Serbian air defence — 78 days of resistance against the most powerful alliance

During the 78 days of NATO bombing of Serbia (24 March — 10 June 1999), Serbian air defence put up resistance that surprised the entire world. With equipment two to three decades old, Serbian air-defence soldiers stood up to the most modern military alliance in the world and inflicted on it losses that had never been envisaged in NATO's plans.

Forces out of balance

The NATO coalition deployed over 1,000 combat aircraft from 13 countries. Among them were the most modern fighters F-15, F-16, F-18, Rafale, Tornado and Eurofighter, supported by EA-6B Prowler electronic-warfare aircraft, AWACS early-warning aircraft, satellite guidance systems and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from ships and submarines.

Against this armada, Serbia had at its disposal:

• 11 operational MiG-29 fighters (out of 16 in total)
• S-125 Neva missile systems (NATO: SA-3 Goa) — developed in the 1960s
• 2K12 Kub missile systems (NATO: SA-6 Gainful) — developed in the 1970s
• S-75 Dvina missile systems (NATO: SA-2 Guideline) — developed in the 1950s
• Anti-aircraft artillery of 20mm, 30mm and 40mm calibre
• Portable Strela-2M and Igla missiles (NATO: SA-7/SA-16)

Tactics of the Serbian air defence

Serbian air-defence officers developed a series of innovative tactics that compensated for the technological inferiority:

The „ambush" tactic: Instead of keeping the radars permanently switched on (which would allow NATO radar-emission detection systems to locate and destroy them), the Serbian air-defence batteries waited in „silence" and switched their radars on only for short periods of 15–20 seconds — enough to detect the target and launch a missile, but too short for NATO systems to carry out a countermeasure.

Mobility: The air-defence batteries changed positions every night, sometimes several times a day. NATO could never know with certainty where the Serbian missile systems were located, which forced pilots to fly at higher altitudes (above 5,000 metres), thereby reducing the accuracy of the bombing.

Decoy targets: The Serbian army used sophisticated mock-ups of radar stations and missile systems to deceive NATO reconnaissance. Many NATO strikes reported as „successful" actually hit decoy targets.

Channel guidance: Under conditions of strong electronic jamming, Serbian air-defence operators used optical and television guidance systems instead of radar, thereby circumventing NATO electronic warfare.

Results of the Serbian air defence

According to Serbian military sources, during the 78 days of the war Serbian air defence achieved the following results:

• 1 F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft shot down (27 March, near Buđanovci)
• 1 F-16C fighter shot down (2 May, pilot rescued)
• 1 F-16 fighter-bomber shot down (another incident during the war)
• More than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Predator and Hunter type shot down
• More than 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles shot down
• Several dozen NATO aircraft damaged, returning to their bases with significant damage

NATO officially acknowledged the loss of the F-117 and two F-16 aircraft (one shot down, one crashed due to a technical fault), but disputed the Serbian claims of greater losses. Independent military analysts estimate that the actual NATO losses were greater than those officially acknowledged.

The price the air defence paid

Serbian air defence suffered heavy losses. NATO systematically hunted and destroyed Serbian radars and missile batteries using special anti-radar HARM missiles (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile). By the end of the war, a significant part of the Serbian air-defence system had been destroyed or damaged.

Several members of the air-defence units were killed during the war, defending Serbia's skies from the ground. Their names are less well known than those of the pilots, but their sacrifice is no less.

The legacy of the Serbian air defence

The resistance of the Serbian air defence in 1999 is studied at military academies around the world. It is an example of how a determined and inventive defence with outdated equipment can put up significant resistance to the most advanced military force. The lessons of the Serbian air-defence war have been used in the development of air-defence doctrines in many countries.

The downing of the F-117 became a symbol of the whole war — proof that no army, however powerful, is invincible. Colonel Zoltan Dani and his soldiers showed that one can fight against a superior enemy — and win, at least for one moment. And that one moment is enough to go down in history.

The Serbian air defence of 1999 was the last line between the NATO bomb and the Serbian sky. Behind every battery, every radar, every launched missile stood ordinary people — reservists, professional soldiers, students who interrupted their studies to defend the country. Their resistance did not stop the bombing, but it gave them something no one can take from them — honour. Lest it be forgotten.