From: "Venik" 
Subject: List of NATO and Yugoslavian aircraft lost in the war - updated 05-08-99
Date: 1999/05/08
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This is a text version of my web page. For links and multimedia materials,
please visit my web site at:

http://members.xoom.com/_XOOM/ggromozeka/aviation/index.htm
OR
http://www2.cybercities.com/v/venik/aviation/index.htm

Venik
-----------------------------------

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 my 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 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 wouldn't 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 Americans 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 greatest
advantage and will be less likely to provoke the US to take any drastic
military actions.
     Of course, one may argue that, if Yugoslavia does have evidence to
support its claims of destroyed NATO aircraft, making such materials public
would contribute to swaying public opinion and discrediting NATO officials,
who continue to maintain that NATO lost only one manned aircraft, the
F-117A. This may sound as a reasonable argument, however, it is important to
remember the lessons of the Vietnam war: the US suffered huge losses
(certainly in comparison with the more recent armed conflicts it was
involved in) and much of these losses were kept secret for quite some time.
This led to an unusual impression among many Americans that the Vietnam war,
for the lack of better word, sneaked up on them. It is also essential to
keep in mind that the aggression against Yugoslavia was planned to be a
several-day affair and Pentagon did mention that it expected to loose as
many as 12 planes. The Blitzkrieg did not happen, but there was no change in
the official policy of the White House or the official policy of NATO to
reflect this obvious military and political failure. I am certain that a
release of hard evidence confirming NATO's losses would have a strong effect
on American public. This is not the question. The question is: what this
effect would be? People are different and the effects will be different:
some will realize the seriousness of the situation, calling for an immediate
withdrawal of US troops (as some American congressmen already have done),
others will be angered, calling for intensification of the campaign and,
perhaps, even for the use of ground forces (some American congressmen
already done that as well). Most Americans, however, will not have an
immediate reaction, just as there was no immediate reaction to US losses in
Vietnam, and, just as the Vietnam war, this war will drag on and likely
intensify considerably. Is this in the interests of Yugoslavia? Perhaps.
Perhaps not.
     An intensification of the conflict may create a ground for Russian
military assistance. But it will also bring the war much closer to the
average Yugoslavian. I know for a fact that Yugoslav TV planned to air some
of the videos of destroyed NATO aircraft and interviews with captured NATO
pilots on the day of NATO' 50th anniversary. It was exactly then, when NATO
decided to concern itself with the quality of Yugoslav TV's programming and
bombed the TV station, transmitters, electrical generators, etc. Was that a
coincidence? Perhaps. In any case, NATO made all efforts to prevent Yugoslav
TV from operating and threatened further attacks. One cannot disagree, that
this was an unusual turn in NATO's tactics, which only a week or two
earlier, under public and political pressure, withdrew its threats to attack
Yugoslav media sites. In any case, in our age of information, it is only a
matter of time before whatever evidence of NATO's losses Yugoslavia
accumulated will be made public. Perhaps, Yugoslav authorities, in the view
of intensive diplomatic negotiations in Moscow, decided to hold on to this
information for a while longer, so not to agitate NATO any further. We
should wait and watch: the proof is there and it will be made public at some
point. At the very least, some may argue, revealing evidence of NATO's
losses would present NATO officials as liars. Really? I can already hear
NATO's public relations officials saying that NATO did keep its losses
confidential for the reasons of security or for some other military
purposes. What can you say to that? NATO can always say that its downed
pilots were and are considered to be missing in action and, therefore,
release of any information regarding NATO's losses would be premature and
would place these pilots in greater danger. And even if some NATO officials
would appear as liars - who cares? Our president is a proven liar and he's
still in office and apparently we still trust him enough for this war to be
possible (I am sorry, Stratfor, but I don't buy your arguments: you are
oversimplifying the situation).
     As a final remark, many people ask me why wouldn't Russia interfere in
this war and help Yugoslavia militarily. Well, I am not Boris Yeltsin, so
whatever I say is not Russia's official policy :-) NATO commanders would
like very much for Russia to send its troops to Yugoslavia or, at the very
least, for Russia to send its weapons to the Serbs. Why? This would escalate
the conflict considerably and give NATO a good excuse to use ground troops
and to ask the US and other members of the Alliance for more resources. Lack
of proper planning and gross overestimation of its own capabilities left
NATO with no coherent strategy and lacking personnel, ammunition, and other
resources. NATO commanders are asking for more planes, more people, more
ammunition. Most NATO commanders are convinced that NATO's goals will not be
reached without using ground troops. A possible use of ground troops is the
major issue of this war. Most NATO members are extremely reluctant and some
are absolutely against using ground troops. On April 29, for example, the US
Congress voted against the use of ground forces and even failed to support
the bombing campaign. By itself, this is a very interesting development in
the United States. In order for NATO commanders to get their wish there must
be a significant new threat to NATO's war effort. The only such threat can
come from Russia. Even if Russia decides only to supply Yugoslavia with
exclusively defensive weapons, such as the modern S-300 SAM system, NATO
aircraft and missiles will become even less effective. NATO command may use
this to justify a need for ground troops. There are reports that Russia is
supplying Yugoslavia with some weapons and ammunition, including SA-16
man-portable SAMs and AAA shells for Yugoslavian air defenses. There are
also reports that Russia is training Yugoslav officers to use advanced
Russian military equipment, such as the S-300 system (some suggest that the
training is carried out at a military academy in Minsk, Belorus.) But all of
this are just rumors and, even if Russia does provide Yugoslavia with some
military help, this is done unofficially. Russia is determined to stay out
of the war (or at least it says so) an I believe that at the moment it is a
good idea: as long as Yugoslavia can stand its ground in the face of NATO
and as long as there is some chance for a peaceful resolution of the
conflict. However, much depends on NATO's future strategy and the progress
of peace talks. The situation may change quickly and not necessarily for the
better and Russia must be able to adjust its Balkan policies
correspondingly.
Venik
28 April, 1999
*   *   *
-----------------------------------
Here are some of the latest reported NATO losses. I am still processing and
verifying this information and, when I determine its consistency and
accuracy, I will move it to the table below. This may take a few hours or a
few days. I am sorry for any delays: my free time is very limited, but I do
everything possible to update this page regularly. All the losses reported
in the table below are more than just claims of Yugoslav media source. I
checked all of these reports with at least several foreign media sources,
private reports, NATO's own information on its operations, local Yugoslav
media, etc. I even look at the current weather reports for Yugoslavia, which
helps in determining the types of weapons and aircraft that might have been
used by NATO against a given target at the time of the attack. I just would
like people to understand that I do much more than just re-print claims
published by Yugoslav media.
May 5, 1999
Read a detailed account of the attack of Yugoslavian forces on KLA base in
Kamenica and capture of 19 high-ranking American officers
May 3, 1999
American Defense & Foreign Affairs publishing group confirms large NATO
losses and low morale
April 29, 1999
Two NATO aircraft are reported down over Belgrade (see map 0001)
There was a heavy NATO activity over Belgrade today.
Two more NATO aircraft are down over Pancevo (see map 0001)
A number of eye witness reports confirm these two kills. Concentrated NATO
attacks on Pancevo and Belgrade today were reported by NATO command and
Western media.
-----------------------------------
Losses
Serbs claim to have shot down 2-4 German F-4s. Russian Ministry of Defense
sources confirmed that at least two German F-4 fighter were lost. A crew of
one of the lost F-4s was killed in the crash. The crew of the other lost
aircraft ejected and is believed to have been captured by the Serbs. It has
been pointed out to me that F-4s may not be even participating in this
conflict. I still believe, although I may be wrong, that they are being used
(or at least have been used early in the campaign) by Germany and, possibly,
by Italy (Italian government insists that no Italian planes are being used
in the aggression against Yugoslavia: Italian pilots fly aircraft of other
NATO members, although it is more likely that Italian pilots fly German
Tornadoes. According to Italian government, Italian pilots do not
participate directly in the attacks on Yugoslavia, only provide air cover
for other NATO aircraft.)
By 17:00 03.26.99 at least one USAF F-16C fighter was lost in air-to-air
combat 7km south of Panchevo (map). Serbs said the aircraft was downed by a
MiG-29. Four more F-16s were lost due to ground fire in the third wave of
attacks. Russian GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate - military intel.
service) confirmed that four USAF F-16s were shot down by SAMs and AAAs.
F-16 fighter aircraft experienced significant technical difficulties in
1998-1999 and about 400 such aircraft were grounded by the USAF for safety
reasons. It should be fully expected that the F-16s deployed to Italy may
develop considerable technical problems during intensive operations against
Yugoslavia. This problem will be also augmented by the acute shortage of
qualified technical personnel already experienced even before the war. More
information here.
NEW According to a statement made by NATO spokesman Jamie Shea on 05-02-99,
one American F-16 fighter aircraft made an emergency landing at Sarajevo
airport. He did not specify the exact date of the incident. So far, it has
only been known that two damaged NATO aircraft landed at Sarajevo: the USAF
F-15 on March 25th and the RAF Sea Harrier on April 19th.
NEW A USAF F-16CG fighter aircraft (serial number AV655FS) crashed 18km east
of the town of Kozluk, Yugoslavia at 02:20 on  05-02-99. The pilot ejected
and NATO reported that he was picked up by NATO rescue forces. Photo from
The Times of London here. US Department of Defense news report here.
Associated Press report here. Yugoslav sources reported that four NATO
rescue helicopters were in the area and exchanged fire with Serbian police.
One rescue helicopter was reported down and one more heavily damaged by AAA
fire. Some more info here.
One USAF F-15E ground attack/fighter aircraft was downed during the third
wave of attacks. Serbs claimed the plane was shot down by a MiG-21 fighter.
BBC World News reported the loss on March 27, 1999. More info and a photo
here.
By 17:00 03.26.99 two F/A-18s were lost 11km south of Ruma (map). Both crews
are dead. Several additional Canadian F/A-18s have been dispatched to Italy
on 03-30-99.
At least one German "Tornado IDS" ground attack aircraft was lost sometime
between 22:00 03.24.99 and 17:00 03.26.99 (but most likely in the first wave
of attacks). This loss was confirmed by Russian military intelligence and
Serbs said that they have found the aircraft's crash site. The "Tornado" was
shot down 12km south of Pancevo (map) and was completely destroyed. Crew of
two is dead. The chairman of NATO's military committee, Gen. Klaus Naumann
denied this report. Another German "Tornado" was shot down on 03-29-99, as
reported by Yugoslav news agency Tanjug. The pilot is said to have ejected.
A group of British Harrier fighter jets came under heavy AAA fire while on a
mission over Yugoslavia. All of the Harriers are said to have returned to
the base in Italy. However, several aircraft are believed to have been
heavily damaged. According the British Ministry of Defence, the Harriers had
to turn back to their base before completing their mission.
According to Yugoslav and Russian press, on 03-30-99 Yugoslav air defense
forces shot down one British Harrier fighter aircraft (from those Harriers
that operated from a base in Italy).
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.
NEW An audio recording (mp3 format, ~1.6Mb) 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. An opposing theory suggests that
the recording was made in 1994, when a British Sea Harrier was shot down
over Bosnia. The Harriers were attacking armored vehicles near the town of
Gorazde in Bosnia, approximately 50km SE of Sarajevo (map). In support of
hat theory, one can probably hear the name "Gorazde" on the recording around
time index 3:14 from a female AWACS operator and again around time index
4:08. Also, the pilot of the damaged aircraft speaks with British accent. My
initial assumption that the aircraft might have been an A-10A Thunderbolt
was probably wrong. The aircraft in trouble is most likely a British
Harrier.
NEW According to an official NATO statement, one American AV8B Harrier
crashed in the Adriatic on 05-1-99 while trying to land on a US carrier
during a "training exercise", pilot was rescued. The US Sixth Fleet command
said that the aircraft crashed after losing power 15km east of Brindisi,
Italy (one of NATO's airbases is located at Brindisi, map). With this
Harrier the number of lost NATO aircraft officially acknowledged by NATO
comes to four as of 05-02-99, including the F-117A, an Apache helicopter,
and the F-16CG. NATO also acknowledge a loss of four UAVs. Interestingly
enough, at about the same time the Harrier was reported to have crashed
during a "training exercise", an aircraft was shot down over Belgrade. The
plane was hit at low altitude and the two pilots ejected. The incident was
witnessed by hundreds of local residents, who observed the scene from their
balconies.
Two F-117A LO light bombers were lost during the third wave of attacks.
Pentagon acknowledged the loss of one F-117A, which was shot down by a
Yugoslav SAM of undetermined type. The downing of the second F-117A was
reported by the Russian National News Service in their March 27, 1999
special report. In regard to the first F-117A shot down, witnesses say that
the aircraft was taken out by a SAM. From the available footage of the
F-117A wreckage it is possible to see bullet holes in the wing of the
bomber, probably caused by a 23mm anti-aircraft gun. The damage to the rest
of the aircraft seemed severe and looked like it indeed was caused by a SAM.
Latest information suggests that the F-117 was shot down by two SA-6
surface-to-air missiles.
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. I
have strong reasons to believe that this report was not an April Fool's
joke, despite of Croatian Radio 101 tying to present it that way (and being
suspiciously persistent at that). 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.
According to the radio Belgrade and radio "Voice of Russia" reports, an A-10
attack aircraft crashed in Skopje around 04-15-99 (map).
NEW At 18:00 on 05-02-99 TV Sitel in Skopje, Macedonia reported that a
heavily-damaged A-10A Thunderbolt crash-landed near Skopje, not far from the
Petrovec airport, used by NATO for emergency landings and rescue operations
(map). Many eye witnesses in Skopje reported that the aircraft appeared to
have serious damage to one of its engines and a wing. Several missiles were
still attached to the underwing pylons, creating a danger of explosion and a
panic among local residents. The pilot of the aircraft was reported to have
been injured. Some 40 minutes after the crash, the aircraft was towed by a
NATO vehicle to the Petrovec airport. Photo here. A larger version of the
same photo here. ABC News reported on 05-03-99: "NATO military spokesman
General Walter Jertz said NATO encountered increased resistance by Serb
anti-aircraft defences and one alliance plane, a U.S. A-10  Thunderbolt, had
been hit and damaged but had landed safely in  Skopje, Macedonia."
NEW Serbian television showed the remains of an A-10A Thunderbolt on
05-04-99. The aircraft was shot down over Kosovo by Pristina air defense
corps. The video was shot on 05-02-99 and showed one of the aircraft's
engines, which was directly hit by a missile, and other parts, including a
plate with the plane's make (A-10A), serial number (A 40662) and code number
(77751). ITAR-TASS report here. Video here. Reuters report here.
By 17:00 03.26.99 one Yugoslav MiG-21FK was lost 5km south of Loznica (map).
The aircraft was shot down by two F/A-18s at an altitude of 4300m.
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.
NEW On 04-18-99 one MiG-21 was damaged and had to make an emergency landing
10km from Ponikve airbase in Yugoslavia, after being hit by a NATO SAM
during an attack on Tuzla airport in Bosnia-Herzegovina. More details here.
Chief of General Staff of Russian armed forces Gen. A. Kvashnin announced on
03-28-99 that Yugoslavia may have lost 3-4 MiG-23s (I was not aware that
Yugoslavia even had those, however, some people informed me that Yugoslavia
may have 5-10 MiG-23s of Iraqi origin: Iraq sent Yugoslavia several planes
of that type prior to the Persian Gulf War and Yugoslavia is using MiG-23s
in agreement with Iraq). Gen. Kvashnin also said that Yugoslavs lost up to 4
MiG-21s 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.
By 17:00 03.26.99 one Yugoslav MiG-29 was lost 13km south of Bogatic (map).
The aircraft was downed by three F-16s at 7100m - this kill is attributed to
a Dutch F-16 fighter (for more details click here; for an interview with
Yugoslav pilot click here). NATO claims that two of its F-15 fighters shot
down two Yugoslav MiG-29s. I've seen no independent confirmation of this
claim. Two more MiG-29s were shot down by NATO SAMs over Bosnia. The crash
site of one of the two MiGs was shown on BBC. At least one of the two
MiG-29s downed over Bosnia appears to have inscriptions in English on the
fuselage, including an "Annual Inspection" sign. The two MiGs are believed
to be of NATO origin (either American or German) used on some kind of
special mission and shot down by friendly forces by mistake. NATO denies
that this was a friendly fire incident but is very vague on providing any
details of the incident. The whereabouts of the MiG-29 pilots are unknown.
According to other sources, at least one of the downed "MiGs" was in fact a
USAF F-15E. More info and a photo here. A photograph of the MiG-29 downed
over Bosnia can be found here. On this photo you will see the same aircraft
shown briefly on BBC and misidentified in French Le Parisien newspaper as an
F-117A.
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.
NEW On 05-04-99 NATO claimed to have shot down one Yugoslavian MiG-29
tactical fighter. The aircraft was reportedly shot down by a USAF F-16CJ of
the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing's 78th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron in a
high-speed air-to-air engagement at an altitude of 4km. USAF report here.
NEW On 04-18-99 one J-22 Orao was destroyed by a NATO SAM during an attack
on Tuzla airport in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Pilot did not survive. More details
here.
NEW On 03-17-99 NATO have released a video (MPEG format, 3,315Kb, full
listing of NATO videos here), entitled "HIP Helicopter Pristina Airfield",
made by a targeting camera, of what appears (at least to NATO) to be an Mi-8
(NATO: Hip) transport helicopter. This is the first such video released by
NATO. Photo here. But what is very interesting, on the video one can clearly
see a four-bladed helicopter. All Mi-8s are five-bladed (as you can see from
the photo on the left)! The helicopter on the video is most likely an Mi-4
(NATO: Hound) utility/transport helicopter. But there's one more problem:
Yugoslavia has no Mi-4s (and it doesn't have any four-bladed helicopters
that look even remotely like the one in NATO's video). What is even more
interesting is that Albania does operate Mi-4s (the Chinese-built Z-5
version) and it is the only country in the region that does. It is known
that Albania-based KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) terrorists do use a few
transport helicopters, most likely Mi-4s, unofficially provided by Albanian
army. On the NATO's video, the helicopter's blades are turning slowly (it
has either just landed or it's taking off. You cannot really see the
rotating blades on the on-line video, but it seemed like the blades were
turning in the video clip shown on BBC. In any case, this is not essential).
It's more than likely that another trigger-happy NATO flyer (like the one,
who mistook tractors for tanks) caught this "Serbian" helo in the act and,
not having too much time to think, blasted the hell out of it. NATO says
that the helicopter was sitting on "Pristina Airfield", but look at the
photo: since when are they plowing airfields? More "help" like that from
NATO and KLA may be tempted to join IRA or Mr. Bin Laden (well, actually, it
already has). For more click here.
A U.S. Army Apache helicopter crashed near Albania's capital, Tirana, on
04-26-99 and the two pilots were evacuated to the 212th Mobile Army Surgical
Hospital at Tirana Airport, as was announced by Pentagon officials. This was
a second major accident involving American Apache helicopter in less then a
week: only several days earlier another Apache had to make an emergency
landing on an Italian airbase after developing mechanical problems. This
helicopter had to remain in Italy. More details on the Apache crash here.
NEW A U.S. Army Apache helicopter was captured by Yugoslav troops on
04-25-99, while flying a low-level reconnaissance mission. The information I
received from reliable private sources in Yugoslavia suggests that the
helicopter was ambushed by a group of 30 Yugoslav soldiers armed with Igla
man-portable SAMs. The helicopter did not put up any resistance. It landed
and the crew surrendered. There certainly is a good reason to suspect that
the Apache which crashed during "exercises" and the Apache captured by the
Serbs may be the same aircraft. After all, there were only 24 of them in the
region, so, if an aircraft was lost to the Serbs, NATO would have had to
admit it or to find a plausible explanation for the missing helicopter. What
I find remarkable is the fact that both of the pilots not only survived but
were reported to be in good condition. This would certainly free NATO from
an obligation to inform their families and mention their names, at least in
the immediate future. And this would certainly free NATO from dealing with
the problem of two "dead" bodies (or two "patients" in a local hospital). A
perfect solution: we had an accident, crew is fine - no bodies, no
hospitalization. Perhaps NATO would even come up with a photo of the crash
site. (Well, what'd you know, they did. But the photos...well, not exactly
what I expected.)
NEW Another American Apache helicopter crashed 75km north of Tirana on
05-05-99 at 01:30 local time. NATO reported the incident, saying that the
helicopter crashed in yet another "training exercise" (this is getting
ridiculous). The crew of two is dead. Out of the force of 24 Apaches
dispatched to Albania, one remained in Italy after catching fire due to a
mechanical malfunction and crash-landing on an Italian airbase, another
Apache crashed during a "training exercise" of 04-27-99 near Tirana, and one
Apache crashed on 05-05-99 also near Tirana and also on a "training
mission." They better finish their "training" before they run out of
helicopters. ABC News report here. ITAR-TASS report here. A few interesting
details: according to the Pentagon officials, this group of (almost) 24
Apaches is the most experienced in the US. This group of pilots had 7-months
combat experience in Bosnia. The two pilots who were killed in this latest
Apache "accident", were among the most experienced of this group. As of May
5, 1999 the Pentagon officials did not rule out that the crashed might have
been caused by hostile fire. The Pentagon officials did say that a loss of
two Apaches in such a short period of time is "highly abnormal."
One HH-60G Black Hawk carrying 2 pilots and 12 troops was shot down in the
early morning of March 28, 1999. The helicopter came down in Bosnian Serb
territory between the towns of Bijeljina and Tuzla, near the Serbian border
(map). The crashed helicopter was quickly reached by NATO-led SFOR troops
and local journalists were kept away. It is believed that the helicopter was
operated by SFOR troops and not by a NATO special rescue unit. Reported by
Tanjug, Yugoslav news agency. Russian ITAR-TASS news agency reported on
03-28-99 that this helicopter crash might have been related to another crash
of a NATO aircraft.
On 03-29-99 Yugoslav and Russian news agencies reported two more NATO rescue
helicopters down, possibly also HH-60Gs. For those of you who may be
surprised what a troop-transporting helicopter would be doing over Serbia:
the HH-60G is operated by US combat rescue units, whose heavy presence over
Serbia is caused by the increasing number of downed NATO aircraft. It is
known that this helicopter was shot down not far from a crash site of
unidentified NATO jet aircraft downed just minutes earlier. Perhaps this was
the aircraft remains of which were shown on Serb TV on 03-30-99 and reported
by Russian ITAR-TASS news agency. It is said that the plane was a bomber.
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.
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.
NEW Another Greek newspaper, Vradini, wrote that during the first 28 days
(03-24-99 to 04-21-99) of NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia, NATO lost at
least 81 servicemen, most of them were pilots of downed NATO aircraft and
members of special rescue forces. According to the newspaper, this number
does not include volunteers from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and other
countries, who are fighting on the side of KLA terrorists. US military
analysts believe that KLA sustained very heavy losses since the beginning of
NATO bombing campaign. Numerous reports of many dead NATO servicemen pouring
from Macedonia and Greece (NATO member) seem to confirm Yugoslavia's claims
of several dozen destroyed NATO aircraft.
NEW Speaking of losses among rescue units, on 05-03-99 Stratfor reported the
following: "2150 GMT, 990503 � The U.S. announced on May 3 that it called
more than 100 U.S. Air Force (USAF) para-rescue reservists to active duty.
The 120 airmen of the 939th Rescue Wing based in Portland, Oregon, join
2,116 reservists called up last week to serve on active duty. U.S. officials
said that the activation of the members of the 939th Rescue Wing would
increase the U.S. military�s ability to quickly extract downed pilots from
hostile environments." Feel free to interpret this any way you like (I guess
you know what my interpretation would be.)
NEW 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 Yugoslav news agency Tanjug, from 03.28.99 - 03.29.99 five NATO
fighter/bomber aircraft of unidentified type were downed over Yugoslavia.
Two of the aircraft were downed over southern Kosovo - one around Pristina
and another over Pastrik. According to Serb troops and police another of
five aircraft was downed on the night of 03.28.99 in central Serbia near the
town of Gornji Milanovac (map). ITAR-TASS report here. The pilot ejected.
The fourth of five aircraft, downed between 03.28.99 - 03.29.99, crashed
along with a transport helicopter (see above) in Bosnian territory between
the towns of Bijeljina and Tuzla (map). The fifth plane came down in Bosnian
Serb territory on Sunday afternoon 40km north-west of Zvornik (map), as was
reported by Reuters. Perhaps this was the aircraft remains of which were
shown on Serb TV on 03-30-99 and reported by Russian ITAR-TASS news agency.
It is said that the plane was a bomber. Chinese Xinhua news agency also
reported, based on Yugoslavian media information, that NATO lost four
aircraft on 04-26-99.
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 (map). The pilot is believed
to have ejected. This incident was reported by Yugoslav TV and Russian news
agency ITAR-TASS.
A NATO aircraft was shot down over northern Serbia at 00:12 a.m. local time
(22:12 GMT) on 04-11-99, Tanjug news agency reported quoting eye witnesses.
The witnesses said they saw anti-aircraft fire hit a plane over a village
between Sombor and Odzaci in Vojvodina province, about 200 kilometers
northwest of Belgrade (map). Xinhua news report here.
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) Russian ITAR-TASS news agency also reported that NATO
lost 36-42 aircraft and 119 cruise missiles by 04-14-99.
According to unofficial sources in Yugoslav army, an unidentified NATO jet
was shot down over Pancevo on 04-13-99.
On 04-18-99 a group of nine Yugoslavian aircraft attacked an airport in
Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, which NATO aircraft used for emergency landings
and rescue operations. As the result, 17 NATO aircraft and 3 helicopters
were damaged or destroyed. One Yugoslavian J-22 Orao strike aircraft was
lost to a SAM (pilot did not survive) and one MiG-21 fighter was damaged,
also by a SAM, and had to crash-land (pilot survived and aircraft is mainly
in-tact). More details here.
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. ITAR-TASS report here.
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.
According to Yugoslav Tanjug and Russian ITAR-TASS news agencies, a NATO jet
aircraft was shot down near village Jastrebac on 04-20-99 around 12 midnight
local time (map). The loss was reported on BBC World news (04-19-99, 7:30pm
US EST). ITAR-TASS report here.
ITAR-TASS' military information database "Vega" reported a loss of three
NATO aircraft over Yugoslavia on 04-24-99. All three aircraft were shot down
during an attack on the capital of Kosovo, Pristina. One of the three
aircraft crashed near village of Businje (map). The other two aircraft
crashed to the south and south-west from Pristina. There is no information
about the pilots of the three aircraft. ITAR-TASS report here.
NEW In an interview with Yugoslav TV on 04-28-99, Yugoslav Col. General
Dragoljub Ojdanic announced that to this date NATO lost 46 combat planes, 6
helicopters, 8 UAVs, and 182 cruise missiles. According to an official
announcement of the Yugoslav Army Supreme Command Headquarters Information
Service, these are only those NATO aircraft that fell in Yugoslav territory.
April 29th interview with Col. Gen. Ojdanic from Politika newspaper here (in
Serbian) and here (in English). You can also read an official statement in
English made by the Major General Spasoje Smiljanic, commander of the YA Air
Force and Air Defence (Second Army). He mentions NATO losses suffered from
air defenses of the Second Army.
NEW An unidentified NATO aircraft was shot down on 05-04-99 at midnight
during a bombing raid against a Serbian town of Bajina Basta, situated near
the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina (map). This was one of two NATO planes
shot down over Yugoslavia on that date. The incident was reported by Tanjug
news agency and by Russian ITAR-TASS news agency. ITAR-TASS report here.
NEW Another NATO jet aircraft was shot down by Yugoslavian air defenses near
the town of Valjevo (map) during a daylight bombing raid on the Krusik
factory located in this town on 05-04-99 after 12:00 local time. This was
the second attack against this factory. ITAR-TASS report here.
By 17:00 03.26.99 two NATO UAVs of unidentified type were downed: one - 12km
south of Bogatic (map); another - 4km south of Orahovac (map), at 2600m and
4200m, respectively.
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, possibly
near the village of Gakovo (map). 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 on
04-07-99 near Pristina before midnight (map). Pentagon officially confirmed
the loss of this aircraft. Related AP article here. New photos here.
NEW According to the German Defense Ministry spokesman, two German
reconnaissance UAVs (CL-289 drones) 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. One of these CL-289s crashed on 04-12-99 over
Kosovo. Two CL-289s (only one, according to Germany) were downed on 04-14-99
in the morning hours near Kosovo Polje (map). And a fourth CL-289 was downed
on the morning of  04-19-99 near the village of Jegunovce, Macedonia (on the
border with Yugoslavia).
One Predator UAV was shot down near the town of Sonta on 04-18-99 (map).
NEW As of 04-30-99 Yugoslavia claimed to have shot down four German CL-289
drones, one Hunter, two Predators, and at least one other UAV of
undetermined type. Yugoslavian military officials said that 8 NATO UAVs
crashed in Yugoslavian territory as of   April 29th. Several more UAVs are
believed to have crashed outside of Yugoslavia, in particular, one Predator
UAV crashed on 04-18-99 while trying to land at Tuzla airport in Bosnia
(map).
NEW For a detailed overview map of destroyed UAVs click here. The map
includes information about eight lost UAVs by 04-30-99.
By 17:00 03.26.99 a total of 18 Tomahawk cruise missiles of various
modifications were destroyed or damaged by Yugoslav air defenses and did not
reach their targets. These include one DAS3 model, thirteen DAS1 models, and
four of undetermined model. The missiles destroyed by 17:00 03.26.99:
1km south of Belanovica
7km south of Belanovica
4km south-west of Belanovica
3km south-west of Belanovica
5km north of Bogatic
4km north of Bogatic
1km north of Bogatic
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 Studenica (sent off course
7km north of Brdani (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
8km north of Mionica (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
3km north-east of Tulovo (self-destructed after being damaged by AAA fire)
2km north Debrc (sent off course)
5km south of Belanovica (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.
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. More
information about civilian casualties in Yugoslavia here.
-----------------------------------
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