From the remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro on May 20, 1992, the so-called "small" Yugoslavia - the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed.
Air Force and Air Defense of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992-1999)
Parts of the former JNA were reorganized into the Armed Forces of the FRY. Airplanes and helicopters received new identification marks, immediately mockingly called by the pilots "Pepsi-Cola".
From June to September 1992, the Air Force and Air Defense were reorganized. Previously, the Air Force and Air Defense included mixed corps, consisting of aviation and air defense units. Now a separate aviation corps and an air defense corps were formed, which together made up the air force and air defense. Brigades appeared instead of regiments. All fighters were concentrated in the 204th and 83rd Aviation Brigades, but in 1994 the brigades again became regiments. In the same 1994, four squadrons of fighters were transferred to the air defense corps from the aviation corps - one armed with the MiG-29, and three on the MiG-21.
However, the new Air Force was only a pale shadow of the JNA Air Force, so, in 1991, the SFRY Air Force was based at 20 main airfields, by 1999 the Serbian aviation had only five bases left.
The sanctions and provisions of the arms reduction treaties led by 1995 to a significant reduction in the aircraft fleet. In the mid-90s, 16 MiG-21 PFM interceptors, four MiG-21MF fighters, four MiG-21 U twin-packs, five MiG-21 US and five MiG-21P reconnaissance aircraft were removed from the Yugoslav Air Force's armament. The Dayton Accords limited the numerical strength of the Yugoslav Air Force to 155 combat aircraft. To comply with the restrictions, the Serbs had to remove weapons from a number of G-4 Super Galeb aircraft, after which they received the designation N-62S.
The armament consisted mainly of outdated equipment of the second generation, and the purchase of a new one was ruled out due to the sanctions imposed by the "world community". For example, the "age" of the radar was from 13 to 30 years.
Radar S-605
The air defense had the Kvadrat and Neva-M air defense systems.
SAM S-125 "Neva-M" Air Defense of the FRY
The backbone of fighter aviation was the MiG-21bis, while the MiG-29 was in service with only one squadron.
In 1996, Russia offered to deliver 20 MiG-29 fighters, as well as the S-300 air defense system to Yugoslavia as part of the repayment of the USSR's debt to the SFRY. Then Milosevic refused …
True, the Yugoslavs managed to buy three SA.342L Gazelle helicopters in Lebanon for a special forces squadron ("red berets") in the early 90s, one armed ATGM "XOT", two with 20-mm GIAT-621 cannons. 1996-1998 for this special forces squadron in Russia, two Mi-17 and two combat Mi-24V helicopters were purchased (according to another version, the helicopters were purchased from Ukrspetsexport).
Combat helicopters Mi-24V of the Yugoslav special forces
Helicopters were actively used in hostilities on the territory of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, throwing in special forces groups and taking out the wounded. Moreover, the state security aviation helped in Bosnia not only the Serbs, but also in 1993-1995. Muslims who did not recognize the government of Alija Izetbegovic and de facto created an independent state in the western part of Bosnia. Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia. Helicopters, in order to avoid detection by AWACS aircraft, performed flights at low altitudes with a rounding of the terrain, using natural shelters, such as gorges. The Mi-8/17, piloted by experienced pilots, often flew over highways. In this case, AWACS identified the helicopter as a truck. Often, before performing combat missions, all markings were washed off from helicopters so that interested persons could not determine the nationality of the aircraft.
A rare photo: Yugoslav special forces in front of a Mi-17 helicopter
Thus, on March 24, 1999, that is, at the beginning of the NATO aggression, the Air Force and Air Defense of the FRY had 238 aircraft and 56 helicopters:
- no more than 13 MiG-29 fighters; no more than two MiG-29UB combat training aircraft (in total, 14 MiG-29 and 2 MiG-29UB were delivered from the USSR in 1987-1988) as part of the 127th Vityazi aviation squadron of the 204th Fighter Aviation Regiment, stationed at the Batainitsa airbase (north of Belgrade). All MiG-29s were the first export modification "9-12B" due to UN sanctions, experienced problems with the functioning of radars and other electronic devices. The overhaul period for fighters expired in 1996. Only 9 MiG-29s were in flightable condition, and the efficiency of their avionics was about 70%.
- no more than 35 obsolete MiG-21bis and 12 MiG-21MF fighters, which could be used relatively effectively only during daylight hours. 25 MiG-21bis were part of the 126th Delta Aviation Squadron of the 204th Fighter Aviation Regiment, stationed at the Batainitsa airbase. The rest: about 10 MiG-21bis and all MiG-21MFs were part of the 123rd "Lions" and 124th "Thunder" aviation squadrons of the 83rd Fighter Aviation Regiment, stationed at the Slatina airbase in the capital of Kosovo, Pristina.
- 21 fighter-bomber "Orao" in the 241st squadron "Tigers" (Obrva airbase) and 252nd "Wolves" (Batainitsa) of the 98th fighter-bomber regiment. 21 attack aircraft G-4 "Super Galeb", as well as a number of outdated G-2 "Galeb" in the 172nd air brigade stationed in the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica
- 16 reconnaissance aircraft MiG-21R and 17 IJ-22 "Orao" in the 353rd squadron "Hawks" (Batainitsa).
Western sources, as was the case before Operation Desert Storm in 1991, cited sharply overestimated data on the combat potential of enemy aircraft. The total number of the aircraft fleet of the Yugoslav Air Force was estimated by them at 450 military aircraft and helicopters, including 15 MiG-29 and 83 MiG-21 (probably, all the aircraft located at the airfields were summed up, including the decommissioned MiG-21PF and MiG-21M allocated for disposal).
The Air Force's anti-aircraft missile units included 14 divisions of the S-125M "Pechora" air defense system (60 launchers) with a total ammunition load of no more than 1000 missiles. Obsolete SAM S-75 "Dvina". delivered in the 60s (6 battalions-40 PU) were decommissioned and were last used by the Bosnian Serbs in 1995.
In the ground forces of Yugoslavia, as part of four anti-aircraft missile regiments, there were mobile 2K12 Kvadrat medium-range air defense systems (about 70 launchers), as well as low-altitude short-range mobile systems 9K31 Strela-1 (113 launchers) and 9K35M Strela-10 (17 PU).
PU SAM 2K12 "Square" air defense FRY
SAM 9K35M "Strela-10" army of Yugoslavia
SAM 9K31 "Strela-1" air defense of the FRY at the firing position
SAM "Kvadrat" were very effective in the early 70s, but already extremely outdated by the end of the 90s. SAM "Strela-1M" and "Strela-10" did not have their own radar, so they could be used only during daylight hours.
True, according to Western media reports, in October 1998, Russia, in violation of the embargo, supplied Yugoslavia with new homing heads, warheads and fuses for 9MZ missiles of the Kvadrat air defense system, which significantly expanded the combat capabilities of this complex.
The ground forces in relatively large numbers (850 units) had sufficiently modern portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS) 9K32 Strela-2, 9K32M Strela-2M, 9K34 Strela-3 and 9K310 Igla-1, but they could hit enemy aircraft only at altitudes up to 4000 meters.
Yugoslav soldier with Strela-2M MANPADS
The anti-aircraft artillery of the ground forces was brought together in 11 (according to other sources, 15) anti-aircraft artillery regiments equipped with about 1000 anti-aircraft guns with a caliber of 20 to 57 mm, including 54 Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft guns ZSU-57-2, 204 M-53/59 "Prague" and several hundred Yugoslav self-propelled anti-aircraft guns BOV-3. Almost all anti-aircraft guns did not have radar guidance and were only able to conduct non-aimed, ineffective barrage. In addition, the bulk of the anti-aircraft guns were ineffective three-barreled 20-mm anti-aircraft guns "Hispano-Suiza" M-55A4V1, its single-barreled version of the M-75, as well as the ZSU based on its BOV-3.
20-mm anti-aircraft gun "Hispano-Suiza" M-55A4V1
More or less modern Swedish 40-mm anti-aircraft guns "Bofors" L70, with Giraffe radar guidance, equipped with a ballistic computer and an automatic gun control system were only 72.
40-mm anti-aircraft gun "Bofors" L70 of the Yugoslav army
The radio engineering units, united in the 126th air surveillance, warning and guidance brigade, had 18 ground-based radars: 4 American AN / TPS-70, as well as S-605/654 and 4 P-18, 4 P-12, 2 P- fourteen.
Radar P-18 Soviet-made air defense FRY
In addition, the Yugoslavian Navy on the ships had 3 launchers "Osa-M" (SKR type "Beograd" pr. 1159TR and 2 SKR type "Kotor") and about 100 different artillery mounts of 76-20-mm caliber.
Reports on the presence of more modern air defense systems S-200V, S-Z00P, 9K37M1 "Buk M1", 9K33 "Osa", 9M330 / 9K331 "Tor / Tor-M1" and ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" in service with the Air Force of Yugoslavia do not correspond reality.
It cannot be said that Yugoslavia did not prepare to repel the aggression. In 1989, 10 MiG-23ML and 10 MiG-21bis jet fighters were transferred from Iraq to Zagreb for overhaul. For some unknown reason, these machines stood for two years and in 1991, after the collapse of the country, the machines ended up at the Moma Stanoilovich repair enterprise, based at the Batainitsa airfield.
With the outbreak of the war, at least one MiG-23ML and four MiG-21bis were enlisted in the FRY Air Force. Apparently, even such machines were useful in the war against NATO.
Presumptive view of the Yugoslav MiG-23ML
Attempts were made to create their own air defense system. The first was "Tsitsiban", created on the chassis of the Yugoslav army truck TAM-150 with two guides for R-13 missiles with IR guidance. The created machine entered service with the armies of the Bosnian Serbs and the Serbian Krajina, but there is no information about their combat use.
An even simpler system, known as Pracka ("Sling"), was an R-60 missile on an improvised launcher based on the carriage of a towed 20-mm Hispano-Suiza anti-aircraft gun M-55A4V1. The real combat effectiveness of such a system could be even lower than that of a sling, given such an obvious drawback as a very limited launch range.
Towed air defense missile system "Prasha" with a missile based on air-to-air missiles with IR seeker R-60
The self-propelled version of the air defense missile system was created on the basis of the ZSU M-53/59 "Prague" with one and two guides with two-stage RL-2 and RL-4 missiles based on the R-60 and R-73 aircraft missiles, respectively.
Variants of the Prasha air defense system with two-stage missiles based on the R-73 and R-60 aircraft missiles
The prototypes of the "Prasha" air defense system were used in repelling the NATO aggression.
NATO had reliable data on the size of the armed forces of Yugoslavia and the serviceability of military equipment - the armed forces did not pose a threat to NATO. Nevertheless, the US military attaché in Belgrade, Colonel John Pemberton, asked the Yugoslav general on March 18, 1999 at a meeting that was held for the third time at the request of the American side: "Do you have an S-300?" The Yugoslavs never had the S-300 air defense system, but someone in NATO seriously feared the presence of such systems in Yugoslavia, although the overall balance of power for Yugoslavia was even more unfavorable than in April 1941.
War in Kosovo
Relations between Serbs and Albanians living in Kosovo have never been particularly warm.
An Albanian kills a Serbian monk in the Devic monastery. Kosovo and Metohija, 1941
The collapse of the SFRY in the early 90s prompted the overwhelming majority of the Albanian population (about 1 million 800 thousand people) to speak for the secession of the region from Serbia. In the spring of 1998, demonstrations erupted into bloody clashes between Serb security forces and armed Albanian groups that formed the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCHK), which on 28 February 1998 proclaimed the beginning of an armed struggle against the Serbs. Thanks to the riots in Albania in 1997, the militants received about 150 thousand small arms.
Small arms seized from Albanian militants
The Serbs responded promptly: additional militia forces with armored vehicles were brought into the region, which launched a counter-terrorist struggle. Aviation also took an active part in the hostilities.
Yugoslav fighter-bombers "Orao" from the airfields of Ladevchi and Uzice, G-4 Super Galeba "from Nis struck at the positions of the militants.
Yugoslavian attack aircraft G-4 Super Galeb strikes NAR
Reconnaissance flights over Kosovo were carried out by MiG-21R and IJ-22 Orao aircraft equipped with photographic equipment, it is possible that some of the aircraft were equipped with electronic reconnaissance equipment. Yugoslav intelligence officers flew not only over Kosovo. One western television journalist filmed a pair of IJ-22s over the town of Tropoya in northern Albania.
Yugoslavian reconnaissance aircraft IJ-22 "Orao"
In Kosovo, Mi-8 and Gazel helicopters were widely used, which flew 179 sorties, during which 94 wounded and 113 passengers were transported, and five tons of cargo. In the operation on Mount Yunik near the border with Albania, where there were fierce battles between border guards, reinforced by units of the 63rd brigade, and UChK detachments, on July 28, 1998, one Mi-8 was used to evacuate the dead and wounded. On board the helicopter were soldiers of the Yugoslav special forces "Cobra". Difficult terrain made the approach and landing difficult. The crew made a landing on a steep slope, where there was a real danger of catching the ground with the rotor blades. Thanks to the skill and courage of the pilots, the evacuation was successful.
Yugoslav paratroopers from the 63rd Airborne Brigade in Kosovo at the Mi-8 helicopter before the combat exit
Spetsnaz helicopters were used extensively. Mi-24 helicopters attacked militant camps located not only in Kosovo, but also in the western part of Albania. During the execution of a combat mission on March 1, 1998, the Mi-24 helicopter was damaged, which made an emergency landing, and later the Mi-24 was repaired. The Mi-17V and Mi-24V helicopters completed the most important combat mission on June 27, 1998, taking part in an operation to rescue 100 civilians and Serbian police officers who held the defense for six days in the village of Kijevo surrounded by UChK detachments. During the operation, one Mi-24 was hit and, due to damage to the hydraulic system, it made an emergency landing.
Militants of the UCHK with a 12, 7-mm machine gun "Type 59" (Chinese copy of the DShK)
Near the Mi-24, the Mi-17 landed, dropping the Serbian special forces, which repulsed the attack of the UChK fighters who were trying to capture the Mi-24. The special forces remained at the site of the forced landing until the Mi-24 was evacuated by the Serbs. The helicopter was subsequently refurbished. In August, anti-partisan aircraft J-20 "Kraguy" of the special forces squadron operated in the Pech region.
An-26 transport planes flew to Kosovo. Probably, some flights were carried out not only for the transport of people and goods. Western analysts believe that the An-26s were conducting reconnaissance.
An-26 transport aircraft of the FRY Air Force
NATO reacted to events in Kosovo with the threat of air strikes on Yugoslavia. In June, the Determined Falkon exercise was held to demonstrate force, in which 68 combat aircraft took part. In Belgrade, threats from NATO were taken very seriously, but what could the Serbs oppose to a qualitatively and quantitatively superior enemy? Relocation of the MiG-29 flight from Batajnitsa to Nis? The redeployment itself, carried out covertly, became a success: the fighters flew in the radar shadow of the An-26 transport vehicle.
Anti-aircraft gunners also actively participated in hostilities supporting special forces and militia units with fire.
Serbian policemen move to ZSU BOV-3 during the counter-terrorist operation in Kosovo
By the beginning of 1999, through the joint efforts of the Serbian army and militia, the main Albanian terrorist gangs were destroyed or driven into Albania. However, unfortunately, the Serbs did not manage to fully take control of the border with Albania, from where the supply of weapons continued, and the West had already begun deliveries.
UChK militants in ambush
NATO was not happy with this state of affairs. A decision was made on a military operation. The reason for it was the so-called. the "Racak incident" on January 15, 1999, where a battle took place between Serbian police and Albanian separatists. All those killed during the battle, both Serbs and terrorists, were declared "civilians shot by the bloodthirsty Serbian military." From that moment, NATO began to prepare for a new military operation …
Defense plan of Yugoslavia
The General Staff of the FRY, together with the command of the Air Force and Air Defense, has developed a defense plan, consisting of four points:
-Air defense operation. It was planned to be carried out with the involvement of 8 air inspection and warning units (2 platoons, 6 companies), 16 medium-range missile units (4 S-125 Neva and 12 Kvadrat battalions), 15 Strela-2M short-range batteries and Strela-1M, 23 air defense artillery batteries, 2 squadrons of MiG-21 fighters (30 aircraft) and 5 MiG-29. The air defense forces of the Third Army (5 Strela-2M and Strela-1M missile batteries and 8 air defense artillery batteries) were also supposed to support the operation. Two anti-aircraft missile regiments were in Kosovo as part of the 3rd Army. In early October In 1998, the batteries of the Kvadrat air defense missile system were deployed in the area of the cities of Pristina, Dyakovitsa and Glogovac. It was on them that the brunt of the fight against NATO strike aircraft fell on them. near Kraljevo.
- Defense of the districts of Belgrade, Novi Sad and the Podgorica-Boka region. For Belgrade and Novi Sad, 6 air inspection and warning units (2 companies, 4 platoons), 12 medium-range missile battalions (8 C-125 Neva and 4 Kvadrat), 15 short-range batteries (Strela- 2M "and" Strela-1M "), 7 air defense artillery batteries, a fighter squadron (15 MiG-21 and 4 MiG-29), as well as air defense forces of the First Army of the Ground Forces. The command center is the 20th operational center of the Stari-Banovtsi air defense sector. To cover the Podgorica-Boka area, 3 air inspection and warning units (1 company and 2 platoons), 4 Kvadrat batteries, Strela-2M batteries and 7 artillery batteries, as well as the air defense forces of the Second Army of the Ground Forces and the Naval Fleet. The Command Center is the 58th Operational Center of the Air Defense Sector at the Podgorica airfield.
Fighting helicopter assault forces. However, due to the absence of those, within a few days, the units conducting this operation were transferred to other directions.
Air support for the forces of the Third Army of the Ground Forces. It was to be carried out by the Air Corps in cooperation with the headquarters of the Third Army.
Yugoslavian aviation was disguised and redeployed to underground shelters.
MiG-21bis fighters of the 126th Delta Aviation Squadron in underground shelters at the Batainitsa airbase
And on the runway and even on the highway, carefully executed layouts of the MiG-29 and MiG-21 were placed, the production of which was put on stream.
Destroyed Yugoslav MiG-29 at Batainitsa airbase
Mock-ups of anti-aircraft guns and air defense systems were made, and false firing positions were equipped.
Model of the Yugoslav anti-aircraft gun "Hispano-Suiza" M-55A4V1
Ambushes armed with 20-mm anti-aircraft guns and MANPADS were set up along the proposed routes for the flight of the Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Calculation of the Yugoslav ZSU BOV-3
It was decided that only the MiG-29 of the 127th Aviation Squadron would oppose NATO aviation in the air.
"Knights", and the obsolete MiG-21 will be used to repel a land invasion. In order to avoid detection by the AWACS (early warning and guidance system) system installed on American aircraft, the MiG-29 will patrol at extremely low altitude and, with the approach of a group of Alliance aircraft, will gain altitude and attack them with missiles with thermal (infrared) seeker R- 60M or R-73, followed by a descent to the initial altitude. It was also decided to attack MiGs in pairs from different directions - this would provoke confusion in the ranks of the enemy.
However, no one expected a full-scale war. Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic told his generals:
"Hold on for seven days, and then Russia and China will stop NATO." Time has shown how wrong he was …
