Bojan, J.-L.

On 28 February 1994, two pairs of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft shot down five J-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets–piloted by Republika Srpska (RS) or Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) personnel–in Bosnia and Herzegovina airspace after they had bombed an armaments factory at Novi Travnik during the Bosnian War. The interception was part of NATO's Operation Deny Flight, with the shootdown constituting the first combat action in the alliance's history. About 06:00, six J-21s flew from Udbina air base in the self-proclaimed Croatian Serb proto-state within Croatia known as the RSK. Two Soko J-22 Orao ground attack aircraft were also involved in the attack, but their target was an arms factory at Bugojno and they completed their mission and returned to Udbina unscathed. The pilots were a mix of RS and RSK air force personnel. A British airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft detected the aircraft and, after their warning was ignored, tasked a pair of United States Air Force (USAF) F-16C Fighting Falcons on combat air patrol (CAP) to intercept. The fighters issued a further warning, and when it was ignored and...