6/8/99

Radio Novosti from Belgrade reported that in the region of Ruma, just north of the city, two aircraft were hit and possibly shot down, and over the area of Kotez, two UAVs were downed.

6/7/99

19:02 Srbac - Banja Luka (Republic of Srpska) - Unofficial reports indicate that around 5:30 pm a NATO aircraft crashed in the region of Slavonia (Croatia). Eyewitnesses claim that during the fall the plane was missing an engine, and was followed by a rescue helicopter.

6/3/99 Unofficial internet sources report that last night, around 10pm local time, two UAVs were downed in the general area of Novi Sad - one over Backa Palanka, the other over Cenej. Another such aircraft is believed to have been shot down over Kovilje.

5/31/99

Four NATO aircraft, hit over Serbia, crash in Macedonia May 31, 1999

Skopje, May 31 (Tanjug) - Four more NATO warplanes fell in Macedonia in the past 24 hours after previously being hit by the Yugoslav Army who was defending its territory.

According to reliable reports, the first plane fell near the village of Matejce, in northern Macedonia.

On Sunday noon the villagers saw a NATO plane spiralling down followed by dense black smoke and crash on a nearby mountain. Shortly after, two helicopters were seen flying in that direction.

On Sunday afternoon, the inhabitants of St. Nikola, northeastern Macedonia, saw another warplane fall.

The villagers found the remains of the aircraft, but NATO helicopters arrived soon, gathered the scattered parts and ferried them to one of the bases.

After hearing the strong detonation near the village of Suplji Kamen, close to St. Nikola, the villagers started to search for the downed plane. They said that the blast cracked windows and walls in some houses.

A third NATO warplane barely managed to limp across the Yugoslav-Macedonian border on Monday morning crashing near the Macedonian village of Sopot.

This time too, the NATO soldiers picked up the remains, but did not manage to silence the local eyewitnesses.

A pilotless NATO spy aircraft crashed close to the Yugoslav border, in the village of Tabanovce, after being hit over Yugoslavia. Once again, it was seen by the villagers and the NATO troops arrived to pick up the pieces.

On Monday noon, the citizens of Skopje were shaken by a strong detonation from the direction of the nearby Mt. Vodno.

So far, neither the NATO headquarters in Skopje nor the Macedonian police have issued any official statement, but it is believed that another NATO plane crashed.

Today's detonation was the strongest heard in Skopje so far.

RTS (Serbian Radio & TV) denied today claims of Albanian separatists having taken control of the Gorozup border post. The correspondent reported directly from the site. RTS accused NATO of "ground invasion from Albania, expanding from the Djakovica direction to the Vrbnica direction, where in a 15 km (10 mile) wide front continued the operations of 2-3 thousand terrorists, Albanian Army soldiers, and NATO special forces." The report claimed the attack had NATO air support, and put the attackers' casualty figures at over a hundred. The reporter added that during these operations Pristina Corps units downed one A-10 aircraft, one UAV, and a cruise missile.

5/30/99 Unofficial Internet sources reported a forced landing of a damaged US F-117A aircraft at the Nis military airport in southern Serbia. The unconfirmed report claims the pilot, unable to eject from the hit plane, requested and was granted permission to land. No further details were available.

Channel TV5 in Nis (southern Serbia) reported at least one warplane hit by anti-aircraft fire during attacks on that city. Other sources claim that at 3:58 local time over the town of Kursumlija the pilot ejected at the locale of Zitni potok - Bregovina. His further fate is unknown.

5/28/99

Unofficial sources reported over the Internet the shooting down of two planes at the northern outskirts of Serbia's third largest city, Nis, and one more above Belgrade around 2am. Other sources claimed Yugoslav Navy air defenses downed a UAV that crashed into the hill above the Gulf of Kotor.

The Commander of the Yugoslav Army's Pristina Corps, Major-general Vladimir Lazarevic, speaking to journalists from the Yugoslav news agancy Beta and Washington Post, gave details of combined NATO-Albanian raids into Yugoslavia. He stated that "a ground invasion against FRY began back on april 9, when armed Albanian terrorists, assissted by regular Albanian Army units and under NATO Special Forces command, attempted a large raid on Yugoslav territory from the Tropoje region to the Junik mountain range, in the Kosare border post area. These forces have been routed with huge losses, as reported even by foreign media, and among the casualties were mercenaries from the Foreign Legion, mujaheddin, and members of British SAS special forces".

5/26/99

HAM operators from eastern Serbia reported the shooting down of a NATO warplane over the border triangle of Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. The plane reportedly crashed on the Romanian bank of the Danube. Internet sources report the downing of Tornado aircraft and three cruise missles in the vicinity of Malo Crnice near the town of Pozarevac. The pilots ejected and released fuel tanks in the Aleksandrovac - Zabare region.

5/24/99

Reliable sources from Aviano, Italy, report that in the present course of the NATO air campaign, a total of 3 F-117A Nighthawk aircraft have been taken out of commission. Apart from the widely publicized one, a second one had crashed in Croatia, and the third did manage to land in Aviano, but was damaged enough to be officially deemed a total loss. The source went on to say that 4 pilots stationed in Aviano - three Americans and one Dutchman - never returned to base, and that the second Apache helicopter that crashed two weeks ago did so as a result of Yugoslav anti-aircraft fire, as it was trying to enter Yugoslav air space. Finally, these sources pointed out that American pilots, discontent with the perils of their mission, managed last week to effectuate a 25% pay raise (plus bonuses for hitting certain targets), and that a total of 18 aircraft are out of commission in Aviano as a result of Yugoslav Air Defense action.

PRISTINA - Yugoslav air defenses shot down a NATO A-10 Thunderbolt warplane near the town of Klina in Kosovo - the SRNA correspondent learned at the Regional Information Center. The same source confirmed the aircraft was downed on Saturday. ( Fonet, May 24, 1999 )

Skopje, May 24 (Tanjug) - A pilotless NATO plane crashed at Blace in Macedonia near the border with Yugoslavia on Sunday, according to a Skopje television report.

In the vicinity of the Blace-Djeneral Jankovic border crossing towards Macedonia two NATO UAVs have been downed over the last three days. Friday afternoon a Hunter aircraft was hit by Yugoslav air defenses near Blace, though NATO sources only spoke of a forced landing due to "equipment malfunction". On Saturday, around 9:30, at the locale of Propast at the foot of Suva Reka near Blace, another UAV crashed. The Canadian reconnaisance aircraft hit the ground close to the local church of St. Petka, according to the Vecer newspaper in Skopje.

Finally, a third UAV was reported to have crashed in the Tetovo-Gostivar area of Western Macedonia. 5/23/99

According to the May 23, 1999, issue of the German paper "Welt am Sonntag", the crash of the American Apache helicopter that took place during the night of May 4/5, some 45 miles NW of Tirana, was not caused by equipment malfunction, but most likely by Yugoslav air defense action. The paper quotes an alleged secret report by NATO experts that have reached that conclusion given the circumstances of the incident - the aircraft exploded in mid-air and shortly turned into a fireball. It is precisely that detail that rules out equipment failure. The two crewmembers died, thus becoming the first NATO casualties since the beginning of the bombing campaign.

Internet sourced report that two Canadian F-18 bombers were forced to land at the Resnik airport near Split, Croatia. They were returning from their mission over Serbia, and apparently were unable to be refueled in the air due to bad weather.

The same sources claim that a NATO jet was hit Saturday, between 2 and 3 pm, while attacking a civilian airport in the town of Leskovac in southeastern Serbia. The damaged aircraft disappeared in the direction of Bulgaria.

Internet users from Belgrade reported at least two downings of NATO fighter aircraft over Belgrade, on 5/20 and 5/23 respectively. The fate of the pilots remains unknown, though preliminary indications are that they migt have been recovered and taken prisoner by Yugoslav military authorities.

5/22/99

16:25 The German program SAT-1 Video Text, page 129 states that it is very likely that the American Apache helicopter that crashed two weeks ago was shot by Yugoslav air defenses.

5/21/99

OSIJEK, May 21 - Sources from Croatia report that a strong explosion was felt Friday, around 12:35. The Osijek Information Centre claimed that this was the likely consequence of breaking the sound barrier east of town. There is no information of any events on the ground that could have caused a blast of such magnitude. Incidentally, Croatian media have so far not reported of other cases of breaking the sound barrier, specifically in the western region of Istra. Although there are many reliable reports of a crashed NATO F-16 jet in the area of Gradiste by the town of Zupanja, Croatian media have so far not mentioned this incident.

5/20/99 BEOGRAD, O7:20: One UAV ( unmanned vehicle ) was downed near Batajnica [NW of Belgrade] UROSEVAC, O7:10: A UAV was shot down at 18:55 in the vicinity of Urosevac ( Kosovo ) [Internet reports via Podgorica, Montenegro]

5/18/99

BONN, May 18 (AFP) - Germany suspended flights by unmanned planes over Yugoslavia Tuesday, a day after it lost its fourth drone since the start of the NATO air campaign, the defence ministry announced.

A ministry spokesman said flights by German drones will not resume until the reasons for the loss of the latest plane are established.

NATO has admitted to losing a number of drones -- unmanned planes equipped with cameras for information-gathering -- since launching its air campaign against Yugoslavia on March 24.

[...] "Nato is suffering significant losses. Reliable alternative sources in Washington have counted up to 38 aircraft crashed or shot down, and an undisclosed number of American and British special forces killed. This is suppressed, of course." [...] (from London Guardian, 5/18/99, "Acts of Murder", by John Pilger)

5/14/99

(Tanjug, Belgrade, May 14)

Serbian television on Friday showed the twisted remains of three pilotless NATO spy aircraft, shot down by Yugoslav air defence systems over the Yugoslav republic of Serbia's Kosovo and Metohija province. In its prime-time news program, television showed footage of the actual downing of one of the aircraft over Urosevac, shot out of the sky by the Pristina corps.

Another, a Boeing-made pilotless plane, crashed and cracked open on Mt Mokra Gora.

A third, a CL 289 turbo-jet, was downed at the village of Klokot near Kosovska Vitina, shot immediately after being launched from an enemy plane.

5/13/99

Internet users from Macedonia (FYROM) reported an apparent crash of a NATO plane around 7:30 pm in the Kicevo area, with the pilot believed to have ejected SW of Skoplje. Multiple helicopters have been obsevrved flying into the area shortly thereafter.

Internet users from Macedonia report a NATO plane crash between the villages of Cetirce i Tromedja, in the vicinity of Kumanovo, not far from the Yugoslav border. Villagers of Tromedja reported seeing 4 NATO aircraft returning from Kosovo, one of them with heavy smoke coming out that later turning into fire; shortly after that, it crashed. Helicopters coming from the direction Skoplje were observed shortly.

Internet users from FRY report that close to downtown of the south-central Serbian city of Kraljevo two NATO planes appeared to be hit, and a third one was downed near the village of Gledica in the Gledic montain range 20 km (12 mi) NE of Kraljevo.

Yugoslav Internet users report that one and possibly two NATO aircraft have been shot down in the area of the village Becmen, near Belgrade's civilian Surcin airport, some 10 miles west of the capital. Eyewitnesses claim finding scattered small plane fragments in the area of the village gas station, and seeing two parachutes land in a nearby sports fishing zone; the pilots have reportedly been captured and taken into custody.

The Belgrade daily "Vecernje novosti" published in its Thursday edition the facsimile of an alleged NATO document, reportedly held in Brusseles as top secret, which details the alliance's losses in the ongoing war in Yugoslavia. According to that document, during the March 24 - May 2 time period, these losses totalled 74 aircraft - planes, helicopters and UAVs.

5/12/99

Internet users from Nis - the southern Serbian city that has been heavily bombed lately, primarily with cluster bombs causing serious civilian casualties and damage - reported a shootdown, with parts of what was apparently a low-flying NATO jet scattered around, including a wing on an apartment building. Much of the cluster bomb payload, unexploded, was apparently also scattered in the street and nearby park.

Internet users from the northern Yugoslav province of Vojvodina report that a damaged NATO warplane exited Yugoslav airspace in the direction of Hungary.

BELGRADE (Tanjug) - Even Western sources admit that thus far in the course of its aggression against Yugoslavia, NATO's Air Force has sustained losses of over 70 aircraft and around 200 cruise missiles, - reports the latest war edition of the Vojska [Army] magazine.

However, the NATO Command continues its attempt to hide these losses, while admitting "high professionalism and training" of the Yugoslav Air Defenses. Disunity on a number of issues is creating, according to the magazine, great confusion in the NATO ranks, compounded by the growing dissatisfaction of pilots, which, "without a clear idea or tactically sound intent" are being sent daily into missions of ever increasing risk and moral dubiousness. Lately, the article alleges, even the emergency ejection mechanisms are being turned off.

Through the use of special tactical skills and fast maneuvers, as well certain technical innovations, the air defense crews have been creating "unsolvable difficulties to enemy aircraft". The officer corps of the YA [Yugoslav Army] has shown that "our strategy, tactics, knowledge and imagination" surpass the rigid schemata of NATO generals, "that unwillingly admit that the YA has surprised and outwitted them".

Vojska stresses how that is understandable, given the fact that NATO lost 10% of the appr. 700 deployed fighter aircraft. Those numbers show that NATO has "gone heavily in the red, which will be hard to justify before those that have dissuade them from waging war on Yugoslavia". The magazine further states how such truths can not be explained away even by NATO spokesman J. Shea, adding that "when matters tend to get out of hand and subject to embarassing journalistic queries, he is forced to seek a bailout by NATO brass at his briefings.

5/11/99

NATO AGGRESSION - BOSNIA, REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

MILOVANOVIC: SFOR INVOLVED IN AGGRESSION ON YUGOSLAVIA Republika Srpska Defense Minister Gen. Manojlo Milovanovic said that SFOR units, who are in Bosnia and Herzegovina for keeping peace and stability, are involved in the NATO aggression on FR Yugoslavia. Milovanovic told the weekly Reporter that the Defense Ministry has at its disposal data that SFOR units, stationed in the facility Kula near Zvornik are engaged in disrupting communication lines in Yugoslavia. He further said that NATO Supreme Command undertook, at the beginning of the aggression, flight control in Bosnia and Herzegovina, relieving SFOR Command of responsibility for developments in the sky above Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Milovanovic pointed to the huge disagreement between the RS Defense Ministry which has at its disposal data that NATO planes are overflying Bosnia and Herzegovina or between RS and the SFOR command which denies that. We have registered the exact number of overflies, Milovanovic said and added that on May 1 alone, within 24 hours, a total of 198 sorties of NATO airplanes over Yugoslavia were registered of which 75 or 38 percent take offs from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to Milovanovic, on May 2 there were 779 sorties for FR Yugoslavia of which 231 or 29 percent from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Take offs and landings, Milovanovic said, were registered also at the airfield Dubrava near Tuzla. Milovanovic said that NATO can no longer claim that its warplanes are not overflying the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that NATO planes do not take off and land at Dubrava airfield near Tuzla.

The RS Defense Minister pointed out that since the beginning of the aggression on the FRY, NATO has been using the air space of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the airfield Dubrava near Tuzla and also in Sarajevo, which according to him, is used for the crash landing of damaged NATO planes hit over the territory of Yugoslavia.

Milovanovic further said that NATO is using airfields in Croatia. The strongest air raids are launched from the airfield Udbine, and airfields in Pleso, Osijek and Pula are also used.

The RS Defense Ministry, Milovanovic said, has at its disposal data about NATO planes that have crashed in the territory of RS. (Tanjug, Banjaluka, May 11)

5/8/99

BELGRADE, May 8 (AFP) - Yugoslav anti-aircraft gunners shot down a pilotless NATO aircraft Saturday night over Gorni Milanovac, 160 km (100 miles) south of Belgrade, the official Tanjug news agency said. It said the drone was hit shortly after air raid sirens sounded in the capital.

5/6/99

PARIS - The French weekly TTU-Europe that covers military affairs reported today that a member of the British special unit SAS disappeared in Kosovo about ten days ago. The spokesman for the British Defence Ministry claimed that he was unaware of this report, but reminded that the Ministry never gives public statements about SAS activities. Reuters claimed that the "usually reliable" TTU-Europe also writes that members of British and American special forces first entered Kosovo during the night of March 20/21, five days before the NATO attack on Yugoslavia. The weekly, citing British sources, does not give details of the mission during which the SAS meber had disappeared, nor any information about whether he was killed or taken prisoner. The article states, however, that the initial missions of NATO commandoes in Kosovo were reconnaissance and target spotting. It is believed that British special forces on the ground "consist of members of the SAS 22nd B squadron and SAS 63rd signal squadron", according to the French weekly. The Americans sent to Kosovo members of the 1/1 special forces unit stationed in Germany, which have since been joined by members fo two French units from the Command for Special Operations (COS). The American and French use special laser rays fro illuminating planes and bombs to their targets, according to TTU-Europe. The article further claims that Denmark, Germany and Italy have also mobilized special units for Kosovo, but does not specify whether they have actively been engaged in FRY yet.

5/5/99

RTS [Serbian radio and television] showed today the remnants of an American A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft, reportedly shot down by Yugoslav air defenses of the Pristina Corps. The RTS footage showed parts of an engine, including the fan. Standing before the front side of the engine, reporter M. Drecun pointed out that it took a direct hit. An identification plate was also shown, displaying the following: model A10a series A 40662; code 77751. The RTS report did not specify the date of the shootdown, though the screen date indicated May 2.

BAJINA BASTA (Tanjug) - Yugoslav anti-aircraft defences downed a NATO plane in the area of Bajina Basta, in the west of Serbia, at around 1.30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. The aircraft came from the direction of Visegrad. The emergency centre in Bajina Basta told Tanjug that NATO aircraft, which started overflying the town soon after midnight, targeted the wider area of Mt Kadinjaca, situated southeast of the town. Ten strong detonations rocked the town. Yugoslav anti-aircraft defences strongly responded to the attack.

BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Two American Apache crew members were killed during a training mission Wednesday when their helicopter crashed in Albania, the U.S. European Command said. The deaths were the first NATO casualties in the air campaign against Yugoslavia. The command said there were no initial indications of hostile fire in the crash, 47 miles northeast of the Albanian capital of Tirana, and the cause of the crash was not immediately known. The names of the two crewmen were not released pending notification of next of kin. The crash was the second time an Apache helicopter has gone down during a training mission in Albania. The first copter crashed April 26 as NATO prepared to put the U.S. attack helicopters into action against Serb forces in Kosovo. Its crewmen escaped with cuts and bruises. See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559431157-01d

5/4/99

NATO officials acknowledged Monday that Yugoslav anti-aircraft guns struck an A-10 Thunderbolt attack plane during a mission Sunday over Yugoslavia; the US plane made an emergency landing at the airport in Skopje, Macedonia. (San Jose Mercury, 5/4/99)

5/2/99

SKOPJE, May 2 (Reuters) - A NATO A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft made an emergency landing at Skopje airport on Sunday but it was not immediately clear what caused the incident.

NATO sources in Skopje and Brussels confirmed that the plane -- a Warthog of the type used by the U.S. military in its campaign against Yugoslavia -- had landed at Macedonia's main airport in the morning. A NATO source in Brussels said the reason for the landing was not yet known.

One private Macedonian television quoted eyewitnesses as saying the wing of the aircraft appeared to be damaged, but this could not be independently confirmed.

NATO said on Sunday it had lost an F-16CJ over Yugoslavia to engine failure and that an AV8B Harrier had crashed during a training exercise in the Adriatic.

SABAC, May 2 (Tanjug) - In the area of the village Nakucani near the city of Sabac, 80 km [50 miles] west of Belgrade, early this morning around 2:10 AM Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down a NATO F-16 fighter jet - Tanjug confirmed based on sources in the regional Inforamtion and Alert Center.

RTS [Serbian radio and television] claimed the pilot managed to eject. RTS showed footage from the villages of Nakucani and neighboring Curica Zabran, Yugoslav Air Defenses managed also to down at least one helicopter with commandoes angaged in the rescue mission.

4/29/99

BELGRADE, April 29 (Politika) - Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Yugoslav Army, 3-star general D. Ojdanic received the managing director of the newspaper Politika, H. D. Antic and delivered the following statement:

"Dear citizens of Yugoslavia, servicemen and officers of the Yugoslav Army, defenders of the country, - thirty five days and nights we have been successfully resisting - all as one - an aggression against our country. We did not want this war, but the people and the government of the state could not accept the ultimatum that would have meant capitulation and occupation of our country. The war was forced upon us.

From the beginning of the aggression, the Yugoslav Army has shot down: 46 airplanes, including the famous F-117A, 6 helicopters, 8 unmanned aircraft and 182 cruise missiles. In addition, the human casualties they have sustained are not negligible either."

4/28/99

Since the beginning of military operations more the one hundred NATO servicemen died in Yugoslavia - reported today the representative of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army in an interview with the Belgrade newspaper "Evening News". This number includes only members of rescue helicopter teams, landing on the sites of crashes of grounded NATO airplanes to rescue their pilots. The Yugoslav military developed a very successfull tactic of destroying these squads and have being shooting the helicopters at the point of takeoff, when they are most vulnerable. According to the interview, most of the casualties are American, and others include German, French, British and Turkish servicemen. Based on data supplied by Belgrade, Yugoslav anti-aircraft defenses alredy grounded more then 50 NATO airplanes.

"Ross Business Consulting" Information Agency, Moscow, April 28.

4/26/99

WASHINGTON., April 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter crashed on a training mission in northern Albania on Monday night but the two crewmen escaped and were reported to be in good condition, the Army said. The U.S. European Command said in a statement from Germany that the AH-64 Apache, one of 24 sent to join NATO attacks against Serb armour and troops in Kosovo, crashed about 24 miles (40 km) north-northeast of its base at Tirana airport. The two pilots were evacuated to a military hospital at Tirana airport and ``initial reports indicate they are in good condition,'' the statement said.

4/25/99

(Tanjug) Pristina - Reports from the Regional Information Secretariate state that the airplane, shot yesterday at 2:25 pm above Pristina, fell in the area of the village of Businje, northwest of the capital of the southern Serbian region. Tanjug has learned that two other aggressor aircraft have ended their missions by crashing in the general area of Laplje Selo and Lipovica, south and southwest of Pristina.

4/21/99

The Kragujevac Corps of the Yugoslav Army issued a statement that Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down Tuesday two enemy aircraft, both of which fell in the Cumic-Rudnik-Topola area.

4/19/99

1325 GMT, 990419 - A Danish F-16 fighter plane taking part in Operation Allied Force made an emergency landing at Sarajevo airport in Bosnia in the early morning hours of April 19. A Danish defense ministry spokesman said that the plane experienced "critical engine problems." The spokesman stressed that the problem was a technical fault and not one caused by combat.

1325 GMT, 990419 - A Danish F-16 fighter plane taking part in Operation Allied Force made an emergency landing at Sarajevo airport in Bosnia in the early morning hours of April 19. A Danish defense ministry spokesman said that the plane experienced "critical engine problems." The spokesman stressed that the problem was a technical fault and not one caused by combat.

( Beta, 4/19/99 ) Belgrade - The Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army issued a statement that Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down around 4 pm local time, in the vicinity of Pristina, two airplanes that both exploded in mid-air, and around 7 pm a third one, which crashed into nearby Mt. Cicavica.

4/18/99

1810 GMT, 990418 - The Voice of Russia radio program has reported that so far NATO has lost over 40 planes and 90 airmen between March 24 and April 15. The report said Yugoslav and Russian military sources said NATO has also lost 120 cruise missiles to Yugoslav defenses.

(Tanjug) Another NATO plane ended its deadly mission on the slopes of Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, in the region of the Macedonian village Tanusevci, just 4 km from the Yugoslav border. The jet, reportedly shot over Kosovo and Metohija, made a failed attempt to reach the Petrovec airport in Skoplje. Reliable sources claim the pilot unsuccessfully tried to eject, and probably perished in the ensuing fire.

4/17/99

PRISTINA, Apr. 17 - In one of the rare public disclosures about some losses suffered by NATO during its 24-day war against Serbia, the commanding office of the Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, Gen. Nebojsa Pavkovic, said today in a Radio Pristina broadcast that his troops had shot down 16 NATO planes, 47 missiles, three helicopters and four pilotless spy planes. The Third Army operates in southern Serbia, includng Kosovo.

The alleged NATO losses cited by Gen. Pavkovic do NOT include any aircraft or missiles shot down in the northern two thirds of the country which is defended by the First and the Second Armies of the Yugoslav military. (TiM Bulletin 25)

4/16/99

1508 GMT, 990416 - The German Defense Ministry has ordered unmanned reconnaissance aircraft back into service, although it hasn't determined the cause of the crash of three such planes. A Defense Ministry spokesman said the planes could have been lost due to any number of reasons from technical failure to being shot down.

1443 GMT, 990416 - Reports cite NATO spokesman Major Eric Mongnot as saying that a NATO aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Skopje, but would take off again after repairs. He gave no further details.

Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down a NATO plane in the vicinity of Danilovgrad, as reported by Serbian TV (RTS). The report stated that bombing targets included a hill atop the residential area of Tuzi, some 10 km from [Montenegrin capital] Podgorica, with predominantly Albanian population. One bomb fell in the area of the Golubovci airport. According to RTS, two missiles hit the residential area of Sveti Nikola.

( Fonet, 4/16/99 ) Belgrade - The command of te Yugoslav Second Army reported today that last night two NATO aircraft have been shot down and that a search after the pilots is under way. The statement says that "NATO enemy air force" last night engaged in strikes against mostly civilian targets in the area of Podgorica and Danilovgrad", and that "more than 20 missiles were launched in the process".

( Fonet, 4/16/99 ) Podgorica - The Information service of the Yugoslav Navy stated today in today's operations a NATO plane was shot down, as reported by Montena faks. The statement, as carried by the news agency, says that "targetting the area around Podgorica i Danilovgrad, enemy air force overflew the Navy operational combat zone¾, at which point, it says, "the Navy's air defenses opened fire at enemy aircraft and downed a plane. [...]

4/13/99

0245 GMT, 990413 - A U.S. KC-135 tanker crashed near the Dutch-German border tonight while attempting to land. The plane was returning to Geilenkirchen airbase in Germany after completing a mission. The plane had aborted a landing and crashed shortly thereafter. Its crew of four were killed.

4/9/99

(Voice of Moscow radio, 4/9/99) Since the beginning of its operations in the Balkans, NATO casualties totaled 88 servicemen, claimed Greek newspaper "Athinaiki", referencing sources from NATO headquaters in Brussels. All of them are currently listed as missing and half of them are American soldiers. Greek journalists claimed, however, that they are dead. At the same time Norwegian newspaper "Verdens Gang" proved the supposition that the first coffins are on the way to USA and Germany. When Macedonian customs officials checked the cargo at the Greek border, they found coffins with bodies of American and German soldiers, writes the newspaper. "We saw corpses of dead soldiers in the coffins with our own eyes,"- the customs officials said.

ITAR TASS, 00:12

Yugoslav air defenses downed Wednesday night over Kosovo an RPV (remotely piloted vehicle) aircraft "Hunter", during its reconaissance over Kosovo. This was reported, based on Pentagon sources, by Washington military magazine Inside Pentagon. There is video footage of this downing. Hunter aircraft have been used for reconaissance of FRY military formations.

4/5/99

Belgrade media, referencing the Obrenovac Information Center, report that Yugoslav army air defenses have shot down around 2:30 am [local time] a cruise missile in the general area of Obrenovac. The same media, however, carry eyewitness reports that in the Obrenovac region air defenses have downed one aircraft and two cruise missiles, which have all landed in the city outskirts.

Alternativna televizija ("Alternative TV" - Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia) showed today footage of a plane flying around 7 pm over Banja Luka, followed by a streak of thick black smoke. The guest military comentator in the studio, gen. Milovan Marcetic, stated that it was "undoubtedly a NATO fighter aircraft returning from attacks on FRY". Due to high altitude he was unable to specify which of the American planes - F-14 or F16 - was in question, but claimed that the craft "will certainly not make if back to Aviano".

4/2/99

(Tanjug, 4/2/99)

The bodies of "the first 19 dead American soldiers" were secretly transported from Macedoania to Thessaloniki, from where they will travel in metal caskets back to America, writes the Athenian daily Athinaiki. The paper says on the front page that the bodies have "in full secrecy been escorted by a special corps of military officers through Skopje [FRY Macedonia], and arrived at the 424th military hospital" in Thessaloniki, in preparation for further shipment. Athinaiki specifies that on Wednesday to Thessaloniki first arrived the bodies of 12 American servicemen that have already been returned to the US. The remaining seven have been transported to the Greek port on Thursday, from where they were supposed to depart today. The bodies of the dead Americans were, as was stated in the news article entitled "The first 19 dead Americans in Thessaloniki", transported in containers "escorted by special American forces, who were joined at the border by Greek police. Stressing that "Greek authorities claim no konwledge fo this", Athinaiki writes that here, as was the case in Vietnam and Iraq, America follows the "vow of secrecy", and that they will confirm only later, at an appropriate moment, their losses. "The Americans escorting the caskets, by their stance and behavior, reveal what has happened.

4/1/99

RTS quoted Tanjug which claimed, based on "reliable sources", that Yugoslav air defenses have downed three NATO aircraft in the region of the Tara mountain. The same source specified that shot down were one fighter plane and two helicopters with some 50 members of special forces for rescue missions. No details of the type of fighter jet were given, and it was stated that it went down sometime after midnight, and that shortly thereafter, ground fire neutralized two NATO helicopters that came from Bosnia in search of the downed plane. Based on preliminary information, few if any of the crew survived.

(B92, 3/30/99)

Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down tonight in the vicinity of Vranje one NATO warplane, but the exact location of its fall is not known, reports Radio Belgrade. Citing a statement by the Command of the Nis Army Corps, state radio said that the pilot catapulted and landed between two villages, on the road to Kriva Feja.

Radio Belgrade reported that Yugoslav Air Defenses shot down a NATO RPV, near the locale of Obla Glava, in the vicinity of Aleksinac. "The aircraft is destroyed, and its equipment will help thje investigating team determine facts about its operation. This is some of the most modern technology that uses transmitters to locate targets, gives targetting coordinates, and relays other information to enemy aircraft via the headquarters", states the Radio Belgrade report.

Television S from Pale aired footage of remnants of an American airplane which locals claim to have been downed at the location of Stojna, 14 km from Pale.

3/30/99

BELGRADE, March 30 (Reuters) - A NATO warplane believed to be a British Harrier jump-jet was shot down over Montenegro during a sixth straight day of raids on Yugoslav military positions, Serbian radio reported on Tuesday.

It said the plane came down south of the capital Podgorica early on Tuesday, its fiery descent watched by many eyewitnesses.

"The air defence units of the Yugoslav Army's Second Army fired at two aircraft which were flying low over Podgorica after they had bombed Golubovci airfield. One of them was hit and crashed on the Pastrovacka Gora hill.

"This has been confirmed by locals who have already set out to search for the pilot," the radio said.

"It is believed that the aircraft was a Harrier but official data will most probably be released after expert teams arrive at the scene," it added.

The Serbian side has claimed to have shot down seven NATO planes and three helicopters since the raids began last Wednesday.

NATO has admitted to losing only one, an F-117 stealth fighter which came down west of Belgrade on Saturday night. The pilot was rescued shortly afterwards by a U.S. recovery team.

Serbian television also reported that three strong explosions were heard near Podgorica shortly before midnight local time (2200 GMT), in what was thought to be a raid on Golubovci airport.

TVCG (Montenegro TV - Podgorica) shows downed NATO aircraft, believed to be British Harrier, in the region of Virpazar. Pilot reportedly ejected.

Channel S (Republic of Srpska, Bosnia) shows pictures of downed NATO aircraft, reportedly hit over Kosovo, exploded in mid-air over Pale, in an attempt to land on Sarajevo airport. Pilot believed to have died in explosion.

"Zavtra" - Moscow weekly newspaper, 30.03.99, #13(278) (translated from Russian) Special correspondent "Zavtra" from Serbia reports

During first two nights a frenzied NATO bombed targets from their computers. But towards the end of the first attack it became clear that airplanes and missiles were pounding empty positions. The Serbian army had disappeared. Billions of dollars spent on "Tomahawks", laser-guided bombs and missiles were simply trashed out. Serbian air defenses were silent. And only when NATO airplanes for the first time in a day and a half had to fly lower then 6000 m [20,000 ft] for reconaissance mission the mountains blow the fire. An anti-aircraft missile grounded a German "Tornado", which fell down deep in a forest near the Bosnian border. While still in the air, the pilot turned on an the alarm signal. Strong wind dragged him up to the border line. There was no sense in chasing him, since NATO helicopters were alredy near the point of landing.

The second "Tornado", this one British, was shot down within Kosovo and fell on a territory, controlled by the gangs of Albanian separatists. They sent the pilot to the Albanian border were he met NATO representatives.

An American F-16 was hit in the sky of Montenegro. His pilot turned the airplane back to Italy, but flying above the Adriatic Sea lost altitude and fell near cruising NATO ships. The pilot was saved by a French crew.

And finally, on Sunday, a Serbian MiG-29 intercepted and attacked the legendary F-117A. The pilot of the Stealth plane ejected, and NATO claimed that he was rescued by special American helicopter-deployed units; Clinton even decorated this team for "courage and heroism". But the US still cannot show the pilot to journalists and Serbian police is apparently still searching for him in the dense forests near the place of crash.

3/29/99

RTS (Serbian TV) reports on downing of 5 NATO aircraft, at the following approximate locations:

- Gornji Milanovac. Pilot reportedly captured.
- Sombor. Pilot reportedly escaped to Hungary.
- Loznica. Pilot's fate unknown.
- Pristina. Pilot went down with aircraft.
- Vicinity of Pristina. Pilot's fate unknown.

( Fonet, March 29, 1999. )

Belgrade - Yugoslav Army's Air Force Commander, 3-star general Spasoje Smiljanic stated today that Yugoslav Air Force and Air Defense have, since the beginning of NATO aggression against FRY, inflicted "significant losses" on the enemy air force, having downed 7 fighter jets, 3 helicopters, over 30 cruise missiles and 3 RPVs [unmanned craft]. General Smiljanic said during the press conference in Belgrade, that the Yugoslav Air Force and Air Defense have sustained "minimal personnel losses", specifying seven dead and 17 wounded servicemen. He confirmed the downing of the American F-117A, supposedly "stealth" aircraft. "Do not ask me how", said general Smiljanic. According to him, "the Yugoslav Air Force and Air Defense have retained operational capability throughout the whole territory of FR Yugoslavia", though their stationary infrastructure have sustained from aerial attacks a damage in the level of US$ 300 million. General Smiljanic said that NATO warplanes flew 1300 missions from the onset of the aggression, that 400 cruise missiles have been launched to the territory of FRY, and that these attacks made use of airspaces of Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Macedonia and Albania.

3/24/99