Aircraft used and lost in Yugoslavia during NATO aggression of 1999.

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    Information you will find on this page may be somewhat speculative and a lot of it was not confirmed by NATO or Yugoslavia. But all aircraft losses mentioned here were reported by Serb, US, British or Russian press or confirmed by sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense. Some of the sources include BBC, ABC, Russian National News Service, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Pravda, Yugoslav official television and press, etc. I do not feel that I have to prove anything stated on this page. If you disagree, it's your decision and you are always free to wait a couple of decades, as in case with the Vietnam War, for all the losses to be officially acknowledged. In any case, the number of aircraft lost indicated on this page coincides almost exactly with the number of losses predicted by Pentagon (before the war begun officials in Pentagon said NATO may loose around 12 planes in the first few days of the conflict. Now its it well beyond the first few days). So, to say that only one NATO plane was lost just because its burning remains were shown on Yugoslav TV and Pentagon had no choice but to acknowledge the loss, would be, to put it mildly, overly optimistic. Some people ask why would NATO command want to conceal its actual losses. It has very good reason to do so: the political situation in the North-Atlantic alliance is very shaky, to say the least, and reports of actual losses would only destabilize the situation further. Also, admitting every loss would most definitely boost the morale in Yugoslavia. I think everyone can understand that this would not be in NATO's interests. I am sure there are more reasons for NATO to conceal its actual losses, at least for the time being.

     I understand that some of the information below may be difficult for many people to deal with, after all, every downed plane can and often does mean a dead pilot. Nevertheless, it is important for everyone to know what is happening in Yugoslavia and who is paying for that. I apologize for not being able to conceal by delight at NATO's losses, but NATO is the aggressor in this war and I am a Russian - Russians know what war means, Russia was nearly destroyed by foreign aggressors on numerous occasions, several years after Yugoslavia was last invaded in 1941 tens of millions of Russians were killed, and as a Russian I find it impossible not to express my sincere satisfaction at NATO's failures and losses in this unjust conflict. It is remarkable that in a democratic society an impeached president, accused draft-dodger, rapist and tax-evader, can send soldiers to die in an illegal war only to temporarily cover for his own diplomatic impotence. If we are to have an impotent politician guiding our country and much of the world into the next century, why does it have to be political impotence why can't it be a more conventional form of impotence - we sure would have had fewer problems in our country's political life.

     It is rather interesting to observe the reaction of some Americans to the considerable losses sustained but not confirmed by NATO: complete and total denial. One would think that it would be reasonable to say that if a "stealth" aircraft was tracked by a Serb radar and shot down by Serb SAMs (shortly after NATO officials announced that "they feel comfortable" with how Yugoslav air defenses were "effectively suppressed."), then any NATO plane was in considerable danger. One would also think that after failing to complete the first phase of the war - suppression of Yugoslav air defenses - and announcing the second phase - low-level attacks on armored vehicles and artillery - NATO pilots would be in far greater danger than any NATO commander could have imagined only a week ago. After all, now NATO pilots need to chase around Serb tanks while Serb air defenses are still very active and quite effective. However, ability to think rationally comes to most Americans only after the first coffins with US soldiers return home. This was true in the Korean War, the Vietnam war, the Gulf War and this war, unfortunately, is not an exception. From all the information that I have seen in regard to NATO's losses in Yugoslavia and being entirely objective in my evaluation of claims from both sides, Yugoslav and NATO, I can say with all certainty that NATO is experiencing substantial aircraft losses.

     Many people e-mail me asking why wouldn't Yugoslav TV show pictures of more downed NATO aircraft, as it showed images of the shot down American F-117. There are a few good reasons for that:

•      The main problem is that NATO aircraft operate at high altitudes to avoid Yugoslavia's numerous AAAs and man-portable SAMs. When an aircraft is hit by a large SAM missile (like SA-2, SA-3, or SA-6), what falls to the ground are very small pieces of the aircraft - hundreds or even thousands of them, possibly covering an area of several square kilometers. There simply would be nothing to photograph. This was often the case when high-flying Soviet aircraft were shot down over Afghanistan. I have seen numerous photos of Soviet planes crashed in Afghanistan - such images would be interesting only for aviation experts but completely useless in terms of propaganda: what remained from crashed planes could hardly be recognized as an aircraft by a non-professional. NATO claimed to have shot down many Yugoslav aircraft (according to NATO, they destroyed 50% of Yugoslavia's MiGs, which would amount to at least 35 aircraft), however, they also failed to provide any proof (except for the one or two MiG-29s of questionable origin shot down over Bosnia, at least one of which looks suspiciously more like an American F-15, and video images taken by an aircraft's targeting camera of, presumably, a Yugoslav Mi-8 helicopter - that's it). And NATO has very capable photo and video reconnaissance aircraft, including the U-2 and a number of highly advanced UAVs, such as Predator and Hunter, not to mention that all NATO aircraft are equipped with video recording devices. Yugoslav media was lucky to photograph the remains of the downed F-117. This was because the aircraft's pilot was probably trying to crash-land his aircraft or to eject at low altitude (which he did, since he landed only two miles from the crash site). There was a clearly visible landing gear of the F-117 in the video footage shown on Yugoslav TV: this is a good indication that the gear was lowered, perhaps as an attempt to crash-land. The pilot wanted to keep the aircraft in one piece, presumably so that it could be destroyed by a cruise missile or a laser bomb before Serb troops got their hands on the remains. Or, perhaps, the pilot was simply forced into low-level flight by the circumstances of his encounter with Yugoslav air defenses. There were reports in Russian military publications back from the Persian Gulf War against Iraq: Iraq claimed to have shot down a US F-117, but failed to present any proof because the aircraft's remains were hit by a laser-guided bomb before Iraqi troops found the crash site.

•      Yugoslavia is not Russia, but it is a fairly large country nevertheless, with mountainous terrain and forests. If a damaged NATO aircraft crashes in hundreds of pieces (or even in one piece), finding it may be impossible, especially if the aircraft crashed some distance away from populated areas. There is little doubt that NATO pilots would try to eject over unpopulated areas in order to avoid being found by Serb troops or by civilians. Also, Yugoslavia does not have anything nearly as advanced as NATO reconnaissance aircraft, and searching for aircraft remains on foot or on vehicles is a lengthy and dangerous process, considering that NATO rescue forces have a much better chance of finding ejected pilots, crash sites as well as of directing other NATO aircraft to erase any evidence of crashed aircraft with precision weapons. As to civilian news agencies in Yugoslavia - they do not posses sophisticated helicopters, gyrocameras and other equipment common among American news agencies: looking for an enemy aircraft remains in the combat zone in Kosovo mountains would be quite a task for a reporter armed with a camera and driving a Yugo.

•      Some people may still may not be convinced that all of the downed aircraft would disintegrate beyond recognition or that Yugoslav forces are not able to find any of the crashed NATO aircraft. This is certainly not the case: I am quite sure that a number of crash sites were discovered by Yugoslav troops and that, perhaps, even several NATO pilots might have been captured. So, why would they show it on TV? It would be a good idea to remember the three American soldiers captured by Yugoslav forces near the border with Macedonia: this incident had a great impact on the American society and is believed to have increased the percentage of American willing to send ground troops to Kosovo. If Yugoslavia would show all available footage of down NATO aircraft, this would be sure to increase the pressure on the US government from American public to account if not for all US military aircraft, but certainly for all US pilots. Under this pressure the US may be far more willing to commit to a ground campaign in Yugoslavia - something Yugoslavia wants to avoid. I am certain that more videos like the one of the downed F-117 will surface sooner or later regardless of political games played by Belgrade and Washington. However, for Yugoslavia it would be important to release any such evidence only when it would be to its advantage and will be unlikely to provoke the US to take any drastic military actions.

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Aircraft

Description

Losses

F-4 Phantom II multirole fighter
First flight: 1958.
Crew: 2

F-16C Multirole fighter
First flight: 1984 (1974 for basic F-16)
Crew: 1

F-15E long-range strike fighter
First flight: 1986 (1972 for basic F-15)
Crew: 2

F/A-18 multirole fighter
First flight: 1978
Crew: 1 (2 in F/A-18B/D)

Tornado IDS ground attack aircraft
First flight: 1974
Crew: 2

Harrier Multirole fighter
First flight: 1961 (original Harrier)
Crew: 1

NEW According to Yugoslav and Russian press, on 03-30-99 Yugoslav air defense forces shot down one British Harrier fighter aircraft.

NEW Another British Harrier is believed to have been lost over Yugoslavia on 04-17-99. I am still verifying this information and will upload more data as it becomes available.

F-117A LO light bomber
First flight: 1981
Crew: 1

More technical information about F-117 "Stealth Fighter".

More information on the downing of the first F-117A here.

New photos of the shot down F-117A here. A video here (3,551Kb, mpeg)

I've seen the Le Parisien's photo of a downed "F-117", as was reported in their 03-29-99 issue. Evidently the newspaper was wrong and the photographed plane is not the Night Hawk but a MiG-29. Perhaps one of the two Fulcrums downed by NATO over Bosnia.

BBC mentioned a possibility of a second F-117 loss.

Radio-Zagreb, Yugoslav TV and other sources reported that a US F-117A stealth bomber had to make an emergency landing in Zagreb Airport. Apparently the aircraft sustained heavy damage from Yugoslav air defenses. Several articles appeared recently in in US press that speculate that a Czech-made Tamara anti-stealth radar may have been transferred to Yugoslavia and now is being used against American stealth aircraft.

NEW According to the Serbian television report from 04-06-99, a NATO aircraft (presumably another F-117) was shot down early Tuesday morning (04-06-99) in the hilly area of Fruska Gora, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Belgrade, after NATO aircraft bombed a refinery in the nearby city of Novi Sad. Related Reuters report here. This was one of two NATO aircraft shot down over Yugoslavia on 04-06-99. The second unidentified jet was downed near Novi Sad after it bombed a bridge over Danube. The pilot is believed to have ejected.

A-10A Attack aircraft
First flight: 1972
Crew: 1

NEW An audio recording of a conversation between a NATO combat aircraft pilot and an AWACS controller appeared on the Internet on 04-18-99. From the recording it is clear that a NATO aircraft came under fire and the pilot was forced to eject. Sources in Yugoslav media said that the destroyed aircraft was an F-16 fighter. I've listened to the recording and showed it a couple of knowledgeable friends: we all agreed that the recording is authentic, but the aircraft in trouble was more likely an American A-10A Thunderbolt (AKA Warthog). I don't know yet if there is a relation between the A-10 shot down over Skopje and this recording. Some people heard the British accent in the recording and thought that the downed aircraft could have been a British Harrier (there even was a theory that the recording was made in 1994, when a British Harrier was downed over Bosnia - an incident never admitted by the UK). The pilot of the downed aircraft speaks with American accent, however, (I can hear the British accent as well, but not from the pilot of the damaged aircraft) and I am convinced that the recording is recent (i.e. from the current conflict).

MiG-21 Light tactical fighter
First flight: 1955
Crew: 1 (or 2 in trainer variant)

Chief of General Staff of Russian armed forces Gen. A. Kvashnin announced on 03-28-99 that Yugoslavia may have lost up to 4 MiG-21s. Gen. Kvashnin also said that Yugoslavs lost 3-4 MiG-23s (I was not aware that Yugoslavia even had those) and 1-2 MiG-29s. According to the general NATO lost at least 7 aircraft and over 30 cruise missiles were destroyed or damaged and did not hit their targets.

MiG-23 Multirole fighter
First flight: 1967
Crew: 1 (2 in MiG-23UM & UB)

MiG-29 Tactical fighter
First flight: 1977
Crew: 1 (or 2 in trainer variant)

Chief of General Staff of Russian armed forces Gen. A. Kvashnin announced on 03-28-99 that Yugoslavia may have lost 1-2 MiG-29s. Gen. Kvashnin also said that Yugoslavs lost 3-4 MiG-23s (I was not aware that Yugoslavia even had those) and up to 4 MiG-21s. According to the general NATO lost at least 7 aircraft and over 30 cruise missiles were destroyed or damaged and did not hit their targets.

Mi-8/Mi-17 transport helicopter
First flight: 1961
Crew: 2 pilots, 1 loadmaster, 28 troops

HH-60G Black Hawk combat rescue/ troop transport helicopter
First flight: 1978
Crew: 2 pilots, 11-14 troops

The report of a rescue helicopter crash on 03-28-99 have been indirectly confirmed by a Greek newspaper Athinaiki, which in its 04-03-99 issue reported that 12 bodies of American servicemen were delivered from Macedonia to 424th General Army Hospital in Thessaloniki on 03-31-99 and later shipped to the US (a high-ranking source in the hospital privately denied this report, but there was no official response from the hospital's administration, which by itself is very revealing). Seven more bodies of American soldiers were delivered also from Macedonia to Greece on 04-01-99. The newspaper reports that the bodies of the dead American servicemen were delivered by American special troops, which were joined by Greek police on the state border. The fact of delivery of 19 bodies of American servicemen to Greece was independently confirmed by Macedonian customs officials. They said that the coffins were delivered in two batches - 12 and later 7 - escorted by American military officers. The bodies are believed to be those of American pilots and members of rescue teams.

NEW According to the latest report by Greek Athinaiki newspaper, NATO lost a total of 88 servicemen in Yugoslavia, of which 44 are Americans, 11 are Germans, 7 are British and 19 are of other nationalities. Athinaiki also believes that NATO lost 32 planes and helicopters in the conflict. NATO casualties reportedly are being transported back to home countries via Greece. It is certainly noteworthy that this independent look on NATO's actual losses in Yugoslavia comes from a country-member of the Alliance. Yugoslav media recently released images of coffins with American servicemen being carried through a border checkpoint in Macedonia.

CH-53/53G heavylift troop transport/assault helicopter
First flight: 1974 (53E)
Crew: 3 pilots, 55 troops

Unidentified combat jet aircraft (most likely F-16s)

According to Russian Radio and RosBusinessConsulting news agency report on 04-02-99 Yugoslav air defenses shot down one NATO combat jet and two helicopters carrying 58 troops of NATO's special rescue units. The incident occurred 200km to the south-west of Belgrade in the same area where another NATO aircraft was shot down earlier. According to the Russian Radio report all NATO pilots and troops involved in this incident are believed to be dead. There is no information about the types of aircraft shot down. The number of the troops reported to have been on board of the two helicopters (58) suggests a possibility that CH-53/53E heavylift transport/assault helicopters were shot down.

According to the statement by the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, by 02-04-99 NATO alliance lost at least 60 aircraft and cruise missile.

An unidentified NATO jet was downed by Yugoslav AAA fire near Novi Sad on 04-06-99 after it bombed a bridge over Danube. The pilot is believed to have ejected. This incident was reported by Yugoslav TV and Russian news agency ITAR-TASS.

In the interview with Russia’s military daily Krasnaya Zvezda, or Red Star, Milosevic said Yugoslavia had shot down 36 NATO aircraft and 119 cruise missiles [less then 10% of the total number of cruise missiles launched at Yugoslavia] since the bombing began and accused the alliance of hiding its losses. (04-14-99)

NEW According to unofficial sources in Yugoslav army, an unidentified NATO jet was shot down over Panchevo on 04-13-99.

NEW During an intensive air attack on Pristina on 04-19-99 NATO lost three aircraft, one of which is believed to have crashed into Cicavica mountain after being hit by a SAM about 7pm local time. All three aircraft were brought down over or near Pristina, as reported by the Yugoslav Army Pristina Corps anti-aircraft defenses.

NEW A NATO aircraft crashed into the Sara mountain in Macedonia on 04-19-99 at 10:30am local time, as reported by local residents. According to witness reports, the aircraft came from the direction of Kosovo and the crash site was quickly surrounded by NATO troops. This incident was reported by WAY news web site.

NEW According to Yugoslav Tanjug and Russian ITAR-TASS news agencies, a NATO jet aircraft was shot down near village Jastrebovatz on 04-20-99 around 12 midnight local time. The loss was reported on BBC World news (04-19-99, 7:30pm US EST). ITAR-TASS report here.

UAVs of various types

As of 03-29-99 a total of three NATO UAVs were shot down over Yugoslavia. The two UAVs mentioned above and one more was shot down on Sunday. This was reported by the Voice of Russia radio station based on the information provided by the Yugoslav and Russian Ministries of Defense.

According to Russian Ministry of Defense, Americans have delivered several Hunter reconnaissance UAVs to the Balkans. Ministry's officials say that this is an indication of significant losses among NATO's UAVs and human fire correctors on the ground in Kosovo. Yugoslav security forces detained over a dozen of NATO fire correctors in Kosovo in the last two days alone. All of the detained infiltrators possessed automatic laser target designators and communications equipment.

According to Yugoslav sources, one American Hunter UAV was shot down today. Pentagon officially confirmed the loss of this aircraft. Related AP article here.

NEW According to the German Defense Ministry spokesman, two German reconnaissance UAVs were lost between 04-12-99 and 04-14-99. Military experts in Bonn believe that the aircraft are in the hands of Serb troops. These types of UAVs used by German forces carried out a total of 80 reconnaissance flights over Yugoslavia and each cost 2 million marks to produce. Reuters report here.

BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile
Operational since 1982
Active radar-guidance

PERFORMANCE Speed 331-496 kts (381-571 mph; 613-919 km/h) or Mach 0.50-0.75 cruise altitude 50-100 ft (15-30 m) max range BGM-109B: more than 250 nm (288 mi; 464 km); BGM-109C/D: approx. 700 nm (806 mi; 1,297 km); BGM-109A: approx. 1,350 nm (1,555 mi; 2,500 km)
WARHEAD conventional high-explosive in TASM; nuclear 5-150-kiloton W80 in TLAM-N
ACCURACY
Circular Error Probable (CEP)
TERCOM: less than 100 ft (30.5 in)
TERCOM + DSMAC: approx. 33 ft (10.0 in)
GUIDANCE
Ships with Mk 143 ABL have AN/ SWG-2 weapons control system
Ships with Mk 41 VLS have AN/ SWG-3 weapons control system
Submarines have Mk 117 fire control system
TASM: inertial; terminal is active radar homing (similar to Harpoon)
TALM-C: inertial; terminal is Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) with Digital Scene-Mapping Are Correlator (DSMAC); Block IIA has a preselectable pop-up terminal maneuver
TLAM-N inertial and TERCOM

For more information click here.

• 1km south of Belanovitsa
• 7km south of Belanovitsa
• 4km south-west of Belanovitsa
• 3km south-west of Belanovitsa
• 5km north of Bogatich
• 4km north of Bogatich
• 1km north of Bogatich
• 3km south of Novo Brdo
• 1km north of Novo Brdo
• 1km east of Tulare
• 1km south of Brus (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
• 3km north of Studenitsa (sent off course
• 7km north of Brdani (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
• 8km north of Mionitsa (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
• 3km north-east of Tutovo (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
• 2km north Debrz (sent off course)
• 5km south of Belanovitsa (self-destructed after being damaged by Yugoslav fighter aircraft.)

As of morning of 03-29-99 the official statement of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense stated that 30 Tomahawk missiles have been destroyed or damaged. This information was confirmed by the Voice of Russia radio, based on the information from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

NEW As of 04-12-99 Yugoslav government officially claims to have shot down 119 Tomahawk cruise missiles (this includes the missiles were not completely destroyed but damaged and sent off course.) Several days ago Russian Minister of Defense said that the number of destroyed Tomahawks was 60. Even though 119 damaged or destroyed missiles may seem like a lot, it's really under 10% of all the cruise missiles launched by NATO (the expected loss rate of cruise missiles of this type is around 7% and the nominal overall effectiveness rate is 85%). Most of Tomahawks were downed by AAA fire.

NEW A Tomahawk cruise missile has been shot down over Sabac on 04-19-99. According to Russian Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, only about 40% of NATO missiles hit designated targets, 60% of which are civilian objects.

B-52H strategic bomber
First flight: 1952
Crew: 5

B-1B strategic bomber
First flight: 1974
Crew: 4

B-2 LO strategic bomber
First flight: 1989
Crew: 2-3