, a Ferman airplane with two crew members. Without any sophisticated cannon sights, he was aiming through the bore of his gun. This day is also a holiday of Serbian air defense. But the full control of the Serbian sky had been established in April 1915 when one well equipped and armed French squadron arrived as help from the allied forces to Serbian Aviation. Until the beginning of "Mekenzen" offensive in October 1915, French and Serbian pilots had succeeded to establish dominance in the air and to follow the enemy movements over the Rivers Drina, Sava and Danube. They were also constantly bombing the hinder, the traffic and concentration of the enemy.
During the time of 1914-1915, the first SERBIAN-made planes were produced. They had been made mostly by craftsmen in various furniture factories. These early Serbian planes were used for training, since they were underpowered. While construction was Serbian, airplane motors were French-made. This aircraft design had the name 'PINGVIN', or 'Penguin class'. Only few of these were ever made. Although modest, this domestic design was inspiration for creating Serbian air industry after WWI.
In the course of the Austro-Hungarian offensive and the retreating of the Serbian military, the French and Serbian pilots succeeded to stop the movements and intentions of the enemy. This information was very valuable to Serbian Military Command, who were retreating under the constant and strong pressure of the enemy who also was helped by the Bulgarian Army. The plan for retreating was that the soldiers together with the civilians would go through Albania and Montenegro, all the way to the Adriatic Sea. In the course of the retreat, the French and Serbian pilots did the first operation of carrying the injured soldiers with aircraft. The French-Serbian pilots had also organized the maintenance of the connection with the units retreating through Albanian coast to Drac and Valona.
Evacuation of wounded Serbian soldiers by airplanes of the S.A.F and French Air Force (Armee De L'air) represented first air-lift of injured soldiers in history.
Although Serbia was occupied in late 1915, by German, Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian armies, the Serbian government and armed force refused surrender. The entire Serbian army withdrew through Albania, into Greece, where they together with French and British forces created the Salonika front.
French pilots had left the Skadar area in December 1915. When the last aircraft was destroyed, Serbian pilots together with the Serbian Army had crossed to Corfu Island. In the period of WWI, Serbian pilots had succeeded to show the importance of the military aviation to all ministers and to secure the place of aviation in its modernized version. The French squadron has improved the opinion about the Air Force because it has represented the secure collaborator in all phases of battle. In the second part of WWI on the Thessaloniki front line, the Air Force had played a big part for it was equipped and armored with modern weapons and modern aircraft. As the war industry grew really fast, the Serbian Aviation obtained modern aircraft. After the re-organization in Corfu, the Serbian Aviation squadron had been moved to Mikra; not far away from the Thessaloniki. The material conditions of the Serbian Army caused that all available, trained, and capable aviation staff be referenced to five French squadrons. These squadrons were added to Serbia on the Allied Forces Conference in Paris. The Serbian Command wanted to have certain level of independence over its own Air Force and it secured the independence under Command of the Serbian squadron in Mikra. There was also a strong will for the formation of an independent Serbian Aviation Squadron. These five Serbian-French squadrons formed the "Serbian Aviation" which was working as an integral part with the ground troops. Allied forces squadrons such as British, Italian and Greek forces who actually had their own aviation units, also helped the formation. In the certain phases of WWI, the Central Force Air Forces succeeded to establish the dominance in the air, but at the end of WWI (especially at the time of breaking out the Thessaloniki's front line), allied forces commands had realized the value of this course, and the Serbian-French units, together with the allied forces Air Forces, had succeeded to beat the enemy in everything. The year 1918 in the summer was a year of the absolute control of the sky over this area by the allied forces. Successive and strong break up which Serbian Armies did as well as their break up in the River Vardar Valley, caused the Bulgarian capitulation when the Serbian Army after only 45 days had succeeded to move the enemy lines for 600 kilometers, to be the winner for the third time in this, Austria-Hungary was defeated. The German Army was very exhausted and lost its great supporter. They had been actually forced to sign the armistice. On the Thessaloniki's front Serbian Aviation did 3,000 combat flights, participated at all main operations and receipted the end of the WWI in the associated unit which counted 60 modern aircraft. The staff of this unit consisted of 70 pilots, 40 reconnaissance pilots, and other aviation specialists. This aviation had staff and equipment with enormous experience.
Serbian Aviation in September 12th 1918
Serbian aviation was a part of rebuilt Serbian Army, a part of the allied Eastern Army (consisted of French, Great Britain, Greece and Italian soldiers). Supreme commander of the eastern Army was a French general named Franshe D'Epere. The Air Force commanders were French officers and squadrons were staffed with French and Serbian personnel.
By the order dated January 17, 1918, the two Serbian squadrons were to be formed and staffed with Serbian personnel. In April 1918 Prva Srpska Eskadrila (First Serbian Escadrille) became operational with 12 Dorand AR type I A2 and 3 Nieuport XXIV C1 from French-Serbian composite Escadrille AR 521 and commanded by French officer (Serb national) lieutenant Mihajlo Marinkovic. During May and June, the French-Serbian composite Escadrille AR 525 Druga Srpska Eskadrila (Second Serbian Escadrille) became operational. Captain Branko Vukosavljevic was the first Serbian squadron commander who was appointed to lead to Prva Srpska Eskadrila (First Serbian Escadrille) in August 1918.
Below is orbat of squadrons attached to Serbian Army for the September offensive.
Commander: Major Du Perier De Larsan Order of battle
Squadron Aircraft Type
Prvi vazduhoplovni odsek (subordinated to I Serbian Army) Druga Srpska Eskadrila [Former AR 99/399/ 525 Escadrille] 12 Dorand AR type I A2, 7 Nieport XXIV C1, 5 Bregeuet 14 A2
Drugi vazduhoplovni odsek (subordinated to II Serbian Army) Prva Srpska Eskadrila [Former AR 82/382/521 Escadrille] 6 Dorand AR type I A2, 3 Nieport XXIV C1, 3 Bregeuet 14 A2
523 Escadrille [Former 87/387 Sq] 5 Bregeuet 14 A2, 11 SPAD S VII C1
No 502 Escadrille 4 Dorand AR type I A2, 3 Nieport XXIV C1, 3 Bregeuet 14
No 503 Escadrille 4 Dorand AR type I A2, 3 Nieport XXIV C1, 1 Bregeuet 14
No 507 Escadrille 11 SPAD
Airfields: Vertekop, Lembet, Jenidze Vardar
Technical depot: Vertekop [previously in Mikra]
Total of 81 airplanes.
Serbian Aviation after the WWI
With the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of SHS), an Army Aviation Department was formed with Serbian and ex-Austro-Hungarian (Croatian and Slovenian) personnel. In 1923, a major initiative was launched to replace the WWI era aircraft still in service with more modern designs. Contracts were placed abroad and with newly established local factories. Later in 1923 the Aviation Department was renamed the Aviation Command and placed directly under the control of the Ministartstvo vojske i mornarice (Ministry of War and Marine). In 1930, the Aviation Command was renamed the Jugoslovensko Kraljevsko Ratno Vazduhoplovsto (JKRV) which translated is the Yugoslav Royal Air Force. The air arm was also known as the Vazduhoplovsto vojske kraljevine Jugoslavije (Air Force of the Army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) - VVKJ.
Air Force of the Army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (before the WWII)
During 1940 Britain supplied significant military aid to the JKRV, to strengthen its forces against the increasing German threat. In early March 1941, the Luftwaffe forces started arriving in neighboring Bulgaria. On March 12, 1941, JKRV units began to deploy to their wartime airfields. The overthrow of the pro-German government in Belgrade on March 27 brought an end to hopes of a settlement with Germany. On April 6, 1941, Luftwaffe units in Bulgaria and Romania attacked Yugoslavia in what was known as the Bombing of Belgrade. Equipped with a combination of obsolete equipment and new aircraft still being introduced into service, the JKRV was forced to defend the country's long borders against multiple attacks from many directions. The dubious loyalty of some military personnel did not help matters. Yugoslav fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery brought down about 90-100 enemy aircraft, but defending forces were unable to make any significant impact on the enemy advance. On April 17, 1941 the Yugoslav government surrendered. Several JKRV aircraft escaped to Egypt via Greece, and the crews then served with the RAF.
Serbian Air Force today
Organization
- 101. Fighter-Aviation Squadron
- 252. Mixed-Aviation Squadron
- 138. Mixed-Transport-Aviation Squadron
- 1. Reconnaissance Aviation Section
- 24. Air Force Technical Battalion
- 17. Air Base Security Battalion
- 117. Air Force Air Defense Artillery Battalion
- 241. Fighter-Bomber-Aviation Squadron
- 714. Anti-Armored Helicopter Squadron
- 119. Combined-Arms Helicopter Squadron
- 2. Reconnaissance Aviation Section
- 24. Air Force Technical Battalion
- 161. Air Base Security Battalion
- 98. Air Base Security Battalion
- 98. Air Force Air Defense Artillery Battalion
250. Air Defense Missile Brigade
- Command Battery
- 1. Air Force Air Defense Missile Battalion
- 2. Air Force Air Defense Missile Battalion
- 3. Air Force Air Defense Self-Propelled Missile Battalion
- 4. Air Force Air Defense Self-Propelled Missile Battalion
- 5. Air Force Air Defense Self-Propelled Missile Battalion
126.Center for Air Reconnaissance/Intelligence and Guidance (VOJIN)
- Command Company
- 20. VOJIN Battalion
- 31. VOJIN Battalion
- Company for air force-technical and technical maintenance and procurement
There are also one G-2 Galeb, two G-4 Super Galeb's, one J-22 Orao, one NJ-22 Orao,one MiG-21 Bis, one Lola Utva 75, two Gazelle helicopters, one G-4M Super Galeb and about 100 old aircrafts which belong to Military Test Center(ex Flight Test Center), and they are used for testing, air shows, and are not used for combat purposes.
Current status
Once one of the largest air forces in Europe, with over 400 combat aircraft and 200 armed helicopters, the air force has been severely degraded due to ten years of war and sanctions. The Air Force fleet today consists of many Russian and indigenous combat aircraft. Today, the Air Force has 29 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s and 5 MiG-29s. The 4 of 5 MiG-29s are to return to service in late 2008, only about three to four MiG-21s are in operation flying regularly at the moment due to the fuel problems. Most of the MiG-21s were purchased in 1977 and additional recon and improved MiG-21 Bis versions were received at around the same time. The MiG-29s were purchased in 1987. All of these MiGs are located at the Batajnica Air Base. The Air Force is looking to replace the MiGs with a new multi-role fighter. The MiG-21s were due to be replaced in the 1990s but were not due to the wars. Recently, Major Vladan Marjanovic, commander of the Serbian Air Force, stated that the MiG-21s in service of Serbia could continue flying all the way until 2010. The Air Force also has many former-Yugoslav aircraft. These combat aircraft included the G-4 Super Galeb and the J-22 Orao. Reliable figures about the number of these aircraft still in service are hard to find but data indicates that there are 16 attack J-22s, 7 trainer NJ-22s, 8 IJ-22s and 2 INJ-22s spy aircraft and about 25 G-4s. This count does not include about 100 aircraft consisting of J-22s, J-21s, G-4s, and G-2s which were withdrawn from service during the 1990s in order for Yugoslavia to conform to the CFE Treaty. The Oraos are located in Lađevci Airbase and nearly all of the Air Force's G-4 Super Galebs were located at Podgorica, and they are now at Batajnica.
The Air Force consists of many cargo aircraft such as the Russian Antonov An-26, the Do-28, and the Yakovlev Yak-40. Only 4 Yak-40s are in the fleet, and it is currently being overhauled for VIP use. Only 1 Do-28 was left in service, and now is in front of Museum of Aviation in Belgrade. 1 or 2 An-26s are in operation today, the rest (4) are stored in hangers, used as spears for spear parts to keep the two operational AN-26 in good condition. The air force is planing to modernized 4 An-26, and they will stay in service until 2014.
Combat helicopters include the SA-341/342 Gazelle, a French-designed helicopter built under license in Yugoslavia at SOKO, which is armed with 2 air-to-air missiles and 4 tank-hunter missiles. Serbia has about 61 examples of these combat helicopters only half are operational. The Serbian Air Force also consists of a very small amount of Mi-8 transport helicopters,2 Mi-17 and 2 Mi-24 attack helicopters. The Mi-24s and Mi-17 are ex-JSO helicopters given to air force from police at 2006. The 2 Mi-24, 2 Mi-17 and 3 Mi-8 helicopters are waiting for modernization. They will be back in service during 2008.
Fuel problems in the Air Force
In the past several years, there has been a fuel shortage problem in the Serbian Air Force. According to an Air Forces Monthly, in 2006, the Serbian Air Force is only getting about 20% of the required 1,000 tons of jet fuel per month. Because of this, aircraft don't fly often and pilots don't get enough hours in flying to have an acceptable training environment. Among those who get the worst of the problems are the J-22 Orao pilots. According to Air Forces Monthly, pilots in the "Tigers" squadron (Lead by Dejan Joksimović) of Oraos would be considered lucky to get 10-15 hours of flying in 2006. Pilots manning the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert), which consists of two MiG-21s, quoted to Air Force Monthly that they got "A few hours of flight time in 2005 and 2006." The luckier people of the Serbian Air Force of the problem are the An-26 pilots, the Gazelle helicopter pilots, and the Soko G-4 pilots. G-4 Super Galebs in the Golubovci Airbase in Montenegro were said to be the most active combat aircraft in the whole Air Force, before Montenegro seceded from Serbia on May 22. Pilots of the SA 341/342 Gazelle have been reported to get an average of 20 hours of flight per year according to Air Forces Monthly. AFM says that the An-26 by far the most active aircraft in the whole Air Force. Although most of the An-26s are stored, the aircraft that still fly are kept in flyable condition thanks to spare parts from retired aircraft.
In January 2007, Air Force Monthly reported that the fuel problems have not gotten any better. AFM reported that Serbia is now getting a little more jet fuel than they got in early 2006 but still not the needed amount, the figure for the last 3 months has remained at barely over 20% of the 1,000 tons per month required and the J-22 Orao pilots still are the worst suffering.
In April 2007, Air Forces Monthly reported the fuel problem is still the same and is expected to be stabilized if not totally fixed by the end of 2008 or early 2009 where the air force is expected by then to acquire over 50% of the required 1000 tons a month.
Montenegrin referendum
In July, the nation of Montenegro became independent from the state union of Serbia & Montenegro. Because of this referendum, all military machinery, including military aircraft, will stay in their own states rather than all being transported to Serbia. The Podgorica Military Airbase contains 9 G-4 Super Galebs and some Lola Utva 75s in the former Serbia & Montenegro Air Force, however a recent debate has started between Serbia and Montenegro to transport all 9 G-4's to Serbia as Montenegro does not plan to operate an air force due to lack of funds and interest. Serbia operates majority of G-4's, including a G-4M experimental aircraft at Batajnica Flight Test Center.
Shortly after the secession of Montenegro in 2006, Serbia quickly changed the Yugoslav tricolor roundel to a Serbian tricolor by a simple repaint of the existing emblems. Later in 2006, the Serbian government portrayed a new roundel for their air force that will replace the repainted Yugoslav tricolor roundels originally adopted in 1992. The new roundel is composed of a blue trim on the outside rim followed inward by the Serbian national colors red, blue, and white, with a white cross in the center with blue trim. The roundel is based on the Royal Yugoslav Air Force's emblem from the late 1920s to 1940s.
Fate of Serbian MiG-29s
In January 2006, the media briefly reported that 5 MiG-29s under the possession of Serbia were to be repaired and returned to operational service since Serbian MiG-29 operations ceased since April 2004. Previous news states that the work would be carried out by Serbia's Moma Stanojlović overhaul facility along with the company of Mikoyan Gurevich. The plan previously was to repair 2 or 3 of them by fall 2006, and the rest by 2007. As of July, it is now uncertain if Moma Stanojlović will even get apart of the job, facilities in Russia are supposedly more likely to carry out the work. Either way, all MiG-29s will be returned to service latest by end 2008. 1 Antonov An-26, 2 Mi-24s, and 5 Mi-8/Mi-17s will be overhauled as well in a 30+ million Euro project to overhaul the Serbian Air Force, lead mostly by Mlađan Dinkić.
In January 2007, Air Forces Monthly reported that the MiG-29s are still in debate over their overhaul, some military officials argue that they are too old and not worth modernizing because of the high investment, and think that waiting until at least 2010 and probably purchasing some second hand western multi-role aircraft is a better idea. The fate of the 5 MiG-29s looks unstable for now, and some believe it is most likely they will end up being retired. The same goes for the 2 Mi-24 helicopters, but the 3 Mi-8s, 2 Mi-17s, and the 1 An-26 are still scheduled for overhauls.
After two years of uncertainty over the fate of Serbia’s MiG-29s, it has been decided that the overhaul will go ahead as planned. 4 of the 5 MiG-29s have been taken apart and are being loaded to be shipped to Russia; the fifth one is not going to be overhauled because of money shortages, so the last MiG-29 has been put on hold for now. The other MiGs are due to re-enter service in summer 2008 but they are not expected to handle any real combat, just to patrol Serbian air space and to help retire few older MiG-21s.
Future of the Serbian Air Force
Some future goals are to reorganize and retrain the air force to operate to NATO standards by 2010. The ministry of defense has planned more funds to be provided to help modernize the air force completely. Organization has already been completed and plans for new aircraft are well under way.
Modernization
There are plans to obtain around 20 or more new fighter aircraft to replace the aging MiG-21 fleet that is due to retire around 2010 to the latest, although Serbia does plan to retain its MiG-29s for some time. Plans are also being made to obtain new transport helicopters and aircraft as well. The Air Force will also modernized all G-4 Super Galebs in to G-4M, and it will begin the use to new Lasta 95s Lasta trainer airplanes to replace old Lola Utva 75s as soon as analysis is completed.[citation needed] Currently Serbia is modernizing 4 MiG-29's, 1 An-26, 3 Mi-8's, 2 Mi-17's, 2 Mi-24's, and next year it will modernized 4 An-26's, the last MiG-29 is also planned to be modernized.
These are some possible options for replacement. No formal decision has been made yet on when or what purchases will be made, The ministry of defense is expected to increase its budget in the following years providing assistance in the modernization of the air force. The Air Force will get 20 new multi-role fighters to replace MiG-21's, 15 new helicopters to replace Mi-8's, and five new cargo aircrafts to replace An-26's and An-2.
- New fighters:
- 20x F-16C/D or JAS 39 Gripen or MiG-35
- New transport helicopters:
- 15x AS 532 or Euromil Mi-38
- New cargo aircraft:
- 5x Alenia C-27J
Serbian Air Force fleet
This is just the list of aircrafts in Serbian Air Force inventory. The corect number of operational aircrafts is unknow because aircrafts are in bad condition, and Air Force always put some aircrafts back in service, and put some aircrafts out of service.
Template:Standard table
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Number
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
! style="background: #aacccc;" colspan="6"|Combat Aircrafts
|-----
|MiG-21||
Soviet Union||Fighter
Trainer
Reconnaissance||MiG-21 Bis
MiG-21 UM
MiG-21 M||24
4
1|| One MiG-21 Bis is at TOC. Many MiG-21's are in bad condition, and perhaps only 15 are operational.
|-----
| J-22 Orao||
Yugoslavia||Ground Attack
Trainer
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance||J-22
NJ-22
IJ-22
INJ-22||16
7
8
2|| One J-22 and one NJ-22 are at TOC.
|-----
| G-4 Super Galeb|| Yugoslavia||Fighter Bomber & Trainer
Unarmed Trainer
Target Puller
Prototype||G-4
G-4R
G-4T
G-4M||14
8
2
1|| Only G-4M and two G-4 are at TOC.
|-----
! style="background: #aacccc;" colspan="6"|Unarmed Aircrafts
|-----
| G-2 Galeb|| Yugoslavia||Fighter Bomber & Trainer||G-2A||1||Only G-2 is at TOC, and it's unarmed.
|-----
| Lola Utva 75|| Yugoslavia||Trainer||V-53||12||To be replaced with new Lasta 95
|-----
| An-2||
Poland||Cargo Aircraft||An-2||1|| An-2 is used for paratroop training.
|-----
| An-26|| Soviet Union||Cargo Aircraft||An-26||2 (6)||4 An-26 in bad condition are used for parts.
|-----
| YAK-40|| Soviet Union||VIP Aircraft||YAK-40||1 || There are 3 more Yak-40's currently not in use.
|-----
| Falcon 50||
France||VIP Aircraft||Falcon 50||2 || Government VIP transport.
|-----
! style="background: #aacccc;" colspan="6"|Helicopters
|-----
| Mi-8|| Soviet Union||Transport Helicopter||Mi-8 T Hip C||26|| Most of them are in bad condition and possibly 15 are currently operational.
|-----
| SA.341/342 Gazelle|| France/ Yugoslavia||Light Utility Helicopter
Reconnaissance
Anti-Tank Helicopter
Anti-Tank Helicopter||HO-42/45
HI-42 Hera
HN-42M Gama
HN-45M Gama2||29
2
19
11|| Many of them are in bad condition and possibly 30 are currently operational.
|}
- 2 MiG-21 R/F recce aircraft were withdrawn from service in the summer of 2006.
- 2 Dornier Do-28D aircraft were withdrawn from service in the summer of 2006.
Upcoming Aircraft
Template:Standard table ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service[2] ! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes |-----
Trainer||MiG-29 A
MiG-29 UB||3
1|| 1 other MiG-29A is pending an overhaul due to cash shortages[3]
The aircraft will come back with the designation as MiG-29S
|-----
| An-26||
Russia||Cargo Aircraft||An-26||1|| Additional 4 to be modernized as well
|-----
| Mi-24|| Russia||Attack Helicopter||Mi-24D Hind||2|| The aircraft will come back with the designation as Mi-35 (export version of Mi-24V)
|-----
Multi Role Helicopter||Mi-8T Hip H
Mi-17 V Hip H||3
2||
|-----
| G-4M Super Galeb||
Serbia||Fighter Bomber & Trainer||G-4M||Unknown|| About one squadron (16 aircraft) will be modernized too G-4M.
|-----
| Lasta 95|| Serbia||Trainer||Lasta||Unknown|| About one squadron (16 aircraft) or less Lola Utva 95 Lastas will be put in service.
|}
Air Force Air Defense
The Serbian Air Force and Air Defense system contains a wide variety of Soviet and Czech models. Most are long range but some short range weapons are employed in infantry units. During the 1999 NATO bombing in Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav Air Defense units brought down several NATO aircrafts. Confirmed are two F-16 Fighting Falcon's, an F/A-18 Super Hornet, and many UAVs, as well as a large number of cruise missiles. The greatest achievement of these units was when the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani shot down a F-117 Nighthawk Stealth fighter jet using an SA-3. One F-117 Nighthawk is also seriously damaged by Serbian Air Defense and it was withdrawn after landing. Most of the Yugoslav fighter aircraft did not take part in the fighting due to overwhelming superiority in numbers of NATO. The Serbian Air Force and Air Defense is using next systems:
The Serbian Army Air Defense is using next systems:
- 250x Bofors 40 mm gun L/70
Sweden - guided by GIRAFFE Radar Sweden/
Serbia - 600x Strela 2 (SA-7)
Soviet Union - 130x 9K31 Strela-1 (SA-9) Soviet Union
- 18x 9K31 Strela-10 (SA-13)[4] Soviet Union
- 500x 9K34 Strela-3 (SA-14) Soviet Union
- 200x 9K38 Igla-1 (SA-16) Soviet Union
- 100x 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse) Soviet Union
- 65x BOV-3
Yugoslavia - 8x BOV-30 Yugoslavia
Serbian Air Defense
-
PZR Neva SC radar in Serbian Air Defense.
-
Neva SAM of Serbian AF and AD.
-
2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) radar of Serbian Air Foce and Air Defense
-
SA-6 Gainful of 250. Air Defense Missile Brigade
-
2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) of Serbian Air Foce and Air Defense
-
2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) of Serbian Air Foce and Air Defense
-
VOJIN
See also
- Military of Serbia
Air Force of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro- SFR Yugoslav Air Force
Yugoslav Royal Air Force
References
- ^ News (2007). "Serbian AF restructures". Aircraft Illustrated. 40 (1): pp. 16.
{{cite journal}}:|last=has generic name (help);|pages=has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|quotes=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15 2007.
- ^ http://www.postchronicle.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=9&num=66222
- ^ http://www.vojska.mod.gov.yu/cir/naoruzanje/kov/pvo/Strela_10M-cir.html
- Air Forces Monthly Magazine, Aeroflight
- Vazduhoplovstvo Srbije na Solunskom frontu 1916-1918, Vladeta D. Vojinovic, 2000
- Srpska Avijatika 1912-1918; MJV, Sky, EUROSINI; 1992
- Inventory of Air Force http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/yugo/serbaf_current_inventory.htm
- http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/yugo/jkrv/yugo-af1-home.htm