Serbian Air Force and Air Defence The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence ( ) , is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces . Established on 24 December 1912 in the city of Niš , it was absorbed into the various Yugoslav Air Forces between 1918 and 2006 . History . The first aviation pioneer in Serbia was major Kosta Miletić ( 1874 - 1953 ) , trained as a balloon pilot at the Technical Aeronautical School near Saint Petersburg , Russia from February 14 , 1901 to November 12 , 1902 , Miletić was also trained in the use of carrier pigeon s . According to projects of Miletić , Serbian armed forces posed messenger pigeon stations ( in 1908 in Medosevac near Nis and in 1909 in Pirot ) , and bought two free spherical and one tied kite – balloon from the company " August Ridinger " from Augsburg . At the reception ceremony , on April 19 , 1909 , Kosta Miletić flew a spherical balloon called Srbija ( " Serbia " ) . One balloon was provided from Russia . A gas chamber was ordered from the company Dillmann in Berlin , and field winch from St Petersburg . A hydrogen unit was provided from the Swiss company Oerlikon . The equipment was delivered to Serbia in 1909 and 1910 . The first competition for the cadet airmen in Serbia was opened on May 1911 , and in the following year the First class of Serbian pilots started their flying training in France from May 21 to September 8 , 1912 and got the rank of pilot . They finished the course in the beginning of the First Balkan War ( " See also " : Italo - Turkish War ) which forced to equip Serbian military with the aircraft and the balloons ( of course with a great material renunciation ) . In the autumn of 1912 , Serbia got the aircraft for its armed forces . On 24 December 1912 the head of the military Ministry Radomir Putnik signed the papers about forming the Aviation Command situated in Niš ; the commander was major Kosta Miletić . It comprised : the Aircraft Squad which counted 12 military aircraft , the Balloon squad , the Pigeon post and the Base . This date is the date of forming of Serbian Air Force . This made Serbia , one of the first 15 states in the world to have an air force . Its first combat experience , the Serbian Aviation has experienced on the March 1913 over the Skadar . On the first combat flight sergeant - pilot Mihajlo Petrović was killed as the second victim of World Military Aviation . The first victim of military aviation was a Bulgarian pilot Topradzijev who was killed in 1912 when he was flying back from the reconnaissance mission over Edirne ( " See also " : Battle of Adrianople ( 1913 ) ) . Mihajlo Petrović was the first trained Serbian airplane pilot . He completed his training and exams at the famous Farman pilot school in France and was awarded the international FAI license no . 979 in June 1912 . His Serbian pilot ' s license carries the number 1 . NATO bombing of Yugoslavia . An important portion of the 1999 war between Yugoslavia and the NATO coalition involved combat between the Yugoslav Air Force , which was the predecessor of today ' s Serbian Air Force , and the opposing air forces of NATO . United States Air Force F - 15s and F - 16 s flying mainly from Italian air force bases attacked the defending Yugoslav fighters — usually MiG - 29 s , which were in bad shape , due to lack of spare parts and maintenance . A total of six Yugoslav MiG - 29s were shot down in 1999 , of which three were shot down by USAF F - 15 s , one by a USAF F - 16 , and one by a RNAF F - 16 . One aircraft , according to a Serbian documentary , was hit by friendly fire from the ground . Another four were destroyed on the ground . During the course of the air war , Yugoslav anti - aircraft defenses downed a USAF F - 16C and an F - 117 Nighthawk , the first stealth aircraft to ever be shot down in combat . Equipment . Aircraft . The air force fleet consists of several Soviet combat aircraft , consisting of a number of MiG - 21 s , and MiG - 29 s . Serbia is looking to replace its aging fleet with new multi - role combat aircraft . Before its demise , the former Yugoslav Air Force was developing the " Novi Avion " project which was intended as a replacement . The project was canceled in 1991 due to the collapse of Yugoslavia . Serbia , as the largest succeeding nation of Yugoslavia , took possession of the entire Yugoslav Air Force inventory . After the Agreement on Sub - Regional Arms Control was enacted in 1996 , dozens of J - 22 , J - 21 and G - 2 s have been withdrawn from service . The air force operates from three major air bases , the 204th Batajnica Air Base and 98th Lađevci Air Base and Niš Air Base . Air Defence . The Serbian air force operates a variety of Soviet surface - to - air missile systems . Many are long - range with a moderate amount of short - range weapons assigned to infantry units . The 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade operates SA - 3 and SA - 6 surface - to - air missile systems . The military is upgrading both types with fire - and - forget ability . The air force has upgraded " Neva - M " to the " Neva - M1T " standard and " Kub - M " to " Kub - M2 " . For defending air bases and important infrastructures Bofors 40mm L - 70 in complement with M - 85 Zirafa radars are used , and for engaging low flight targets 9K38 Igla or SA - 18 . Future . The Serbian Ministry of Defence intends to purchase of new multirole combat aircraft to replace its aging fleet of MiG - 21 and MiG - 29 combat aircraft . Reports in the media speculate between 12 and 16 aircraft would be ordered and listed the F - 16 , F - 18 , Rafale , JAS 39 Gripen , Eurofighter Typhoon , Su - 30 or the MiG - 29M as possible candidates . Military analyst Miroslav Lazanski claims Russia is offering Serbia 12 MiG - 29M / M2 combat aircraft along with S - 300PMU - 2 and Pantsir - S1 surface - to - air missile systems , as well as two radars for its air defence . In June 2013 , defence minister Aleksandar Vučić suggested that Serbia might purchase six MiG - 29M / M2 In July 2013 , media reports suggested that Serbia might be interested in purchasing a squadron of medium transport helicopters , preferably the Mi - 17 . Aircraft markings . The Serbian Air Force roundel was officially adopted in 2006 . The roundel is an adapted version of the former Royal Yugoslav Air Force roundel which ceased to exist in 1943 . It is composed of a blue trim on the outside rim followed inward by the Serbian national colours red , blue and white , with a white cross in the centre with blue trim . The Air Force also uses a low visibility roundel of the same design only replacing the traditional roundel colours of red , blue and white with two grey colour variations of light and dark for contrast , these roundels have most recently been placed on refurbished MiG - 29 s . Most other aircraft continue to use the standard coloured roundel . Serbian Air Force Centennial . The Serbian Air Force observed its centennial anniversary celebration on September 2 , 2012 , marking one - hundred years of its existence by hosting an international air show organized by the Ministry of Defense as the central manifestation . The air show featured representatives from 16 countries around the world and 27 kinds of aircraft . References . Further reading