Serbian Air Force - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence is the air force

Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization 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 army, navy or...

of Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Established in 1912, it is one of the oldest air forces in the world.

History

In 1912, a group of Serbian officers were sent to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

for flight training. Serbia ordered several Blériot XI-2

Blériot XI

The Blériot XI is the aircraft in which, on 25 July 1909, Louis Blériot made the first flight across the English Channel made in a heavier-than-air aircraft . This achievement is one of the most famous accomplishments of the early years of aviation, and not only won Blériot a lasting place in...

aircraft by act of Marshal Radomir Putnik

Radomir Putnik

Radomir Putnik, also known as Vojvoda Putnik, OSS OCT OKS GCMG was a Serbian Field Marshal and Chief of General Staff in the Balkan Wars and World War I, and took part in all wars that Serbia waged from 1876 to 1917.-Biography:...

. Subsequently, the military at this time established its air force command centre in the city Niš

Niš

Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...

. This made Serbia

Kingdom of Serbia

The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...

, one of the first 15 states in the world to have an air force. On 30 September 1915, during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Serbian Air Defence members shot down the first enemy aircraft over the city of Kragujevac

Kragujevac

Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...

. This day was, by the act of King Aleksandar I

Alexander I of Yugoslavia

Alexander I , also known as Alexander the Unifier was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:...

, proclaimed the Air Defence Artillery Division’s day. Front-line Serbian-French joint escadrilles formed in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

, 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. This occurred during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

. The 3rd battalion of the 250th Air Defense Brigade shot down a F-117 stealth fighter using a S-125 Neva missile.

Role

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

Aircraft

The air force fleet consists of several Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

combat aircraft, consisting of a number of MiG-21s, and MiG-29

Mikoyan MiG-29

The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other...

s. 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
Novi Avion
|-See also:-References:* Newspaper article on Novi Avion* Aerosvet Magazine* Jane's All the World's Aircraft...

" 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

Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control

Agreement on Sub-Regional Arms Control is an agreement signed on June 14, 1996 in Florence, Italy, that limits the number of tanks, armored combat vehicles , artillery, combat aircraft and attack helicopters that the parties to the agreement can possess...

was enacted in 1996, dozens of J-22s

Soko J-22 Orao

The Soko J-22 Orao is a twin-engined, subsonic, close support, ground-attack and tactical reconnaissance aircraft, with secondary capability as a low level interceptor. It was designed as a single-seat main attack version or as a combat capable two-seat version for advanced flying and weapon...

, J-21s

Soko J-21 Jastreb

|-See also:...

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

Fire-and-forget

Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military uses the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target or wire guidance , and can hit its target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the...

ability. The air force has upgraded "Neva-M" to the "Neva-M1T" standard.

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

Multirole combat aircraft

A multirole combat aircraft is an aircraft designed to act in at least two different roles in combat. The primary role is usually a fighter—hence, it is as often called a multirole fighter—while the secondary role is usually air-to-surface attack. More roles are added, such as air reconnaissance,...

to replace its aging fleet of MiG-21

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...

s, still serving as Serbia's primary dogfight

Dogfight

A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...

er. Officials have not yet announced a tender but have expressed interest in several aircraft.

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
- 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
- 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
- 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)
- Command Company
- 20th ASEWG Battalion
- 31st ASEWG Battalion
- Air Maintenance and Supply Company

Aircraft inventory

! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Photo
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"| Variants
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: lightsteelblue;"|Notes
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

|-----
| MiG-29

Mikoyan MiG-29

|
|
| Fighter
Trainer
| MiG-29B / L-18
MiG-29UB / NL-18
| 3
1
|
|-----
| MiG-21
|
|
| Fighter
Trainer
Recon
| MiG-21bis / L-17
MiG-21UM / NL-16
| 31
| Two tasked with QRA.
|
|-----
|-! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Ground attack aircraft
Ground attack aircraft
Ground-attack aircraft are military aircraft with primary role of attacking targets on the ground with greater precision than bombers and prepared to face stronger low-level air defense...

|-----
| J-22

Soko J-22 Orao

|
| Attack
Attack – Trainer
| J-22
NJ-22
| 33
|
|
|-----
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Transport aircraft
Airlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...

|-----
| An-2

Antonov An-2

The Antonov An-2 is a single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft designed in the USSR in 1946...

|
|
| Utility
| An-2TD1 / T-71
| 1
|
|-----
| An-26

Antonov An-26

The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the USSR from 12 March 1968.-Development:...

|
|
| Transport
| An-26B / T-70
| 14
| 2 refurbished, others grounded.
|-----
| Yak-40

Yakovlev Yak-40

The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...

|
|
| Transport
| Yak-40
| 2
|
|-
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="7" | Trainer aircraft
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...

|-----
| Utva 75
|

|
| Basic trainer
| V-53
| 12
| To be replaced with Lasta 95

Utva Lasta

-See also:-References:*Taylor, John W R. . Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988...

.
|-----
| G-4
|
|
| Ground attack
Jet trainer
| G-4 / N-62
G-4Š / N-62Š
G-4T / N-62T
G-4M / N-62M
| 21
2
1
1
|
|-----
| Lasta 95

Utva Lasta

-See also:-References:*Taylor, John W R. . Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988...

Aérospatiale Gazelle

The Aérospatiale Gazelle is a five-seat light helicopter, powered by a single turbine engine. It was designed and manufactured in France by Sud Aviation . It was also manufactured under licence by Westland Aircraft in the United Kingdom , by SOKO in Yugoslavia and ABHCO in Egypt...

|
| /
| Attack
Utility
| HN-42M/45
HO-42/HI-42/HO-45
| 61
|
|-----
| Mi-8

Mil Mi-8

The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....

/Mi-17

Mil Mi-17

The Mil Mi-17 is a Russian helicopter currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude...

Air Defence

Model	Image	Type	Origin	Variants
2K12 Kub		Surface to air missile		Kub-M
S-125 Neva/Pechora		Surface to air missile

}

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

Grey

Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...

colour variations of light and dark for contrast, these roundels have most recently been placed on refurbished MiG-29

Mikoyan MiG-29

s. Most other aircraft continue to use the standard coloured roundel.

Ranks

	Generals				Officers

Ranks in Serbian	Генерал General	Генерал-Потпуковник General-Potpukovnik	Генерал-Мајор General-Major	Бригадни Генерал Brigadni General	Пуковник Pukovnik	Потпуковник Potpukovnik	Мајор Major	Капетан Kapetan	Поручник Poručnik	Потпоручник Potporučnik
Ranks	General General A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....	Lieutenant General Lieutenant General Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....	Major General Major General Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...	Brigadier General Brigadier General Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...	Colonel Colonel Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...	Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...	Major Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...	Captain	Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...	Second Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

	NCOs					Soldiers

Ranks in Serbian	Заставник I класе Zastavnik I klase	Заставник Zastavnik	Старији Водник I класе Stariji Vodnik I klase	Старији Водник Stariji Vodnik	Водник Vodnik	Млађи водник Mlađi vodnik	Десетар Desetar	Разводник Razvodnik
Ranks	Warrant Officer Warrant Officer A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first... , 1st class	Warrant Officer Warrant Officer A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...	Senior Sergeant 1st class	Senior Sergeant	Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....	Junior Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....	Corporal Corporal Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....	Private 1st class Private (rank) A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

External links

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