Downed Yugoslav MiG-29 fighters

During the war with NATO Yugoslavia lost several MiG-29 fighters out of the total force of only 16 such aircraft, two of which were trainers. The exact number of aircraft lost is not known. NATO claimed to have destroyed eleven MiG-29s, however, now this claim is known to be false. There were three documented incidents of MiG-29 losses during the war with NATO.

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From NATO Press Briefing (March 28)

Two U.S. F-15s shot down two MiG-29s and a Dutch F-16 shot down a third over Yugoslavia March 24, during the first wave of air attacks aimed at ending the Kosovo crisis.

     Two U.S. F-15C fighters shot down two MiG-29s over Bosnia at about 11:35 EST, March 26. NATO AWACs detected the Yugoslav fighters heading into Bosnia and U.S. aircraft patrolling as part of Operation Deny Flight shot down the intruders about five miles inside Bosnia. The fate of the MiG pilots was unknown.

     The Yugoslav flights over Bosnia represented a serious challenge, a spokesman said. "We don't know why they were flying into Bosnia," he said. "We can only speculate at this stage. One possible reason could be to attack SFOR forces in Bosnia." Although MiG fighters are primarily intended for air-to-air combat, he said, they do have a ground attack role. "We don't know what ordnance they were carrying. When we learn that, we may be able to deduce more about their mission."

MiG-29 crash site in Bosnia (I)

By 17:00 03.26.99 one Yugoslav MiG-29 was lost 13km south of Bogatic. The aircraft was downed by three F-16s at 7100m - this kill is attributed to a Dutch F-16 fighter. The aircraft was piloted by Major Zoran Radosavljevic. The aircraft possibly crashed in Bosnia near Ugljevik.

MiG-29 crash site in Bosnia  (II)

On March 26 a MiG-29 piloted by Lt.Col. Slobodan Peric was engaged by two USAF F-15Cs after shooting down a NATO aircraft (possibly an F-15E) in the area between Lazarevac and Loznica. The MiG-29 crashed in Bosnia. In confusion, BBC and a number of other western news networks aired a video of what was claimed to be the second MiG-29 crash site in Bosnia. However, the aircraft on the video had inscriptions in English on the fuselage, including an "Annual Inspection" sign, which can be found only on the US aircraft. This aircraft might have been the F-15E shot down by Lt. Col. Peric, just before he himself was shot down by a pair of F-15Cs. Several photos of the "first" MiG-29 (piloted by Lt. Col. Peric) shot down over Bosnia.

   

   

MiG-29 crash site in Knicanin, Vojvodina

One MiG-29 was shot down in an air-to-air combat on 03-24-99, shortly after taking-off from Batajnica airfield heading north to intercept attacking NATO aircraft. The aircraft was piloted by Major Nebojsa Nikolic. On this page you can find the photos of his MiG-29 fighter jet, which crashed in Knicanin, near the town of Titel in the Vojvodina province. The photos were made by Svetozar Vujkov, a member of Yugoslav Aeroclub "Titel".


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