Jovan A. Jugović was born in Belgrade on . He graduated from Belgrade's Military Academy in 1907, and entered the Serbian Army. On 1 May 1912, he left Belgrade and was sent to France to attend Farman's flight school with other Serbian recruits. Jugović graduated from the school in the summer of 1912, and received diploma #1013; he returned to Serbia that September. Upon returning to Serbia, Jugović was placed in charge of the Serbian Army's balloon squadron. He carried out several reconnaissance missions in Macedonia in July 1913, during the Second Balkan War. Jugović remained in charge of the balloon squadron until 1 March 1916, when he was transferred to the newly formed Serbian Air Force. Over the next two years, he flew combat missions over Bulgarian-occupied Macedonia in a French-made biplane. By the end of World War I, he had recorded three kills and earned the rank of captain. After the war, he held several senior positions in the newly formed Royal Yugoslav Air Force.