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Aggression

On March 24th, around 20.00 local time first bombs and missiles struck FR Yugoslavia, signaling the start of NATO aggression - 'Operation Allied force' as NATO like to call it..

NATO stated  their aim's are to:

• prevent humanitarian disaster,
• put pressure on Yugoslavia to accept of the Rambouillet Accords.

With the attacks NATO directly violated:

• United Nation Statute by  attacking FRY without any UN resolution allowing them to use force. Further  more Yugoslavia didn't make treats or attacks on any other country,
• NATO Founding Act that states NATO mission is protection of member countries. No country was  under attack by Yugoslavia,
• Wienna Convention forbidding one state to use military force to  compel other state to sign an international agreement.

To add there wasn't any  humanitarian disaster in Yugoslavia. KLA (UCK) barricaded in some villages, there was some dead civilians in clashes with them but there wasn't door to door expulsion policy. There wasn't any refugees in Macedonia and Albania before NATO strikes.

When  NATO bomb's started to fall around and  KLA (UCK) attacked (trying to take their chance) causing ground fightings all the civilian affected fled from their homes.

Defense War

The March 24th attack came after months of open threats to FRY so VJ was on alert. Following an order from the YU AF commander, General Spasoje Smiljanic, issued on February 15, 1999 several units  were relocated, in preparation for possible war. Mobilization was set in train, sites for radar and AD missile systems were selected and surveyed, and vital equipment was stored on secret locations. Up to the beginning of the war, on March 24th, 1999 90% of material reserves and 70 % of the RV i PVO equipment had been moved from their peacetime locations. Aircraft were moved to hardened aircraft shelters and helicopters were flown camouflaged reserve airfields away from their home bases.

Air defense forces were grouped in three zones around the largest cities in Central Serbia, as well as in Vojvodina and Kososvo province.

Yugoslavia AF faced the NATO air campaign with 154 aircraft, of which only some 40 fighters and 40 fighter-bombers were fully serviceable and combat-capable, but only 14 MiG-29 fighters had any realistic combat value. Since the armament of the RV i PVO was considered obsolete for the conduct of warfare against an enemy using advanced technologies, the most important task was to protect personnel and equipment from massive losses.

NATO had approximately 365 aircraft and Fosch carrier available for Operation "Allied Force". The countries sending  their planes are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

First night

NATO strikes first began to fall on Pristina, the capital of Kosovo and Metohija province, at approximately 8.00pm. A minutes later Belgrade, capital of FRY, was targeted.

The first wave included some 70 NATO warplanes, flying 156 sorties against 40 targets (mostly IAD - Integrated Air Defense sites) throughout Yugoslavia.

At 6.50pm (5.50pm GMT) the US navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser, USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launched the first of a volley of Tomahawk Land-attack Cruise Missiles (T-LAM) toward the Adriatic coast. Within minutes, three destroyers, including the Arleigh Burke-class USS Gonazales (DDG 66), and Spruance-class USS Nicholson (DD 982) and USS Thorn (DD 982), had joined in, along with two US Navy submarines, the Los Angeles-class (Improved) USS Miami (SSN 755) and Los Angeles-class USS Norfolk (SSN 714). In addition, the British submarine HMS Splendid (S 106), made history by being the first Royal Navy ship to fire a UGM-109 submarine-launched Tomahawk in combat.

At about the same time, six of the eight American B-52Hs, which had taken off from RAF Fairford at 10.45am (GMT), reached their launch points over Adriatic Sea. An unarmed decoy and another 'spare' plane had already turned back after reaching the Mediterranean. The strike mission for this first night dictated that only six aircraft need to launch their AGM-86C Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM). A B-52 call-sign 'Havoc-12', from the 20th Bomb Squadron, home-based at Barksdale, was the first to fire AGM-86C in the war. USAF have had a lot trouble with the missiles and on this occasion they were able to launch only 27 of them. Aircraft 'Havoc-11' had trouble with two of its missiles. 'Havoc-12' then had to scramble to take its place and reload new computer data tapes into the missiles' computer memories. Even with all of this effort, 'Havoc-12', only managed to launch five of its eight missiles (they carry only eight-only internally, to protect them from environment). On the third night over Kosovo, one B-52 had failures in six of its eight missiles. 

It is estimated that out of 100 cruise missiles fired in the first week some 30 were CALCMs. That left only ~100 in USAF inventory, so Boeing is now converting  322 nuclear Air-Launched Cruise Missiles  to non-nuclear CALCM AGM-86C Block 1 and Block 1A configurations for the U.S. Air Force.

Also, at least one of Navys Tomahawk missiles failed shortly after launch and spalshed harmessly into the Adriatic.

After the cruise missile strike NATO aircraft started to poor over Yugoslavian borders with Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Hungary.

Two B-2A Spirit stealth bombers of the 509th Bomb Wing, using the call-sign 'Dart' (Vader), flew the type's first combat sortie in a 31-hour round-trip Global Power mission originating from their home base at Whitman AFB, Missouri. In fact, they made history twice in one go by also being the first aircraft to drop the GBU-29/30 2,000 lb Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) in combat. B-2 flow total of 45 missions and launched 656 JDAM's.

During the "Allied Force" operation NATO launched 218 TLAM-C/-D from 6 US Navy vessels, 2 US and one UK submarine.

First Yugoslav planes in the air were "Knights" from 127. lae with their MiG-29 (only unit operating them). From 7.00PM pilots were given "Pripravnost 1" (Alert 1), which means they were sitting in the cockpit waiting orders. 

Two MiG's were scrambled from Batajnica, near Belgrade. Almost immediately after launch from Batajnica British E-3D Sentry AWACS command and control aircraft picked them and advised 4 Dutch F-16AM. They were the first to cross into Yugoslavia as fighter escorts. AM marks that they had Mid-Life Update applied which added all-weather, night and BVR capability with AIM-120 AMRAAM. All four F-16 picked Major's Nebojša Nikolić MiG-29, serial 18111, on radar and pursued it, with lead aircraft firing AIM-120 head-on. It was a direct hit, with pilot ejecting safely. The other MiG-29, serial 18106 with Major Predrag Milutinović in cocpit, was shot down  by a USAF F-15C. 

Two MiG's were scrambled from Nis airport.  Major Aljo Arizanov aircraft, serial 18112, was destoyed by F-15C and Potpukovnik Dragan Ilić managed to land badly damaged.

Since Germany had the same type of MiG-29 for a decade NATO was expected to be successful in jamming radar and communication with GC center. Bearing that in mind and the fact of great numbers of enemy aircraft in the air backed by 4 AWACS Yugoslav pilots applied new tactics. They abandoned  usual leader-wingman formations and used fast solo dashes near ground to stay out of sight and than, when close enough to fire R-73 (AA-11),  vertical climb trying to get firing solution with KOLS laser - IR rangefinder/homing system.

Locally produced J-22 Orao fighter-bombers from 241. lbae in Ladjevci, near Kraljevo, were next to be scramled.Since they have no radar nor AA missiles they were used to shotdown cruise missiles with their cannons. Potpukovnik Života Đurić, comander of the 241. lbae Tigers, tried to ram his Orao into the attackers after being hit.

F-15C from 48th FW/USAF based at Lakenheath was forced to make an emergrncy landing at Srajevo airport due to "unspecified engine trouble".

On the 26th, MiG-29 flown by Kapetan (Captain) Zoran Radosavljević was shot down and killed, with airplane crashed in Bosnia. His wingman Potpukovnik Slobodan Perić was also shot down. 

MiG 18109 flown by, Colonel Milenko Pavlović commander of 127. LAE squadron was  shot down on 4 May 1999 by a F-15C.

A total of four Yugoslav MiG-29s were destroyed by AMRAAM missiles in aerial combat, two pilots were killed and two successfully ejected from their stricken aircraft. Two more pilots ejected from MiG-29s that had been hit under inexplicable circumstances, officially  downed by NATO, but there is a good chance that they were victims of friendly fire.

Five more MiG-29s were destroyed on the ground.

Three squadrons that were equipped with MiG-21 did not carry any combat missions, but suffered heavy losses from air strikes while dispersed on various airfields. 83rd Regiment had 37 MiG-21bis Fish bed L/Ns and MiG-21UM Mongol-Bs in two squadrons (123.lae and 124.lae). Only 11 aircraft based on Slatina, Priština airfield survived the war inside the under ground hangars.

5 pilots, that were scrambled on the first couple of days, were awarded Bravery Medals, one got Medal of Honor and two got Distinguished Service Medal.

This photo of a fully-armed Yugoslav MiG-29 was taken during the war not far from the Batajnica airbase. As you can see, the Fulcrum is using a conventional road as a take-off strip. The utility truck nearby is used to start the aircraft's engines.

F-117A Down

ADF used their weapons very selectively. They turn on their air defense system in order to engage only when a chances for a hit are good. After every launch units move to new locations. A great numbers of NATO missile were destroyed in the air by shoulder launched missiles.

For the detection of strike packages at long range, the RV i PVO relied on AN/TPS-70 radars bought from the USA in 1982. Also, older S-600 radars bought from UK was used for the same task. The safety of radar operating crews was increased by dispersing them in special shelters located several dozens of feet away from the radar head.

Completely obsolete Soviet P-12 "Spoon Rest A" and P-18 "Spoon Rest D" radars had been pulled out of the war reserves and were used to supplement the modern radars. The old radars worked in decimeter and metric frequency ranges, which were incompatible with the homing heads of HARM and ALARM anti-radiation missiles. Missiles fired by SEAD packages were falling several hundreds of feet away from radars since they could not locate the precise position of transmitting antennas. Additionally, the older radars created their beam by reflection of electro radiation of the surrounding terrain, which completely confused the sophisticated sensor of the NATO fighters. This method of surveillance allowed the use of obsolete AD radar systems against aircraft employing advanced stealth technology.

NATO laid out a comprehensive, multistage plan, the first stage of which called for neutralization of Yugoslavia’s air defenses. Several weeks into the conflict NATO was forced to scrap this plan. After a press conference, during which NATO officials announced that they are comfortable with the way Yugoslav air defenses were suppressed, the unthinkable happened: United States Air Force lost one of its F-117A Nighthawk stealth bombers on March 27th. The pilot was rescued by 21st Special Operations Squadron/352 Special Operation Group based at Tuzla (that's in Bosnia were one could find SFOR "peacekeepers"). The CSAR mission was executed by eight helicopters led by two MH-53J Pave Low III, with top cover from four F-16 and two F-15s.

F-117A was downed by the most successful air defense unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade, equipped with the Neva-M (SA-3 Goa). The same unit also hit and badly damaged one more F-117A on May 1st, whilst a USAF F-16C Fighting Falcon was destroyed on May 2nd.

Quantity and efficiency of Air Defense network, and the incapacity of  NATO to abolish it completely, led the Allies to require their aircrews to operate above or around 16 000 ft (4 875 m).

During the first months all operation above 44 North latitude were for the Americans.

Not a single NATO aircraft, even B-2 and F-117A, was allowed to theater of operation without SEAD escort.

Although decoy radar emitters were used extensively by the RV i PVO, around two-thirds of its radars were hit during NATO air strikes. The radars were kept on right up to moment when NATO aircraft entered YU air space, when they were turned of to avoid detection, but the larger stationary installations could not be moved quickly and therefore became easy victims of the attacking aircraft.

The 126th Brigade compensated for its losses by introduction surveillance radars from the Army and Navy, as well as from civilian meteorological stations.

Part 2

Last Modified: 20.02.03 12:52

© Copyright: Dragan Kostadinov