FR Yugoslav Strike Mission

FR Yugoslav Strike Mission
Part of the Kosovo War
File:J22yu.jpg FR Yugoslav Air Force J-22 Orao taking flight for attacks on KLA insurgents, 1999
Date 1999 – June 10, 1999 Location Pristina, Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia Result FR Yugoslav Air Force success, weakening of the KLA
Belligerents
FR Yugoslav Air Force	Kosovo Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
None	Agim Çeku
Strength
Around 10 to 15 aircraft	Unknown number of insurgents
Casualties and losses
One J-22 Orao shot down One pilot KIA	A number of insurgents killed Two command bases destroyed

The FR Yugoslav Strike Mission was an objective executed by the FR Yugoslav Air Force around the Kosovo War and ended on June 10, 1999 when the Yugoslav Army was withdrawn from Kosovo.

Mission

The FR Yugoslav Air Force had flown a dozen sorties, in all, against KLA targets around Kosovo at treetop level, mainly in Priština. Most of the aircraft involved were J-22 Orao's attacking KLA insurgents by bombing. One J-22 Orao crashed into a hill after being shot down by a KLA insurgent armed with a Strela-2 on March 25, 1999 killing the the pilot, Lt. Colonel Života Ðurić, listed as killed in action. A number of KLA insurgents were killed at a small base in Pristina by a J-22 Orao that dropped a small amount of cluster munitions on the base. Agim Çeku, who was the KLA commander at the time was regrouping a KLA Anti-Aircraft team to shoot down the aircraft, to no avail. The rest of the objective was to shatter the strength of the KLA which proved to be successful by destroying two bases and killing a number of well trained insurgents. However, from March 24, 1999, with the arrival of NATO aircraft, most of the missions had to be cut back because of the superior numbers and quality of NATO aircraft, such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon. No contact was made between J-22 Oraos and NATO forces, but the KLA still presented easy targets.

Aftermath

On June 10, 1999, Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian President, signed the Kumanovo Treaty, forcing the Yugoslav Army and Special Anti-Terrorism Military Force to retreat from Kosovo. Federal Republic of Yugoslav Air Force attack aircraft also returned to Batajnica Air Base.

External links

• example.com