The topic of losses in any war is extremely sensitive and controversial. However, it is the contradictions in the assessments that make it possible to get a more or less complete picture of this. Many years have passed since the NATO war against Yugoslavia. A huge war machine crashed into Yugoslavia, whose entire population was less than the number of inhabitants in New York alone. The operation, codenamed "Allied Force", was doomed to success. In this article, I would like to answer at least briefly the question: was the victory really bloodless for the Americans and other members of the coalition?
According to official reports of representatives of the NATO military command, the operation against Yugoslavia was bloodless: the Yugoslav air defense managed to shoot down only a few aircraft in 78 days of air raids - in short, a complete triumph. This was believed not only in NATO countries, but practically all over the world. It was only after the end of hostilities that the scale of allied losses and the effectiveness of the actions of NATO troops began to gradually become clear. In turning their losses into "invisible", the corresponding NATO structures turned out to be much more effective than the American "stealth" stealth vehicles shot down by the Yugoslav anti-aircraft gunners. But part of the truth still came out.
On the Yugoslav side, the data were given by the Air Force command, in whose subordination were the air defense forces. In addition to them, the air defense of the ground forces and the air defense of the Separate Pristina Corps, deployed in Kosovo and Metohija (directly subordinate to Belgrade), also worked. According to Yu. P. Savelyev, who was in the theater of operations, the Yugoslavs shot down 115 NATO manned aircraft. An additional incentive for the SFRY to hide its successes may be that some of the ejected NATO pilots from downed planes were killed by local residents (whom they had bombed before) before falling into the hands of the Serb military police - and this may already be declared a "war crime ".
Here are the data from the Yugoslav side: 61 aircraft, 7 helicopters, 30 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and 238 cruise missiles. It is possible, of course, to argue that this is all Yugoslav propaganda, but why, then, is the data on NATO losses given by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian army close to the data of the Yugoslavs? The GRU data, published in a number of Russian newspapers, were obtained from radio-technical intelligence, from reconnaissance satellites and ships located in the Mediterranean Sea. Our GRU, given the official position of the political leadership of Russia, simply could not participate in the propaganda actions of the Yugoslav military. This means that these data are close to true. Similar figures for NATO aviation losses are quoted by Chinese military sources.
But the most important thing is that both NATO officials themselves and some Western newspapers were constantly talking about the real losses (control over them was not so tight). For example, at the very beginning of the war, British Defense Secretary Robertson admitted the loss of three British Tornado fighter-bombers in the skies over Yugoslavia, but they were "forgotten" in the final NATO loss summary. Some independent think tanks in the West did not share the official optimism either. So, the American International Association for Strategic Studies, after only the first month of hostilities (and in total they lasted more than two and a half months), claimed that the losses of the Allied aircraft were already 38 aircraft, 6 helicopters and 7 UAVs. These data coincide with the data of the SFRY Air Force for April 1999. True, after the end of the war, this association did not publish the final data on losses - apparently, it did not want to discredit its reputation with the NATO "officialdom", and it was "advised" not to give the real figures. There are a lot of such examples, but you can use another approach, so to speak, "the method of circumstantial evidence".
For example, NATO has officially recognized the loss of 32 UAVs (even more than the figure given by the Yugoslavs). And this is psychologically understandable. You can not hide the loss of unmanned aircraft, because this is not associated with the loss of pilots, and the Western armies have a lot of equipment. But it is the data on the UAV losses that make it possible to judge the rather high efficiency of the Yugoslav air defense. After all, it is sometimes even more difficult to shoot down a UAV than a manned aircraft. Despite the low flight speed, the UAV has a small radar scattering surface, which makes it extremely difficult to use radar-guided anti-aircraft missiles against them, the thermal radiation of the vehicles is also very small and therefore infrared-guided anti-aircraft missile systems are also not very effective, their small size reduces the possibility of destruction artillery fire. So the large losses of NATO UAVs are a sign of the effectiveness of the Yugoslav air defense systems. But it concerns not only unmanned aircraft!
One of the arguments of NATO propaganda was that the Yugoslavs were unable to present the wreckage of the downed aircraft. But the Allied aviation operated at an altitude of 4-15 km. Yugoslavia is a small country, and a wrecked plane does not always fall like a stone down, it can sometimes cover a fairly significant distance from the site of defeat. Downed vehicles from such a height could fall on the territory of neighboring NATO-allied countries, or into the Adriatic Sea. However, the Yugoslavs nevertheless demonstrated the remains of several NATO aircraft, and among them there was one "invisible".
With these "stealth" the Americans generally got a complete embarrassment. The US Air Force received an entire fleet of F-117 fighters, manufactured using stealth radar technology. A huge amount of money was spent on this. But it turned out that the Soviet radars in service with the Yugoslav army quite easily detect "invisibles". After the loss of three "stealth" the command of the US Air Force ordered to cease their combat use. The Yugoslavs have proved that the "invisible" are only suitable for filming Hollywood blockbusters about the invincibility of American aviation.
The Yugoslavs have developed cheap and effective means of dealing with low-flying cruise missiles. Against them, in addition to traditional air defense systems, the now almost forgotten air barrage balloons and nets lifted into the air by them were quite successfully used.
At the same time, after the end of hostilities, Western military experts admitted that the losses of the Yugoslav army were minimal. For example, in Kosovo, NATO members found the remains of a large number of dummies and wooden mock-ups of tanks, armored personnel carriers and guns, which were hit during air strikes. It turns out that, spending a large amount of high-precision weapons (and the war against Yugoslavia alone cost half a billion dollars a day to the Americans), the NATO troops hit wooden and inflatable dummies of military equipment that cost almost nothing to the Yugoslavs. The only thing that the Americans and their satellites have succeeded in is strikes on cities, bridges, power plants, that is, the defeat of the civilian population.
Little Yugoslavia has shown the world that even the colossal military machine of NATO and the United States can be successfully countered. And the West has shown that in matters of propaganda and psychological warfare, it is worthily continuing the work of Dr. Goebbels.
The only thing that is bad for the NATO members themselves is that the same Americans believed that, since the days of Desert Storm, they have won only easy and bloodless victories. But everyone who knows modern history well will remember that the last indisputable military victory of the Americans was achieved by them together with their allies in the anti-Hitler coalition. Then there were either defeats (Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and many "hot spots" of the Third World), or "Pyrrhic victories" (the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans). But America is convinced that all she did was win. And it looks like the Americans will have to pay dearly for this illusion.
And here are some very interesting facts (From the book by P. Lytkin "Handbook on the armed forces of the countries of the Balkan region"):
On March 24, 1999, an aircraft was shot down in the area of Mount Chichavitsa at 20-30. In the area of Tigel, a MiG-29 at 20-35 (pilot Nebojsa Nikolic) shot down a NATO aircraft (possibly an F-16) with a missile. The plane crashed into the sea, the pilot was rescued by a French deck helicopter. A Luftwaffe Tornado plane was shot down at Mount Yastrebats. Crew hand-picked by a rescue helicopter (SFOR). In the area of Lazarevac, Slobodan Perich's fighter attacked a NATO plane (possibly an F-16). The fate of the attacked vehicle is unknown. A Royal Air Force "Tornado" was shot down over Kosovo at 21:30. The crew landed in an OAK-controlled area and evacuated to Macedonia.
On March 25, 1999, the Greek military radio networks at about 00-00 recorded two Mayday signals sent by NATO aircraft. After midnight, an F-15 aircraft landed at the Railovac airfield in the vicinity of Sarajevo. The car was smoking heavily. In the area of Fruska Gora at 23-00 F / A-18 "Hornet" was struck, fell 11 km south of Rum. Around midnight, a NATO plane was shot down in the area between Pristina and Poduyevo.
On March 26, 1999, in the area of Donja Trnov, 15 km south-west of Bielena (Republika Srpska), an F-15 of the US Air Force fell at 17-20, the pilot was killed. NATO officials claimed it was a JNA Air Force MiG-21.
On March 27, 1999, the shot down "Tornado" of the Luftwaffe fell on the Malien Mountain at 01-00, two pilots ejected and were taken prisoner near the town of Chachak (the village of Konevichi). A NATO plane was shot down in the vicinity of Pecs. In the area between Vrutak and Kremna, near the town of Uzice, a plane was shot down. An SFOR helicopter with 22 soldiers on board was shot down between Vrutak and Kremna at 03-20. The helicopter attacked an infantry unit of the JNA, but was shot down by a MANPADS missile. All 21 people on board were killed. To the north of Sambor, a NATO plane was shot down, there is no data on its fate. The Greek military radio networks recorded three Mayday signals. The first was the Danish F-16, the other was the US Air Force F-15 and the third was the French Mirage. General Jankovic said that a Canadian F / A-18 Hornet was shot down near the Macedonian border at 15-50. The car crashed in Macedonia. A plane was shot down near the village of Budanovtsi at 17-00. Near Budanovtsy in 20-55 was shot down by an F-117A air defense missile system "Cub". The pilot, Captain Ken "Wiz" Dvili, ejected and called in rescuers. At about 11:55 pm, an SFOR rescue helicopter carrying a rescue team and Captain Dvili was shot down by infantry fire combing the area around the F-117 crash, killing all NATO troops on board.
On March 28, 1999, in the area of Uglevik Most, an F-15 of the US Air Force was shot down at 02-50, the pilot was killed, some sources claim that it was an F-117A. In the area of Uglevik at 03-00 a rescue helicopter SFOR HH-60 "Pave Hawk" with 12 members of the rescue group was shot down. Only two people survived and were taken prisoner. A NATO plane was shot down in the area of Loznice, the pilot ejected. In the area of Pristina at 23-50 a plane was shot down. In the area of Mount Pastrik, near Prizren, a NATO plane was shot down at 23-55.
On March 29, 1999, after midnight near the city of Pale (Republika Srpska), a damaged F-15 (or F-16) of the US Air Force fell. The pilot ejected but was later found dead. After midnight, a UAV was shot down over N / N Gakovo (near Sambor).
On March 30, 1999 near Varpazar at about 01-00 a British vertical take-off aircraft "Harrier" was shot down by a missile. The pilot ejected and was captured. A plane was shot down near Vranye at 16:30. The pilot ejected. At night, a plane was shot down over Prizren, fell in the area of Mount Cer (mountain range Cer Planina). A UAV was shot down over Aleksinats at night.
On March 31, 1999, a NATO plane was shot down near the town of Gnilane (Kosovo). Fell in Macedonia. Near Sirot, north of Novi Sad, a Luftwaffe Tornado was shot down. Two pilots were taken prisoner.
On April 1, 1999, a NATO plane was shot down near Mount Tara at 01-00 (the pilot apparently survived and gave a distress signal). At 01-30, two CH-53 "Stallion" helicopters with 58 crew members and paratroopers from the SFOR were shot down near Mount Tara. All died. F-117A made an emergency landing at the Pleso airfield (Zagreb) at about 03-00.
On April 3, 1999, during the attack on the "Freedom Bridge" in Novi Sad at 19-45, a NATO plane was shot down. The car fell near the village. Stara Pazova. The pilot is captured. At night over the town of Banja Luka, many witnesses saw a heavily smoking F-16.
On April 4, 1999, after midnight near Uzice, the JNA air defense knocked out an F / A-18 "Hornet". The plane dropped two full outboard fuel tanks (they exploded upon falling) and touched the wing behind the power line. It is unknown if he fell.
On April 5, 1999 in the afternoon in the Pancevo area between the villages of Dolovo and Batansko-Novo-Selo, a plane was shot down. At about midnight in the Fruska Gora area, during an attack on the Crveni Kot TV tower, a NATO plane was shot down. They claim to be F-117A. The pilot ejected and landed near the village of Remete. Around midnight, during the attack on the Zhejel Bridge in Novi Sad, a Luftwaffe Tornado was shot down and two pilots were captured.
On April 6, 1999, after midnight, an aircraft was shot down during an attack on the Petrovaradinsky Bridge. The pilot ejected, landed at the Pobeda plant and was taken prisoner. After midnight a plane was shot down over Pristina; it crashed near Mount Cer, near Skopje. After midnight south of Fruska Gora, two NATO helicopters with a rescue team were shot down. After midnight, a plane was shot down near the village of Svinyare, near Kosovski Mitrovica. Before midnight, two search and rescue helicopters with 40 commandos on board were shot down near Skopská Crna Gora, no one was saved. At the same time, a NATO search and rescue helicopter with 20 servicemen on board, including a rescued pilot, was shot down on the Yugoslav-Albanian border in Montenegro. All died.
04/06/99 at 23:30 Vozdovac area, Belgrade. Air battle between MiG-21 and American F-15, American shot down.
On April 7, 1999, in the evening over Pristina, a NATO plane was shot down and fell in Macedonia. An American Hunter UAV was shot down over Pristina before midnight. Before midnight, a plane was shot down near the Lig (Lik) n / a.
On April 8, 1999, after midnight, a Luftwaffe Tornado was shot down near Nis. Both pilots were captured. Before midnight, a plane was shot down near Kraljevo.
On April 10, 1999, an aircraft was shot down in the Suva-Reka area at 15-45. Before midnight, a plane was shot down in the Niš area.
On April 11, 1999, in the Bachki-Brestovac area, near Crvenka, an F-16 was shot down at 00-12. After midnight near the village of Kolesya, near Tuzla, a plane crashed.
April 12, 1999 In front of the village of Osmanovichi, near Tuzla, the British Sea Harrier fell at 21:00. The pilot was killed. The car was hit over Zrenyanin, threw off the suspension, tanks, but still fell. Before midnight, a CL-289 German UAV was shot down in Kosovo.
On April 13, 1999, after midnight, a plane was shot down near the Batainitsa airbase.
After midnight, a plane was shot down near Yabuk, north of Pancevo. At the same time, a plane crashed near Gorazde. The pilot was killed. At the same time, a plane crashed near the village of Kadyana Chesma near Tuzla. At the same time, a plane was shot down near Bela Crkva, near Vrsac.
On April 14, 1999, in the morning in Kosovo-Pole, a CL-289 UAV of the FRG army was shot down. In the afternoon, a damaged F-15 crashed near the Yugoslav-Romanian border. The car dropped two fuel tanks and went into Romanian territory. There is no data on her fate. In Sirig, north of Novi Sad, a plane was shot down at 10:00. The pilot was taken prisoner. A plane was shot down near Belgrade at 10:05.
On April 15, 1999, a plane crashed near Mount Bielashnica, Bosnia, at 3:00. An airplane was shot down near Priboi. Near Podgorica, a battery of anti-aircraft guns "Bofors" under the command of Lieutenant Zdravko Bankovic shot down the plane "Tornado" at 19:30. The car fell into Lake Skador. Bankovich's battery shot down a Mirage 2000 of the French Air Force at 19:35. The car fell in the Rumian mountains. The pilot was taken prisoner. Near Podgorica, the gunner of the Strela-2M MANPADS, Predrag Dzhonich, shot down a NATO plane at 19:45. The pilot ejected and was captured near the village of Kruse. Before midnight at the Petrovac airfield (Skopje), a NATO plane crashed while landing, badly damaged by two MANPADS missiles.
On April 16, 1999, south of Kosovo, MANPADS gunner Dragan Petrovic shot down an A-10. The plane crashed in Macedonia at the Debelde border post.
On April 17, 1999 near Miloshev Dol near Priepol at 11:00, the Sea Harrier may have been shot down. A plane was shot down near Uroševac at 16:30. The car fell in the depths of the Macedonian territory, 4 km from the village of Tanushevtsi. Near the village of Cherevich, Fruska-Gora, at 22:10 a "Tornado" was hit. The car went into Croatian airspace, then fell.
On April 18, 1999, a UAV was shot down over Pristina at 2:00. Tornado was shot down over Mount Povlen at 3:00. The plane crashed near Sarajevo near Skelani (Republika Srpska). An F-16 exploded in the air near Pristina at 16:00. A NATO plane exploded over Pristina at 16:03. At 19:00 near Pristina, a plane crashed on Mount Chichavica. Before midnight, a damaged Danish F-16 MANPADS crashed while landing at the Railovac airfield. An American Predator UAV crashed near Tuzla at midnight. A NATO plane was shot down in the area of the Yalovsky Kamen near Tetovo at 22:30.
On April 19, 1999, before midnight near the village of Yagunovtsy near Tetovo, a German CL-289 UAV was shot down. A NATO plane was shot down near Veliki Yastrebac at 23:00. A search and rescue helicopter with a rescue team was shot down in the Veliki Yastrebac area before midnight. A plane was shot down in the Uroševac area at 23:15.
On April 20, 1999, near the Rudnik mountain, near the village of Topola, a plane was shot down at 2:30. Near the Rudnik mountain, near the village of Chumich, a plane was shot down at 3:15. A UAV was shot down over Gorne Stanovice, near Vucitrn at 19:00. Around midnight, in the Biochik area, two fuel tanks from an F-15 were found, shot through by shells.
On April 21, 1999, after midnight, a NATO plane was damaged near Fruska Gora. Its fragments were found. Presumably, the plane left in the direction of Croatia, where it crashed.
On April 22, 1999, at about midnight near the village of Sonsha, near Apatin, a US UAV was shot down. The wreckage of an aircraft was found near Kursumliya at 18:00.
On April 23, 1999 near Pristina at 14:00 the plane was damaged. The car went to Albania, where it most likely crashed. At n / a Orlane, 15 km north-west of Pristina, at 15:10 a plane was shot down.
On April 24, 1999, near Pristina, near the village of Bushine, a NATO plane crashed at 14:45. Around midnight, a plane crashed near Pristina, near Laple Selo. A UAV was shot down over Boka Kotorska. A plane was shot down over Mount Kukavitsa, near Leskovac. The pilot was taken prisoner.
On April 25, 1999, at about midnight near Pristina, near the village of Lipovitsa, a plane crashed. The AN-64 "Apache" helicopter was shot down and captured by the JNA forces in Kosovo. In the area of Novi Sad, a low-flying aircraft was damaged by air defense forces. The car was enveloped in smoke and went outside the Yugoslav territory.
On April 26, 1999, an AN-64 helicopter crashed 40 km north-east of Tirana at 22:00. The crew probably survived. Most likely, the helicopter was killed in the attack of the Koshara border post.
On April 27, 1999, a NATO plane was damaged over Fruska Gora at 1:45. He dropped bombs on the Croatian village of the Executioner near Osijek. A plane crashed near the Petrovac airfield (Skopje) at 10:57 am. A NATO plane was shot down near Prokuplje at 17:00. The pilot landed in the forest on Mount Pashacha, near Prokuplje. The wreckage of the plane was found in the area of Mount Pashacha. At 18:00, the wreckage of the plane was found near Prokuplje, not far from Berilier. A plane was shot down over Mount Zlatibor. The pilot ejected.
On April 28, 1999 near Podgorica at 14:00 a plane was shot down, the pilot ejected. A plane was shot down near Berane at 14:30. Around midnight, a plane was shot down near the village of Norovo, near Krushevo, Macedonia. Two pilots ejected and landed in the forest at the treetops. Rescued by NATO rescue teams helicopters. In the afternoon, near the villages of Velika Sabatna and Gornya Pchelitsa, a NATO plane flying at low altitude was damaged. The pilot dropped bombs and hanging tanks on the village of Crni Vrn.
On April 29, 1999, a plane crashed near the Macedonian-Albanian border near the town of Debar. Near Vodno, near Skopje, a plane crashed at 11:00. Not far from Zemun, according to eyewitnesses, two planes were shot down at about 1:40. At 11:00 near the village. Samokov, 40 km southeast of Skopje, two charred corpses of pilots were found. In the Pancevo area at 16:05, eyewitnesses saw the fall of two NATO planes. The information was reported on the local TV Studio-B. One pilot allegedly ejected. Near the village of Bystrica, near Veles (Macedonia), according to eyewitnesses, a NATO plane, smoking, dropped two missiles and disappeared behind the mountain. Soon there was an explosion.
On April 30, 1999, a plane was shot down to the south of Niš. In the area of the village of Gorska, 20 km south-west of Belgrade, at 23:15, eyewitnesses saw parachutes.
On May 1, 1999, an aircraft was shot down at 14:15 over the Adriatic Sea, 40 km from the coast of the FRY. The pilot ejected.
On May 2, 1999, an American F-16C was shot down near the village of Nakuchani, southwest of Sabac. The pilot is picked up by the search and rescue team. At 4:00 am, two search and rescue helicopters with rescued pilots were shot down near the village of Nakuchani. An A-10 made an emergency landing near the Petrovac airfield. Many saw that the right wing and engine of the plane were destroyed by a rocket explosion. Rockets hung on the pylons, creating panic among the population. The pilot was apparently injured. After 40 minutes, the plane was towed to the hangar of the Petrovatsky airfield.
On May 3, 1999 in Novi Sad, during an attack on a television center, at 21:45, an airplane was damaged. Black smoke was coming from the fuselage. The plane crashed in the immediate vicinity.
On May 5, 1999, near Banja Bast, a damaged aircraft in the FRY crashed at 1:30 in Bosnia. In the morning, an AN-64 was shot down 75 km north-west of Tirana. The pilot was killed by the JNA air defense artillery fire. NATO believes that the AN-64 was shot down by a MANPADS missile. A plane was shot down at Valeno at 12:10. The pilot ejected. A plane fell into Lake Ohridskoye. NATO divers were looking for its wreckage.
On May 6, 1999, at midnight, a UAV was shot down over the village of Presevo. The wreckage was found in the Bujanovac-Presevo area.
On May 7, 1999, during the attack of the Serb Irishka Venac at 14:35, the plane was damaged. The car, smoking, went to Sabatsu.
On May 11, 1999, near the village of Gruzha, 15 km southeast of Kragujevac, at 11:40 a plane fell on the Gledichke mountain.
On May 12, 1999, near the village of Vakshinche, not far from Kumanovo, witnesses saw one of the four planes suddenly crash during a low-altitude flight.
On May 13, 1999, near Nové Pazove, at 4:25 am, one plane was damaged. At 12:00 a French UAV CL-289 was shot down near the village of Klokot, near Vitna. The case is described by Serbian television. An American Boeing UAV was shot down near Mokra Gora, near the village of Istok, north-west of Pech.
On May 14, 1999, in the area of Rudnik Mountain, two NATO aircraft were shot down by air defense forces. The pilots dropped the outboard tanks and left for Bosnia. In the area of Dyakovitsa, in the afternoon, it was beaten by the Yugoslav air defense A-10. The attack aircraft fell near Mount Cer, not far from the Albanian border. Air defense forces shot down a NATO plane over Nis at 19:00. The pilot ejected and landed near the village of Brenice. The pilot is captured. The incident was confirmed by witnesses and the police.
On May 16, 1999, a CL-289 UAV was shot down over Kosovo. In the afternoon, a NATO plane was shot down near the village of Izvor, near Beles (Macedonia). The pilot ejected and landed near the village of Chuka. The incident was confirmed by witnesses and the police.
On May 17, 1999 on the Pester plateau a US aircraft was shot down.
On May 19, 1999, an American Predator UAV was shot down near the village of Talinovets at 17:00. A UAV was shot down over Uroševac at about 19:00. Fell on the territory of the city.
On May 20, 1999, a NATO plane was shot down near the village of Ojacha at 2:00. 25 km south of Belgrade at 3:00 (or 1:00), a B-2A stealth bomber was shot down over Surcin (tail number AF-8 88-0329 "Spirit of Missury"), B-2A was shot down anti-aircraft missile into the cockpit area and fell shortly thereafter. The crew (4 people) was killed. The incident has been confirmed by many witnesses. At about 3:00 am, two NATO planes, probably F-15s, accompanying the bombers, were shot down. Near the village of Gradishte, 22 km west of Niš, an aircraft, probably an F-16, was shot down at 3:35. A NATO rescue helicopter with a rescue squad was shot down at 3:30. A UAV was shot down over the Slatina (Pristina) airfield at 15:10. MiG-29 pilot Iliya Arizanov shot down a NATO plane (possibly F-117) over Kosovo.
In total, by May 20, during the aggression against Yugoslavia, the NATO bloc lost 109 aircraft (certainly shot down), another 15 aircraft were shot down, probably 12 aircraft were damaged. 16 helicopters and 18 UAVs were shot down, as well as 164 Tomahawk cruise missiles (these episodes are not included in this document).
Among the destroyed - one "invisible" aircraft B-2 "Spirit", three or four F-117A (one more damaged), 10 "Tornado", eight F-16 (one more damaged), five F-15 (still two damaged), three A-10 (one more damaged), two Mirage-2000, five Harrier (Sea Harrier / AB-8B). From helicopters: two MH-53 "Stallion", one NN-60 "Pave Havk", three AN-64 "Apache" (one more damaged).
Losses in personnel among pilots and rescue teams amounted to 313 people. Including 247 killed and 66 missing. To this must be added the 19 corpses of American servicemen, who were secretly sent home through the 424th military hospital in Thessaloniki on 8 April. The total number of dead and missing was 332 people by 20.05.99. In captivity there are 30 NATO troops, including at least eight Germans, one French, one or two British. Among those shot down were two Danish F-16s, at least one Danish pilot was killed.
According to information received later, the following facts were established:
On June 7, 1999, a B-52 was shot down over Kosovo. On April 18, 1999, a group of JNA Air Force planes carried out a bomb attack on the Tuzla airfield (BiH), as a result of which 17 aircraft and 3 rescue helicopters were destroyed on the ground. NATO air defense forces shot down a J-22 "Ogao", which took part in the raid (Colonel Mikhailo V. died), and knocked out a MiG-21 piloted by Major M. Zelko, but the pilot was able to land the plane 10 km from the Ponikwe airbase. On April 26, 1999, a group of four Yugoslav G-4 attack aircraft from the Golubovac airbase struck at the Rinas airbase (Albania), as a result 12 AN-64 helicopters were damaged and destroyed (3 destroyed, 9 damaged). Air defense forces shot down 2 G-4s, but the pilots managed to eject and escape. On the night of June 11-12, 1999, an American special purpose aircraft MS-130 "Combat Talon" with a group of 40 British servicemen from one of the SAS regiments in the amount of 40 people crashed on takeoff under unknown circumstances. All commandos and crew members were killed. The plane was supposed to throw out the SAS group in Kosovo in order to carry out sabotage tasks. In addition, it was established that among the downed NATO aircraft were 5 F-4 aircraft and 2 Polish MiG-29 aircraft. The number of downed UAVs was 30 units, 238 cruise missiles. As a result of the hostilities, Yugoslavia lost 576 military personnel killed and missing. Including 462 people - JNA and 114 people - the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Lost 5 tanks, and 8 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. In addition to the already named 4 MiG-29s, 1 MiG-21, the Air Force lost. The civilian casualties in Yugoslavia amounted to more than two thousand dead and seven thousand injured.
I wonder how the US population would react if such statistics were officially recognized?
