Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro The Air Force of Serbia and Montenegro ( Serbian : Ратно Ваздухопловство Србије и Црне Горе , РВСиЦГ ; " Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo Srbije i Crne Gore " , RVSiCG ) , also named Air Force of Yugoslavia ( Serbian : Југословенско Ратно Ваздухопловство , ЈРВ ; " Jugoslovensko Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo " , JRV ) in the 1992 - 2003 period , was the air force of the former Serbia and Montenegro . It had around 300 fighter aircraft , ground attack aircraft , and other aircraft . The air force , in 1998 , had about 16 , 000 personnel . The air force was disbanded when Montenegro voted to secede from the FRY in 2006 . The bulk of it was inherited by the Serbian Air Force . History . Operation Allied Force . Around 50 Yugoslav aircraft were lost during the Kosovo War when NATO air forces attacked FRY in 1999 . Six MiG - 29s were destroyed in dogfights against F - 15s , F - 16 s or F - 18 . Other MiG - 29s were destroyed on the ground when NATO attacked Batajnica Airfield . Heroes of the War . The commander - in - chief of the Air Force said that Air Force and Air Defense had 40 killed and 110 wounded soldiers in combat . Air Force and Air Defense members fought bravely and used innovative tactics to counter technologically more advanced and numerically superior opponents . AF & AD C - in - C Lieutenant General Spasoje Smiljanic was promoted to the rank of Colonel General and awarded Medal of War Flag - First Degree . Deputy of C - in - C Supreme Command Headquarters for the AF Colonel General Ljubisa Velickovic was awarded the Medal of War Flag - First Degree . General Velickovic was killed in combat . Knights in combat . The first Yugoslav planes in the air were the Knights of the 127th LAE ( 127th Fighter Squadron ) with their MiG - 29 s ( they are the only unit operating them ) . Based on publicly released data one could conclude that three MiGs were scrambled from Batajnica Air Base with Lieutenant Colonel Ljubiša Kulačin , Major Nebojša Nikolić and Major Milorad Milutinović in the cockpits and two ( Lieutenant Colonel Dragan Ilić , Major Iljo Arizanov ) from Niš Airport . Since Germany had the same type of MiG - 29 for a decade , NATO was expected to be successful in jamming radar and communication with GC center . Bearing that in mind and the fact that great numbers of enemy aircraft were in the air backed by four AWACS planes , Yugoslav pilots applied new tactics . They abandoned the usual leader - wingman formations and used fast solo dashes near ground to stay out of sight and then , when close enough to fire their R - 73 s ( AA - 11 Archer air - to - air missiles ) , engage in a vertical climb trying to get a firing solution with their KOLS laser - IR rangefinder / homing system . The following pilots were awarded Bravery Medals and promoted to higher ranks : Other pilots that flew combat missions ( based on data gathered so far ) : List of awarded units . 250 . Rocket Brigade AD received the Order of the National Hero medal , the highest military medal for their exceptional service during the war . 126 . VOJIN Brigade received the Order of the National Hero medal , the highest military medal for their exceptional service during the war .