Battle of Valjevo

The Battle of Valjevo took place on 4 May 1999 when a NATO bombing campaign started over the Jugoslav military ammunition factories of Valjevo and Pričević. The Air battle resulted in the retreat of most of the NATO aircraft, but also on the death of Milenko Pavlović.

Battle of Valjevo
Part of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Memorial to Milenko Pavlović, aviator of the 204th Air Brigade
Date 4 May 1999 Location Over Valjevo and Pričević, Serbia Result Air Force of Yugoslavia victory
Belligerents
NATO United States Netherlands	FR Yugoslavia
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Milenko Pavlović †
Units involved
American Air Force 78th Fighter Squadron Dutch Air Force	Air Force of Yugoslavia 204th Fighter Aviation Regiment
Strength
16 F-16CJs A few AIM-120s	1 MiG-29 (№ 18109)
Casualties and losses
Most of aircraft fled	Unknown

Battle

The bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia found Milenko Pavlović on duty as the commander of the 204th fighter regiment, whose headquarters were moved to Stara Pazova. The flight equipment was extremely poorly maintained and unsafe. By May 4th, several planes had been lost due to various malfunctions that usually occurred immediately after takeoff. Most of the pilots managed to save themselves but Major Zoran Radosavljević himself couldn't escape his fate.

On May 4, 1999, around 12 o'clock, a larger group of NATO aircraft was observed operating in the direction of Valjevo, mainly on the "Krušik" ammunition factory, as well as on the military warehouses in the village of Pričević. The command to fly and stop these operations was given to one of the junior officers. However, Pavlović ordered the young pilot to stay, by allegedly saying that "he was not going to die, but that himself would", and instead he flew to Valjevo with his MiG-29 aircraft, № 18109. He soon found himself over the sky of Valjevo, and after takeoff, his alternating current generator broke down so that was left without radar. Pavlović engaged in an unequal battle against around 16 NATO aircraft, mostly F-16CJs and AIM-120s and, still, managed to confuse them and even force them to flee with a poor performance. However, after the main battle, around 12:45, he was hit by three missiles fired by Dutch pilots from an F-16 fighter jet. He died while still in the air. The remains of his plane fell in the village of Petnica.

Still to this day, streets in Novi Sad, Valjevo, Batajnica, Osečina and Gornje Crniljevo are named after him. On 26 June 2019, the Batajnica Air Base was renamed in his honor.