|
Yugoslavia Air Force
In 1990 the air force included more than 32,000 personnel;
because of the professional and technical requirements of the
service, fewer than 4,000 were conscripts. The air force operated
over 400 combat aircraft and 200 armed helicopters. It was
responsible for transport, reconnaissance, and rotary wing
aircraft as well as the national air defense system. The primary
air force missions were to contest enemy efforts to establish air
superiority over Yugoslavia and to support the defensive
operations of the ground forces and navy. Most aircraft and
missiles were produced domestically or supplied by the Soviet
Union.
The air force had twelve squadrons of domestically produced
ground attack fighters. The ground attack squadrons provided
close air support to ground force operations. They were equipped
with 165 new Orao-2, Super Galeb and Jastreb, and older P-2
Kraguj fighters. In 1990 gradual procurement of more Orao-2
fighters was facilitating replacement by the older fighters in
ground attack squadrons. Many ground attack fighters were armed
with AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles purchased from the
United States. Others were armed with Soviet AS-7 and AS-9
missiles. The air force also had seventy armed Mi-8 helicopter
gunships to provide added mobility and fire support for small
ground units. A large number of reconnaissance aircraft were
available to support ground forces operations. Four squadrons of
seventy Galeb, Jastreb, and Orao-1 fighters were configured for
reconnaissance missions.
The air force provided limited transport for the ground
forces. It had two squadrons with over thirty Soviet-made Yak-40,
An-12, and An-26 transport aircraft. It had seven helicopter
transport squadrons with Soviet Mi-8 and domestic Partisan
helicopters. In 1990 the air force transport aircraft and
helicopters could transport only part of the men and equipment of
the army's airborne brigade.
The air force had a limited role in supporting the navy in
coastal defense operations. It operated one squadron of Sovietmade Ka-25 and Ka-28 antisubmarine warfare helicopters and two
squadrons of Mi-8 and Partisan transport helicopters in support
of navy missions.
The air force conducted a large pilot training program with
almost 200 Galeb, Jastreb, and UTVA-75/-76 aircraft. The
propeller-driven UTVA trainers had underwing pylons capable of
carrying light weapons loads. A new UTVA Lasta trainer was under
development in 1990. After practicing instrument and night
flying, gunnery, bombing, rocket firing, and aerial maneuvers in
the Lasta, student pilots progressed to the Super Galeb. Twenty
Partisan helicopters were used for pilot training.
The air force had nine squadrons of 130 Soviet-made MiG-21
interceptors for air defense. First produced in the late 1950s,
the MiG-21 was largely obsolete in 1990 and represented a
potential weakness in Yugoslavia's air defense. The MiG-21's were
armed with Soviet AA-2 air-to-air missiles of a similar vintage
and some more modern AA-8 missiles as well as twin 30-mm cannons.
The air force acquired one squadron of new Soviet MiG-29
interceptors in 1989, possibly as an initial step toward
modernizing its interceptor squadrons. One Yugoslav aircraft
manufacturer also was developing a new domestic multirole fighter
to replace the MiG-21.
The air force controlled additional capable ground-based air
defense forces, which were upgraded in the mid-1970s. They
included eight battalions of Soviet SA-2 surface-to-air missiles;
six battalions of more modern SA-3 missiles; fifteen regiments of
antiaircraft artillery; and a network of early warning radars and
command, control, and communications equipment dispersed at sites
around the country. The best-defended sites were those with
strategic military value, including government army headquarters,
industrial infrastructure, major population centers, ports, and
airfields.
Data as of December 1990
|
