1999 F-117A shootdown
| 1999 F-117A shootdown | |
|---|---|
| Part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia | |
Canopy of F-117, serial number 82-0806; Belgrade Aviation Museum
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| Type | Aircraft shootdown |
| Location |
Near Buđanovci, Serbia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 44°54′N 19°52′E / 44.900°N 19.867°ECoordinates: 44°54′N 19°52′E / 44.900°N 19.867°E |
| Objective | USAF aircraft |
| Date | 27 March 1999 8:15 pm |
| Executed by | 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade, Army of Yugoslavia |
The 1999 F-117A shootdown was an event that took place on 27 March 1999, during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, (Operation Allied Force, Operation Noble Anvil), when an Army of Yugoslavia unit used an S-125 Neva/Pechora to down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth aircraft of the United States Air Force. The pilot ejected and was rescued by search and rescue forces.
The U.S. Air Force F-117A was developed in the 1970s, entering service in 1983 and officially revealed in 1988. It saw its first combat in 1989 over Panama, and was widely seen as one of the most advanced pieces of U.S. military equipment. At the same time, Yugoslavian air defenses were seen as relatively obsolete.
Unknown to NATO, Yugoslav air defenses operators had found they could detect F-117s with their obsolete Soviet radars after some modifications. In 2005, Colonel Zoltán Dani confirmed this in an interview, suggesting that those modifications involved using long wavelengths, which allowed them to detect the aircraft when the wheel well or bomb bay doors were open. In addition, the Serbs had also intercepted and deciphered some NATO communications, and thus were able to deploy their anti-air batteries at positions best suited to intercept NATO planes.
On 27 March 1999, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade of the Army of Yugoslavia, under the command of Colonel Dani, downed F-117 Air Force serial number 82-0806, callsign "Vega 31".
The Army of Yugoslavia unit was equipped with a Yugoslav version of the Soviet Isayev S-125 "Neva" missile system (NATO reporting name, SA-3 "Goa").
At about 8:15 pm local time, with a range of about 8 miles (13 km) several missiles were launched. According to Sergeant Dragan Matić, who was identified in 2009 as the soldier who fired the missiles, they detected the F-117 at a range of about 50 to 60 kilometres (31 to 37 mi), operating their equipment for no more than 17 seconds to avoid being locked on to by NATO anti-air suppression. According to Dani in a 2007 interview, his troops spotted the aircraft on radar when its bomb-bay doors opened, raising its radar signature.
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