1994 Serb Jastreb J-21 shootdown
Part ofOperation Deny Flight
Artist's depiction of the incident
Date 28 February 1994 Location Southwest ofBanja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina 44°32′8.54″N16°34′57.42″E / 44.5357056°N 16.5826167°E /44.5357056; 16.5826167 Result NATO victory
Belligerents
Republika Srpska  Serbian Krajina	NATO
Strength
6J-21 Jastrebs 2J-22 Oraos	4F-16s
Casualties and losses
3 pilots killed 5 Jastrebs destroyed 1 Jastreb damaged	None

On 28 February 1994, two pairs ofNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft shot down fiveJ-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets–piloted byRepublika Srpska (RS) orRepublic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) personnel–inBosnia and Herzegovina airspace after they had bombed an armaments factory atNovi Travnik during theBosnian War. The NATO interception was conducted as part ofOperation Deny Flight, with the shootdown constituting the first combat action in NATO's history.

About 06:00, six J-21s flew fromUdbina air base in the self-proclaimedCroatian Serbproto-state withinCroatia known as the RSK. TwoSoko J-22 Orao ground attack aircraft were also involved in the attack, but their target was an arms factory atBugojno and they completed their mission and returned to Udbina unscathed. The pilots were a mix of RS and RSK air force personnel. A Britishairborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft detected the aircraft and, after their warning was ignored, tasked a pair ofUnited States Air Force (USAF) F-16C Fighting Falcons oncombat air patrol (CAP) to intercept. The fighters issued a further warning, and when it was ignored and the J-21s dropped their bombs, the F-16Cs engaged the aircraft as they fled for the Croatian border. One US pilot claimed three aircraft shot down, and when the first pair of F-16Cs departed to refuel, a second pair of F-16Cs engaged, shooting down another J-21. According to RS/RSK records, a fifth J-21 was also lost. Three pilots were killed and two ejected safely. The single surviving J-21 was badly damaged and conducted an emergency landing at Udbina. The three surviving pilots were later decorated.

The shootdown showed the effectiveness of the NATO response, and was the sole example of fixed-wing aircraft being shot down by NATO during Operation Deny Flight. No more direct challenges by fixed-wing aircraft were made during the operation, but the RS and RSK conducted a few short raids into Bosnia from Udbina during the balance of 1994 beforethe airbase was struck by NATO in late November. In June of the following year, one of the US pilots involved in the shootdown was himself shot down by a RS surface-to-air missile. He ejected and was rescued by US forces.

Operation Deny Flight was a NATO operation in the airspace over Bosnia and Herzegovina. It conducted aerial monitoring and enforced compliance with a "no-fly zone" and providedclose air support toUnited Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces mandated by theUnited Nations Security Council. It also conducted, after request by and in coordination with the UN, approved air strikes against designated targets threatening the security of theUN-declared safe areas. It commenced on 12 April 1993, and was implemented by NATOAllied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) headquartered inNaples, Italy. Control of the operation was delegated to the Commander ofAllied Air Forces Southern Europe (COMAIRSOUTH), and operational control of day-to-day mission tasking was delegated to the Commander, 5th Allied Tactical Air Force (5th ATAF), headquartered atVicenza, Italy.^[1]

The no-fly zone did not extend to the territory of neighbouringCroatia, where a significant part of the country–mainly along the western border of Bosnia and Herzegovina–was controlled by the self-proclaimedCroatian Serbproto-state known as theRepublic of Serbian Krajina (RSK). The RSK had a small air force operating from the formerYugoslav Air Force base atUdbina. In autumn 1993, the rumpFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) donated a batch ofJ-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets to the RSK air force, transporting the disassembled aircraft by road fromSerbia and assembling them at Udbina. These aircraft were used to form the 249th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Squadron. There was close cooperation between the RSK air force and the air force of the self-proclaimed proto-state within Bosnia and Herzegovina known asRepublika Srpska (RS). Calls to further reinforce the RSK air force led to another 14 J-21s being donated to the RSK air force by the FRY before the end of 1993. The RS air force had earlier transferred some of its other air assets, including someSoko J-22 Orao ground attack aircraft, to Udbina.^[2] The close cooperation between the two air forces included the training of RS air force pilots at Udbina, allowing them to maintain their flight proficiency in Croatian airspace. None of the Jastrebs had workingradar warning receivers.^[3]

On 5 February 1994, the526th Fighter Squadron of the86th Fighter Wing of the USAF was transferred fromRamstein Air Base in Germany toAviano Air Base in Italy to take part in Operation Deny Flight. The squadron was equipped withGeneral Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcons.^[4]

Early on 27 February 1994, six pilots from the 92nd Brigade of the RS air force, including the brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Zvezdan Pešić, were transferred fromBanja Luka to Udbina for a mission. They were joined by two RSK air force pilots. The briefing was conducted by staff from both the RS and RSK air forces. The mission involved two attacks onArmy of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) armament factories located in towns in central Bosnia. One attack was to be conducted by six J-21 Jastreb aircraft on the MMK Bratstvo arms factory atNovi Travnik, and the second by two Orao's on theSlavko Rodić weapons plant atBugojno. According to the aviation author Bojan Dimitrijević, it was planned that the RS air force command centre in Banja Luka would transmit a codeword to signal that the skies over the target area were clear, but communications problems meant that Pešić had to decide whether to launch the mission without that information. About 06:00 on 28 February, eight aircraft took off from Udbina, turning turned north east. They flew low over the hilly terrain, reaching the area between the towns ofJajce andKljuč about 06:21. Visibility was excellent.^[4]

Approximate location of engagement (Crkveno)

Banja Luka

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Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina showing the locations of Banja Luka and one of the crash sites

At this time, a Britishairborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft–flying overHungary as part of the NATO operation–detected at least six aircraft. Its crew warned them via radio to land, exit the no-fly zone, or be engaged, but received no response.^[5] About 06:35, the AWACS crew contacted a pair of F-16s from the 526th Fighter Squadron conductingcombat air patrol (CAP) operations over the city ofMostar about 150 km (93 mi) south of Novi Travnik.^[4] Low on fuel, the US aircraft nevertheless responded and spotted the attacking Jastrebs. They re-issued the warning, but were also ignored, and the Jastrebs continued their attack.^[5] According to Dimitrijević, they did not receive the warnings because their aircraft could not receive the frequency on which the warning was issued. Having delivered their attack, the Jastrebs headed back to base, flying at an altitude of about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) to reduce radar signature and vulnerability. The attack was a clear violation of the no-fly zone; having been cleared to open fire, Captain Robert G. Wright launched a radar-guidedAIM-120 missile at 06:42 which hit the trailing Jastreb and it crashed just outside the village of Bratstvo. Five minutes later, Wright fired a heat-seekingAIM-9 missile which hit another Jastreb and it crashed near the village ofCrkveno 15 km (9.3 mi) from Ključ. The Jastrebs scattered, and, about 06:48, Wright scored a direct hit on another Jastreb with an AIM-9 which destroyed the aircraft. Hiswingman, CaptainScott O'Grady, fired an AIM-9 at one of the fleeing Jastrebs but missed.^[4]

When Wright and O'Grady departed the area to refuel, they handed over the interception to two other 526th Squadron F-16Cs. Captain Stephen L. Allen shot down another Jastreb with an AIM-9 about 06:50, but according to the USAF historian Daniel Haulman, the remaining two Jastrebs escaped into Croatian airspace and returned to Udbina.^[6] In contrast, Dimitrijević states that Allen shot down two of the remaining Jastrebs, acknowledging that the USAF only credits him with one. He adds that the remaining Jastreb was entering Croatian airspace and was therefore outside the no-fly zone. He goes on to state that the two Orao's saw two F-16s while they were doing their bombing run at Bugojno, but the US aircraft appeared to have not detected them. The Orao's flew back to Udbina and landed safely. Dimitrijević also states that only one Jastreb returned to Udbina, and that it had been badly damaged by a proximity-fused missile. Its engine shut down on approach to Udbina and the pilot had to conduct an emergency glide landing. Its pilot reported that the other five aircraft had been shot down over Travnik by NATO fighters. None of the Jastreb pilots are believed to have seen the aircraft that shot them down. Three of the Jastreb pilots, including Pešić, were killed. Two others ejected safely.^[3]

TheUnited Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)–the peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina–had reported four of the aircraft taking off from Udbina but did not identify the aircraft type. NATO did not know for certain from which air base the aircraft involved in the confrontation took off due to a combination of the aircraft's low-level flight and the gap between their take off and their detection by AWACS. The two pilots who ejected returned to friendly forces, and the three surviving pilots were brought before a special commission that investigated the incident, focussing mainly on the tactical mistakes. All of the surviving pilots were later decorated.^[7] The interception was the first combat action in NATO's history.^[8]

The shootdown demonstrated the effectiveness of NATO airpower, and was the only incident during the entirety of Operation Deny Flight in which fixed-wing aircraft were shot down by NATO aircraft. The no fly zone was never directly challenged again, but the RS stepped up their surface-to-air missile (SAM) and anti-aircraft artillery deployments nearBihać in Bosnia. Over the next months they conducted a few fixed-wing missions out of Udbina against ARBiH targets in Bosnia that were close to the Croatian border, using Croatian airspace to maximum advantage, and usually timing the missions for when NATO aircraft were refuelling. This came to a head in late November 1994, when Serb aircraft from Udbina attacked ARBiH targets near Bihać, and NATO responded byconducting airstrikes against the runways and taxiways at Udbina. In June of the following year, O'Grady was shot down by an RS SAM while on CAP and after ejecting safely he was rescued unharmed.^[9]

• Balkan Battlegrounds: A Military History of the Yugoslav Conflict. Vol. 2. Central Intelligence Agency, Office of Russian and European Analysis. 2003.ISBN 9780160664724. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
• Dimitrijević, Bojan (2021).Operation Deliberate Force: Air War Over Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-1995. Helion.ISBN 9781913336301.
• Haulman, Daniel L. (2009)."Manned Aircraft Losses over the former Yugoslavia, 1994–1999"(PDF). Airmen at War.Air Force Historical Research Agency. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 7 August 2024.
• "Operation Deny Flight".AFSOUTH Fact Sheets. NATO Regional Headquarters Allied Forces Southern Europe. 18 July 2003. Archived fromthe original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved2011-04-17.
• Wrage, Stephen; Cooper, Scott (2019). "Bosnia".No Fly Zones and International Security: Politics and Strategy (1 ed.). New York: Routledge.ISBN 978-1-4724-5231-3.

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