Zoran Radosavljević - the youngest MiG-29 pilot to die defending the skies of Serbia

Zoran Radosavljević was born on 26 February 1965 in Priština. He was educated at the "Marshal Tito" aviation secondary school in Mostar, and then at the Aviation Military Academy in Pula and Zadar.

The youngest MiG-29 pilot

From 1986 Radosavljević was a fighter pilot on the MiG-21 aircraft. In 1992 he was promoted to the rank of captain first class and became the youngest pilot in the MiG-29 squadron in all of Yugoslavia. He was a member of the famous 127th Fighter Aviation Squadron "Vitezovi" (Knights), stationed in Batajnica.

At the time of his death, Radosavljević was one of the leading experts in Yugoslavia on satellite navigation and was preparing a doctoral dissertation in that field. He held a master's degree in maritime sciences.

"What is a man if he loses his homeland?"

When the NATO aggression began, his mother begged him not to fly. Zoran answered her with words that would be remembered forever: "What is a man if he loses his homeland? We pilots must take off and take the first and strongest blow of the aggressor in order to save at least one child in this country."

The last flight - 26 March 1999

On the third day of the NATO aggression, in the late afternoon, Radosavljević and Colonel Slobodan Perić volunteered to take off from Batajnica Airport. Their task was to intercept NATO aircraft over northern Serbia.

After being redirected toward Valjevo to intercept an enemy aircraft that was withdrawing, they encountered a formation of enemy fighters. Both MiG-29s were hit by missiles fired by the American pilot Colonel Jeffrey Hwang from an F-15C Eagle.

Perić successfully ejected from an altitude of about 7,000 meters and survived. Radosavljević was not so fortunate - the missile struck his aircraft near the cockpit and killed him on the spot. His last words on the radio were: "I'm escaping into the clouds."

Finding the body

It was initially reported that he had died near Loznica, but his remains were actually found near Bijeljina. A group of teenagers aged 16-17 found the pieces of the wreckage scattered across several locations and carried out his body in their arms, handing it over to the forces of the Republika Srpska.

Legacy

Zoran Radosavljević was posthumously promoted from the rank of captain first class to the rank of Major and decorated with the Medal for Bravery. A street in Batajnica bears his name. He was only 34 years old when he died defending the skies of his homeland.