Croatian Air Force and Defense (Croatian: Hrvatsko ratno zrakoplovstvo i protuzračna obrana) is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia. Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Croatian_Coat_of_Arms. ... An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (Russian: ) (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed and built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... A patrol bomber, or patrol aircraft, is an airplane designed to operate for long times over water in an anti-shipping or anti-submarine role. ... The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. ... The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... Zlin Z-142 Zlin Z42 M, tail number SP-AKE (nr 0170). ... Antonov An-32P © ANTONOV ASTC The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft. ... Russian Mi-8 Hip The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... For the Croatian army from 1944-1945, see Croatian Armed Forces. ...

Duties

Croatian Air Force and Air Defence aim is securing sovereignty of the air space of the Republic of Croatia and providing air support to other services in implementation of their tasks in joint operations. It is a proponent and organizer of the Croatian air defence integrated system. This double role of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence is realized with the following main tasks: Joint warfare is a military doctrine which places priority on the integration of the various service branches of a states armed forces into one unified command. ...

• Inspection and control of the air space security
• Predominance in Croatian air space, over land and sea, with defence and attacks
• Providing help in natural, humanitarian and technological disasters
• Search and rescue operations
• Support to control of the proliferation of people and material goods

Basic structure: Search and Rescue (acronym SAR) is an operation mounted by emergency services, often well-trained volunteers, to find someone believed to be in distress, lost, sick or injured either in a remote or difficult to access area, such as mountains, desert or forest (Wilderness search and rescue), or at sea...

• Air Force Command
• Staff Service Support
• 91st Airbase
• 92nd Airbase
• 93rd Airbase
• 95th Airbase
• 218th Air Surveillance Brigade
• 205th Air Defense Brigade
• 74th Military Police Battalion
• 25th Mixed Elint Battalion
• 279th Signal Battalion
• 313th Logistic Brigade
• Air Force Education and Training Command
• Air Force Medicine Institute
• 42nd Engineer Battalion

ELINT stands for ELectronic INTelligence, and refers to intelligence-gathering by use of electronic sensors. ...

Current status

Croatian fighters fly over Pleso, Zagreb airbase in 2007

Newly introduced Zlin 242L trainers

MiG-21 UMD

Antonov AN-32b

Mil Mi-8

As seen in the August 5, 2005 military parade, the Croatian Air Force is currently comprised of 108 operational aircraft, ranging from interceptors and fighter jets to cargo planes, trainers and different types of helicopters. The fleet is scheduled to grow as fast as the Croatian economy enables it. At the moment, new utility helicopters and basic trainers are being introduced but bigger changes are still to come. Furthermore, Croatia expects to become a full member of NATO in April 2008. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixels, file size: 678 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixels, file size: 678 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Pleso is a small village near the Zagreb International airport. ... Location of Zagreb within Croatia Coordinates: , Country RC diocese 1094 Free royal city 1242 Unified 1850 Government  - Mayor Milan Bandić Area [1]  - Total 641. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 626 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1261 × 1207 pixels, file size: 125 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 626 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1261 × 1207 pixels, file size: 125 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 433 pixel Image in higher resolution (1364 × 739 pixel, file size: 110 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Croatian Air Force... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 433 pixel Image in higher resolution (1364 × 739 pixel, file size: 110 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Croatian Air Force... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 606 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Croatian Air Force and Defense... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels Full resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 606 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Croatian Air Force and Defense... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the military alliance. ...

At the moment, the core of the force are 13 modernized MiG-21 bisD/UMD fighters which were sent to an overhaul in 2003 and returned to service a year later for a cost of 8.5 million USD and are fully NATO interoperable. Today they are kept in great condition and pilots get more flight hours than ever before. Some 12-15 older MiG-21s are kept in reserve but as seen on some unofficial pictures, few of them could be put into service in a matter of days in case of any real threat. Their modernization included a complete overhaul, integration of new communication, IFF and GPS equipment. Their weakest point was the fact that they had to be guided from the ground and had the capability to fire missiles only to the rear part of the enemy aircraft. These disadvantages were addressed and MiG-21s now have a full all-aspect capability and do not require any guidance from ground stations thus making it impossible for anyone to interfere or jam their missions. They are scheduled to be retired by 2011 after new fighters are obtained. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... This article is about the military alliance. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... IFF, Iff or iff can stand for: Interchange File Format - a computer file format introduced by Electronic Arts Identification, friend or foe - a radio based identification system utilizing transponders iff - the mathematics concept if and only if International Flavors and Fragrances - a company producing flavors and fragrances International Freedom Foundation... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ...

In 2003 and 2004 a major part of the transport fleet was sent to Russia and Ukraine for an overhaul and light upgrading including 10 Mi-8 MTV-1 and 2 An-32B. Thus, these aircraft are now compatible with NATO but further upgrading for An-32s also took place in 2007. They have been installed with new equipment, most notably decoy flares and will from now on even serve Croatian soldiers in Afghanistan. Russian Mi-8 Hip The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... Antonov An-32P © ANTONOV ASTC The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft. ...

In 2006 Croatia made a deal to acquire 10 new Mi-171 attack-cargo helicopters as a compensation for the Russian debt to Yugoslavia which Croatia partly inherited. The contract is worth 65 million USD. However, the new aircraft will be equipped mostly with Western technology. They will have a rear loading ramp instead of clamshell doors, larger side doors, NVG equipment and search lights with IC filters, decoy flares, additional armour ecc. First two helicopters will arrive in October 2007 and the final batch by the end of June 2008. As of late 2007, 2 more units are rumoured to have been ordered. The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... Two American soldiers pictured during the 2003 Iraq War Night vision goggles are a type of eye-wear that allows one to see in the dark. ...

Sometime before the 2005 airshow in Knin, the Croatian Air Force aerobatic team Krila oluje (Wings of Storm) was formed. It includes 5+1 Pilatus PC-9M turboprop trainers. Captain Dijana Doboš is one of only 4 female pilots in the world that are members of a national military aerobatic group. Today the group is a frequent guest at numerous airshows and celebrations in Croatia and Europe. Members of this group are instructors for future pilots and all aircraft are based at Zadar AFB where the team also trains and prepares for performances. Knin Knin (Croatia) Knin (Serbian: Книн, Latin and medieval Hungarian: Tinin) is a historical town in the Å ibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. ... Soon after aircraft were invented, pilots realised that they could be used as part of a flying circus to entertain people or impress others in what was termed aerobatics. ... One of the teams PC-9 Pilatus aircraft Wings of Storm (Hrv. ... The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... Croatian military ranks are as follows: Military of Croatia Category: ... For other uses, see Zadar (disambiguation). ...

A few months towards the end of 2006, 7 Mi-24 were offered for sale at a price of 80,000 USD per each due to their poor overall state. Croatian government concluded that these helicopters were not worth upgrading and thus have been retired. Only 2 units will be kept, one of them sent to a museum and the other used as a ground-trainer. Pilots regret this decision especially since a true replacement isn't considered yet. Some tasks, however, will be taken over by new Mi-171s. The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ...

After over 15 years in Croatian service, 7 Lola Utva 75 (another 4 were withdrawn a few years back) were finally retired in late 2007 and replaced by 5 new Zlin 242L trainers. The deal was worth almost 2 million USD. The Lola Utva 75 is a compact, piston engined aircraft that is mainly used as a military training aircraft for air force pilots that are not able to fly jet aircraft yet. ...

While visiting Israel in November 2006, the Croatian delegation agreed to buy 2 mid-size, state-of-the-art Hermes 450 and 2 small Skylark UAVs. Together with these aircraft, additional cameras, computer systems, spare parts and a ground station were obtained. Hermes 450 will be used mainly for maritime patrol because they are 5-8 times less costly to operate than Mi-8 and AT-802 in the same role. The information whether AGM-114 Hellfire missiles were purchased remains unknown. Elbit Hermes 450 UAV The Elbit Systems Hermes 450 is a medium size multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical long endurance missions. ... Elbit Hermes 450 UAV The Elbit Systems Hermes 450 is a medium size multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical long endurance missions. ... Russian Mi-8 Hip The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Air Tractor AT-802 is a fire-fighting aircraft that first flew in the United States in October 1990. ... Type Air-to-ground and surface-to-surface Missile Nationality United States Era Cold War and through Global War on Terrorism Launch platform Rotary- and fixed-wing platforms, Unmanned aerial vehicle, tri-pods, ships, and ground vehicles Target Three warhead variants defeat an array of targets including tanks, light armored...

The Croatian Defence minister said that the overall readiness of the air force fleet was significantly improved over the past few years as a result of constant modernization which made possible that 90% of all aircraft were airworthy at any given time in 2006. Department of Defence redirects here. ...

Future plans

At the moment, Croatia is considering which fighter type is to enter service by 2011 and replace the venerable MiG-21. The decision is to take place in 2008 or early 2009. The two most talked about competitors are F-16 and JAS 39 Gripen multirole jets. In case Croatia buys F-16s, they will probably be second-hand (Block 40/42) with the aim of getting new F-35 Lightning sometimes after 2020.^{[citation needed]} In case the decision falls on the Gripen, they will be newly built C/D or E/F 'Super Gripen' samples if they enter production by alloted time. Initial numbers vary from 12 to 16 aircraft with a potential for 24 fighters by 2020. It has to be mentioned that MiG-35, Eurofighter and Dassault Mirage 2000 have not yet been officially rejected but are not likely to be selected. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin or Gryphon) is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. ... The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a fighter plane currently in early development by Lockheed Martin (with partners Northrop Grumman and BAE SYSTEMS.) The primary customers are the United States armed forces and the United Kingdom (RN and RAF), but the Netherlands... The Mikoyan Project 1. ... The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role canard-delta fighter aircraft, very similar to the US-German Rockwell-MBB X-31 prototype and designed and built by a consortium of European nations formed in 1983. ... The Mirage 2000 is a French-built multirole fighter jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation. ...

Croatian Government decided in July 2007, that new firefighting aircraft are to be bought due to an unexpected money surplus in the country's budget (over 1 billion USD). As promised, 2 new Canadair CL-415 were ordered from Bombardier in November 2007, and they will enter service before summer 2009. The deal is worth 62.2 million USD. For the summer of 2008, 2 Canadairs will be leased. Furthermore, 3 Air Tractor AT-802A were also ordered during the same month for about 12 million USD and all will be put into service before June 2008. The Government of the Republic of Croatia (Vlada Republike Hrvatske), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (hrvatska Vlada), is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. ... The Bombardier (formerly Canadair) CL-415 (Superscooper) is a Canadian amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water bomber. ... For other uses, see Bombardier (disambiguation). ... The Air Tractor AT-802 is a fire-fighting aircraft that first flew in the United States in October 1990. ...

New cargo aircraft will be bought after 2010 to augment existing Antonovs. The type isn't known yet but most probably it will be 2-3 C-27J or C-130J Hercules. An-32Bs are planned to stay in service for at least 10 more years due to their latest modernization in 2007.^{[citation needed]} The Alenia G.222 (Alenia originally Aeritalia) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and UK military forces. ...

New medium ASW helicopter is needed for the Croatian Navy because it doesn't have any true ASW role aircraft. Currently, ASW role is filled by Mil Mi-8 helicopters which are ill equipped for such role. New helicopters (4 or more) are due to enter service by 2012 or earlier when 4 new corvettes become operative. The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... French steam corvette Dupleix (1856-1887) Canadian corvettes on antisubmarine convoy escort duty during World War II. A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft. ...

During the period of 2007-2009, 22-24 new aircraft have already entered or are due to enter service. These include new assault helicopters, basic trainers, fire-bombers and UAVs.

Aircraft inventory in 2007

The Air Tractor AT-802 is a fire-fighting aircraft that first flew in the United States in October 1990. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Antonov An-32 (NATO reporting name: Cline) is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... The Bell 212 Twin Huey (also known as the Twin Two-Twelve) is a medium civilian helicopter that first flew in 1968. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets designed by Bill Lear and produced first by Canadair until that company was bought by Bombardier Aerospace in 1986. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Bombardier (formerly Canadair) CL-415 (Superscooper) is a Canadian amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water bomber. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Elbit Hermes 450 UAV The Elbit Systems Hermes 450 is a medium size multi-payload unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for tactical long endurance missions. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a large twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Mil Mi-17 (Also known as the Mi-8MT, NATO reporting name Hip-H) was a Soviet cargo helicopter. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ... The PA-31 Navajo was designed by Piper Aircraft to fill a gap in their product line; a large twin aircraft using Lycoming engines for the general aviation market was sorely needed in the mid-1960s, and founder W.T. Piper requested the type be developed. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Zlin Z-142 Zlin Z42 M, tail number SP-AKE (nr 0170). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic. ...

Future aircraft

• 10-14 Mi-171Sh - to enter service in 2007 and 2008 (part of Russian debt to Croatia)
• 2 Canadair CL-415 - fire-bombers entering service in 2009
• 3 Air Tractor AT-802 - fire-bombers entering service in 2008
• 12-16 JAS 39 Gripen or F-16 - entry to service before 2011, a total of 24 planned after 2020 along with the possible purchase of a squadron of F-35 Lightning II
• 4-6 NHI NH90 or Eurocopter Panther - entry to service after 2010, (for 4 new corvettes ordered by the Croatian Navy^{[citation needed]}
• 2-3 CASA C-295, Lockheed C-130 or Alenia C-27 - entry to service after 2009^{[citation needed]}

The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin or Gryphon) is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ... The NHI NH90 is a medium sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries, a company established by Agusta, Eurocopter and Stork Fokker Aerospace. ... The Eurocopter AS 565 Panther is the military version of the Eurocopter Dauphin medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter and is manufactured by Eurocopter (originally by Aérospatiale). ... EADS CASA C-295 is a twin-turboprop tactical military transport aircraft made by EADS CASA. // The C-295 is a further development of the commercially successful Spanish transport aircraft CASA CN-235 with a stretched fuselage, 50% more payload capability and new PW127G turboprop engines. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and United Kingdom military forces. ... The Alenia G.222 (Alenia originally Aeritalia) is a medium-sized STOL military transport aircraft. ...

Aircraft that have been retired since 1996

• 15 MiG-21bis/UM - serve as reserve or for spare parts
• 10 Mi-24D/V - withdrawn in 2002 (Mi-24D) and 2006 (Mi-24V), 7 up for sale
• 2 Soko G-2 Galeb - retired in 1996 due to the lack of spare parts
• 1 Soko J-21 Jastreb - retired in 1996 due to the lack of spare parts
• 2-3 Soko J-20 Kraguj - retired due to overall obsolescence in late '90s
• 7 Mil Mi-8T/S - serve for spare parts
• 11 Utva 75 - put out of service recently, replaced by Zlin
• 7 Antonov An-2 - handed over to aeroclubs throughout the years but some can be called into service
• 3 Canadair CL-215 - last retired in 2004, replaced by Canadair CL-415
• 4 MD-500 - retired in late '90s, replaced by Bell 206
• 1 Dornier Do-28 - withdrawn a few years ago
• 1 Dassault Falcon 10 - replaced by Bombardier Challenger

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ... Soko Galeb cc. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Soko J-20 (P-2) Kraguj is specially designed for low-altitude missions against day and night visible ground targets in a broad area. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... Development The UTVA-75 (originally -75A21) side by side two-seat training, glider towing and utility lightplane was designed and built in partnership of UTVA-Pancevo, Prva Petoletka-Trstenik, Aeronautical Technical Institute (now Military Technical Institute) and Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Belgrade lead by Dragoslav Dimic head engineer in Utva... The Antonov An-2 (Russian nickname: кукуру́зник kukuruznik - a kolkhoz maize worker (inherited from Polikarpov Po-2) also nicknamed Annushka; NATO code name Colt) is an extremely durable, light, single-engine biplane which first flew in 31 August 1947 and was first plane designed by Antonov. ... The Canadian Canadair CL-215 (Superscooper) was the first model in a series of firefighting aircraft built by Canadair and later Bombardier. ... The Bombardier (formerly Canadair) CL-415 (Superscooper) is a Canadian amphibious aircraft purpose-built as a water bomber. ... The MD Helicopters MD 500 series is a family of light utility civilian and military helicopters. ... The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. ... The Dassault Falcon 10 is an early corporate jet development by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault. ... The Canadair Challenger business jet is a family of mid-sized jets produced by Bombardier Aerospace. ...

Aviation History

Croatian aviation history go further into the second world war. They were famous Ustashe regiment(escadrile) in Russia known as the Croatian 15./Jg 52 unit. Many aces formed in that war such as; Mato Dukovac, Cvitan Galić, Franjo Džal, and many more. Croatia had a large fleet of relatively modern aircraft during the Second World War usually of German origin. The fleet numbered more than 400 aircraft which eventually became a part of the Yugoslav People's Army inventory. On the Allied side, when the Partisan forces started forming their own air force squadrons (based on donated Allied planes) towards the end of the war, a number of Croats with previous flying experience (NDH defectors, USAAF pilots of Yugoslav descent, pre-war civilian pilots), as well as previously untrained personnel, took part in the effort. The Ustaše (often spelled Ustashe in English; singular Ustaša or Ustasha) was a Croatian right-wing organisation put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis Powers in 1941. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Yugoslav Peoples Army (YPA) (Serbo-Croatian: Jugoslovenska narodna armija or Jugoslavenska narodna armija; Serbian and Macedonian: Југословенска народна армија—JHA; Macedonian and Serbian Latin forms: Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and Bosnian: Jugoslavenska narodna armija—JNA; Slovene: Jugoslovanska ljudska armada—JLA) was the military force of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... Yugoslav Partisan Flag The Partisans (lat. ...

Croatian air force as it is known now began to exist on December 12, 1992. At first, only small agricultural and transport planes were used to fight a far superior, Serb-led Yugoslav National Army that took almost all aircraft which, in fact, were a property of all ex-Yugoslav states. Fortunately, Croatia was able to acquire 3 MiG-21s (brought over by JNA defectors) by late 1992 when the first fighter squadron was formed. Soon, by evading the embargo on weapons, almost 40 MiG-21bis/UM fighters were bought. Around 25 were put into service while the rest served as a source for spare parts. Helicopter force was basically created during the war period by purchasing around 20 Mil Mi-8 transports and 10 Mi-24 gunships which were used to a devastating effect in 1995 during Operation Storm. After the war many aircraft were withdrawn from service but also modern ones were obtained, notably 20 Pilatus PC-9 and 10 Bell 206B-3B in 1997. A sad period for the air force lasted from 1998 till 2002 when very few units were operational and no positive steps were made. After 2003 almost the whole fleet was modernized or completely overhauled. Croatia is now expecting new helicopters and fighters to enter service in the near future, enabling the military to operate much needed up-to-date technology. The Yugoslav Peoples Army (Jugoslavenska/Jugoslovenska narodna armija, JNA, Slovene Jugoslovanska ljudska armada, JLA) was the army of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia prior to its dissolution. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name Fishbed) is a fighter aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan and Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. ... The Mil Mi-8 (NATO reporting name Hip) is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. ... The Mil Mi-24 is a large combat helicopter gunship and low-capacity troop transport operated from 1976 by the Soviet Air Force, its successors, and over thirty other nations. ... Combatants Croatia (HV) Bosnia and Herzegovina (ABiH) Republic of Serbian Krajina (VSK) Republika Srpska (VRS) Commanders Zvonimir Červenko (HV) Atif Dudakovic (ABiH) Mile Mrkšić (VSK) Strength 150,000 soldiers, 350 tanks, 400 artillery pieces, 50 rocket launchers, 50 aircraft and helicopters 40,000 soldiers, 150 tanks, 350 artillery pieces... The Pilatus PC-9 is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. ... The Bell Helicopter Model 206 JetRanger is a two-bladed main rotor, turbine powered helicopter with a conventional, two-bladed tail rotor. ...

References

Aviation Week & Space Technology (often abbreviated as Aviation Week or AW&ST) is a weekly magazine. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

External links

• Croatian Air Force at YuAirWar
• Croatian Air Force by Dragan Kostadinov
• Croatian Air Force History
• Croatian Air Arms
• MiGs Over Croatia