Aircraft chase from Batajnica

Aircraft chase from Batajnica
	Part of The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and Kosovo War
Date	25 March 1999
Location	Batajnica,Serbia
Result	NATO victory
Belligerents
NATO	FR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Wesley Clark ; Jeff Hwang	Slobodan Milošević ; Zoran Radosavljević † ; Slobodan Perić
Strength
2 F-15's ; 1 other aircaft; (Unspecified type)	2 MiG 29's
Casualties and losses
None	2 MiG 29's shotdown; 1 pilot killed

Last updated January 11, 2025

The Aircraft chase from Batajnica was an incident that occurred during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia on 25 March 1999, when 2 Yugoslav aircraft took-off from Batajnica air base and began chasing a NATO aircraft.

Background

An important portion of the war involved combat between the Yugoslav Air Force and the opposing air forces from NATO. United States Air Force F-15s and F-16s flying from Italian airforce bases attacked the defending Yugoslav fighters, mainly MiG-29s, which were in poor condition due to a lack of spare parts and maintenance. Other NATO forces also contributed to the air war.

During the night of 24/25 March 1999: Yugoslav Air Force scrambled five MiG-29s to counter the initial attacks. Two fighters that took off from Niš Airport were vectored to intercept targets over southern Serbia and Kosovo were dealt with by NATO fighters. The MiG-29 flown by Maj. Dragan Ilić was damaged; he landed with one engine out and the aircraft was later expended as a decoy. The second MiG, flown by Maj. Iljo Arizanov, was shot down by an USAF F-15C piloted by Lt. Col. Cesar Rodriguez. A pair from Batajnica Air Base (Maj. Nebojša Nikolić and Maj. Ljubiša Kulačin) were engaged by USAF Capt. Mike Shower who shot down Nikolić while Kulačin evaded several missiles fired at him, while fighting to bring his malfunctioning systems back to working order. Eventually realising that he could not do anything, and with Batajnica AB under attack, Kulačin diverted to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, hiding his aircraft under the tail of a parked airliner. The fifth and last MiG-29 to get airborne that night was flown by Maj. Predrag Milutinović. Immediately after take-off his radar failed and electrical generator malfunctioned. Shortly after, he was warned of being acquired by fire control radar, but he eluded the opponent by several evasive manoeuvres. Attempting to evade further encounters, he approached Niš Airport, intending to land, but he was eventually shot down by a KLU F-16AM flown by Maj. Peter Tankink and forced to eject.^[1]^[2]

Incident

During the afternoon of 25 March 1999, 2 Yugoslav MiG 29's took-off from the Batajnica Air base and started chasing a lonely NATO aircraft which was flying to the direction of the Bosnian border. During the chase the Yugoslav MiG 29's were attacked by 2 US F-15's, and both Yugoslav aircraft were shotdown by one of the American pilots, captain Jeff Hwang.^[3]

One of the Yugoslav pilots, Slobodan Perić, was able to dodge an American missle, however the second missle downed his MiG 29's, forcing him to eject from his seat as his aircraft was destroyed. Perić would land in Republika Srpska and would be smuggled back to Serbia.^[3]

The other Yugoslav pilot, Zoran Radosavljević did not eject and his aircraft was shot down and he was killed. His body was then found in the region of Majevica, in the territory of Republika Srpska.^[4]^[3]

The 2 MiG 29's used by Yugoslav forces in this incident were not ready for air combat, with them being in a semi-working condition. The NATO aircraft radars had a range of 120 km while the Yugoslav radar range was half of that. Despite this, they were still ordered to intercept the NATO forces.^[4]

Aftermath

On 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, a Yugoslav Army unit shot down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth ground attack aircraft of the United States Air Force by firing a S-125 Neva/Pechora surface-to-air missile. It was the first ever shootdown of a stealth technology airplane. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued by U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen conducting search and rescue.^[5]

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References

↑ Lieven Dewitte (21 April 1999). "How Dutch F-16AMs shot down a Mig-29". F-16.net. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
↑ Lieven Dewitte (24 March 1999). "First combat success for F-16MLU". F-16.net. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
1 2 3 Batajnicainfo.rs (2017-04-06). "Ko je bio major Zoran Radosavljević?" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-03.
1 2 Večernje novosti (2015-03-24). "Sestra pilota koga je ubila NATO raketa: Narod će uvek pamtiti Zorana" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-05.
↑ Robert F. Dorr (28 April 2015). "The Rescue of Vega 31; How special ops forces saved an F-117 pilot in Serbia". defensemedianetwork.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.

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[1] Lieven Dewitte (21 April 1999). "How Dutch F-16AMs shot down a Mig-29". F-16.net. Archived from the original on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

[2] Lieven Dewitte (24 March 1999). "First combat success for F-16MLU". F-16.net. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

[Batajnica_article-3] 1 2 3 Batajnicainfo.rs (2017-04-06). "Ko je bio major Zoran Radosavljević?" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-03.

[Novosti_article-4] 1 2 Večernje novosti (2015-03-24). "Sestra pilota koga je ubila NATO raketa: Narod će uvek pamtiti Zorana" (in Serbian). Retrieved 2021-01-05.

[5] Robert F. Dorr (28 April 2015). "The Rescue of Vega 31; How special ops forces saved an F-117 pilot in Serbia". defensemedianetwork.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.

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