Operation Deny Flight

Operation Deny Flight
Part of the NATO intervention in Bosnia

An F-15C is met by maintenance personnel at Aviano Air Base during Operation Deny Flight
Date12 April 1993 – 20 December 1995; (2 years, 8 months, 1 week, and 1 day)
Location
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia
Result Operation changes to Operation Deliberate Force due to the 1995 Pale air strikes
Belligerents
 NATO
 United Nations		  Republika Srpska
Commanders and leaders
United States Jeremy M. Boorda (1993–1994)
United States Leighton W. Smith (1994–1995)		 Republika Srpska (1992–1995) Radovan Karadžić
Republika Srpska (1992–1995) Ratko Mladić
Casualties and losses
ItalyFrance 1 Aeritalia G.222 shot down, 8 killed[1][2]
France 1 French Mirage 2000 crashed in the Adriatic sea, pilot rescued[3]
France 2 Dassault Étendard IV damaged[4][5]
United Kingdom 1 BAE Sea Harrier shot down[6]
United Kingdom 1 BAE Sea Harrier crashed in the Adriatic Sea[7]
Spain 1 Spanish C-212 damaged near Slunj[8]
United States 1 F-16C shot down[9]
United States 1 F/A-18C Hornet crashed in the Adriatic sea, killing pilot[10][11]
United States 2 MQ-1 Predators destroyed
United States 1 Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion damaged[12]
United Nations Hundreds of POWs[13]		 Republika Srpska (1992–1995) 5 J-21 Jastrebs destroyed
Republika Srpska (1992–1995) 1 ammunition depot destroyed[14]
Republika Srpska (1992–1995) 2 command posts destroyed[14][15]
Republika Srpska 1 airstrip damaged[14]
Republika Srpska (1992–1995) 4 SA-6 missile sites destroyed[15][16]
Republika Srpska (1992–1995) Several armored vehicles destroyed

Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mission of the operation to include providing close air support for UN troops in Bosnia and carrying out coercive air strikes against targets in Bosnia. Twelve NATO members contributed forces to the operation and, by its end on 20 December 1995, NATO pilots had flown 100,420 sorties.

The operation played an important role in shaping both the Bosnian War and NATO. The operation included the first combat engagement[17] in NATO's history, a 28 February 1994 air battle over Banja Luka, and in April 1994, NATO aircraft first bombed ground targets in an operation near Goražde. Cooperation between the UN and NATO during the operation also helped pave the way for future joint operations. Although it helped establish UN–NATO relations, Deny Flight led to conflict between the two organizations. Most notably, significant tension arose between the two after UN peacekeepers were taken as hostages in response to NATO bombing.

The operations of Deny Flight spanned more than two years of the Bosnian War and played an important role in the course of that conflict. The no-fly zone operations of Deny Flight proved successful in preventing significant use of air power by any side in the conflict. Additionally, the air strikes flown during Deny Flight led to Operation Deliberate Force, a massive NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia that played a key role in ending the war.

  1. ^ Sudetic, Chuck (1992-09-04). "U.N. Relief Plane Reported Downed on Bosnia Mission". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  2. ^ Fisk, Robert (1992-09-04). "UN fears aid aircraft was shot down by missile". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
  3. ^ NATO enforcing no-fly zone in Bosnia Associated Press, 13 April 1993
  4. ^ "DASSAULT-AVIATION ÉTENDARD IVM/P/PM".
  5. ^ Cothron, Tony L. (March 1996). "Achieving the Revolutionary Potential of Information Technology" (PDF). Joint Military Operations Department: Appendix 3 - Page 3.
  6. ^ Cook, Nick (1 March 2002). "Plus ca change ..? NATO aircraft are still particularly vulnerable to attack from certain forms of guided missiles". Interavia Business & Technology. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Aviation Safety Network". Flight Safety Foundation. 14 January 2024.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference vin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Bruce B. Auster (June 19, 1995). "One Amazing Kid – Capt. Scott O' Grady escapes from Bosnia-Herzegovina". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011.
  10. ^ "F-18 Hornet ejection history". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-06-20.
  11. ^ "U.S. Jet Crashes in Adriatic, Pilot Dies". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 29 April 1994. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  12. ^ Evan Thomas (19 June 1995). "An American Hero". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014.
  13. ^ West flexes muscle, Karadzic warns against action
  14. ^ a b c Ripley, Tim (2001). Conflict in the Balkans, 1991–2000. Osprey Publishing, pp. 21–24.ISBN 1-84176-290-3
  15. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AFSOUTH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Air pictorial: journal of the Air League, Volume 57. Air League of the British Empire, 1995
  17. ^ Conflict in the Balkans: NATO Craft Down 4 Serb Warplanes Attacking Bosnia