okopanja Posted December 7, 2024 Posted December 7, 2024 (edited) 24.03.1999 - Mig-29 combat flight - Dragan Ilić Pilot: Major Dragan Ilić Airplane type: L-18 (MIG-29 9.12b) Airplane ID: 18104 Time: March 24th 1999, 20:12 Take off: Airbase Niš Landing: Airbase Niš Flight length: 17 min (minimal estimate) Interview with Major Dragan Ilić, pilot of MiG-29 1st video segment at 04:21 04:21 Narrator: Pilots assigned to combat readiness in Niš that evening were Dragan Ilić and Iljo Arizanov. Major Arizanov took off first and flew toward Kosovo and Metohija. Dragan Ilić has been vectored to the expectation zone Kuršumlija. 04:35 Dragan Ilić: After establishing the radio connection with a GCI officer, the first thing he asked me was: "Are you Blue or Red?" (Ilić makes a funny grimace and rolls his eyes over). 04:44 Dragan Ilić: "I was a bit confused, since we have already seen that the enemy attacks on mountain Jastrebac have already started”. 04:44 Remark: EWR is located at the peak of the mountain Jastrebac. 04:49 Dragan Ilić: Since I recognized that this is a younger colleague working as GCI officer, it was clear to me that strikes were ongoing and that we could proceed in the direction we were heading. 05:00 Dragan Ilić: First information and first guidance was: "Go to the Kuršumlija zone, heading 200. 05:09 Dragan Ilić: Immediately afterwards: "You have a target at bearing 180, turn to the left, target is at 75 m altitude, distance 90 km". 05:20 Dragan Ilić: During the taxing, I had a radar malfunction, and I was not sure how reliable it would be during the flight. 05:28 Dragan Ilić: We had cases, due to the state of the equipment, where despite radar malfunction indication, the radar could still work in some of the modes. 05:36 Dragan Ilić: The target he has given to me at course 180, I had on the radar screen. Most likely it was a cruise missile, since the only weapon flying at that altitude under those conditions could be a cruise missile. 05:49 Dragan Ilić: I could not switch to track mode for that target and the next target I received was at bearing 220, distance 90 km and altitude 100m. 06:03 Dragan Ilić: I could not track it, until the distance of about 30 km, when I finally got the reflection on radar, but only in the scanning mode. 06:14 Dragan Ilić: I could not establish the tracking, because the radar already gave its final verdict during taxiing. It was no wonder I could not do it. 06:28 Dragan Ilić: The third guidance was practically at the base group (of airplanes), which moved behind the cruise missiles. 06:36 Dragan Ilić: I was told: "Turn toward course 220, enemy at 10.000 m, distance 50-60 km. 06:36 Remark: Story is interrupted here. 2nd video segment at 14:19 14:24 Narrator: Major Ilić takes off from airbase Niš. The GCI officer informs him that at 10.000 m and distance of 60 km he has a group of enemy targets. 14:38 Dragan Ilić: At that moment I was at 3000 m altitude, and during climb toward 4500 m, slightly ahead of the airplane on right of the nose the explosion occurred. 14:51 Dragan Ilić: The nose part and right side of the airplane have passed completely through the fireball. 15:00 Dragan Ilić: Front glass has cracked, the complete PVD installation has failed. It provides airplane speed and altitude. 15:11 Dragan Ilić: Since it was night, the first thing I did was to use the flashlight to inspect the glass condition. 15:17 Dragan Ilić: It was cracked, but it still held together, it did not splinter. 15:22 Dragan Ilić: Once I switched to backup pitot-static installation, the instruments started working again. 15:28 Dragan Ilić: I have reported to the GCI officer, that I am aborting the mission, and that I am returning to the airbase. 15:35 Dragan Ilić: The officer has guided me toward Airbase Niš, and with a reduced speed of 450 km/h I was returning to the Airbase Niš. 15:45 Dragan Ilić: The lucky part of the whole thing was that the (explosive) device did not come directly into contact with the airplane and that I just passed through the explosion just ahead of the airplane. 15:57 Dragan Ilić: It is possible that the missile came either from ground or from air. 16:01 Dragan Ilić: It would have been necessary to inspect this in more detail, e.g to determine which kind of explosive left the traces on the airplane. 16:08 Dragan Ilić: Unfortunately this was just about the last thing "someone" would inspect during that period. 16:08 Remark: Story is interrupted here. 16:08 Remark: In book "Mig-29 - Naša priča"⁸, part of the interview of Dragan Ilić to military magazine "Vojska" states: "I had indication of the enemy missile lock. The fireball hit the airplane and the aircraft shook." 3rd video segment at 49:51 49:51 Dragan Ilić: For each kind of aggression there is a resistance strategy. 49:57 Dragan Ilić: By this kind of aggression, you have to understand that smaller air forces and small countries cannot develop a proper strategy. 50:05 Dragan Ilić: The best strategy in this case is not to be in the position we were at. 50:05 Remark: Story is interrupted here 4th video segment at 52:52 52:52 Dragan Ilić: The decision maker at that very moment, had the right to decide to scramble a single airplane, but also all of them. 53:00 Dragan Ilić: But, he did not have the right to scramble the airplane which at that moment was not fully operational. 53:00 Dragan Ilić: I will tell you now: all those were "operational". "Correct!" 53:06 Dragan Ilić: All personnel involved in the chain of maintenance of the airplane have signed, honestly and according to their own conscience, that the airplane was operational when it went into the mission. 53:17 Dragan Ilić: But, that equipment was simply not reliable, since we all knew that under real conditions and full voltage and combat use its reliability will be none. 53:27 Dragan Ilić: These 2 things should be separated. 53:31 Remark: The testimony ends here. Part of interview with Colonel Rajica Bošković, member of 126th VOJIN brigade 5th video segment at 39:48 39:48 Remark: This video contains a part of an interview of Colonel Rajica Bošković, who was the member of 126th VOJIN brigade, and was at that time behind one of the monitors in Operational Center. 39:49 Rajica Bošković: Now I will tell you about the beginning... 39:53 Rajica Bošković: They did hit us with cruise missiles... 39:57 Rajica Bošković: Those missiles we did not manage to detect, we were helped by the reconnaissance and reporting service. 39:57 Remark: The help mentioned here was likely used to warn the crews of EWRs and other units about the incoming cruise missiles. 40:04 Rajica Bošković: The active stations were destroyed at the beginning: Kačarevo near Pančevo, Kopaonik, Crni Rt and Koviona. 40:04 Remark: Radar stations are listed as part of primary radar network within source #2. 40:18 Rajica Bošković: At that moment we activated the unit at Sveti Ilija hill above the city of Vranje, equipped with the AN/TPS-70 radar, our most modern radar. 40:29 Rajica Bošković: We tracked how the aircraft attacks were conducted. 40:33 Rajica Bošković: We observed how they grouped over Albania and above (Northern) Macedonia. 40:39 Rajica Bošković: When the attacks started we activated radar at Sveti Ilija, radar at Fruška Gora, and radar at Ulcinj. 40:39 Remark: All locations are listed as part of secondary radar network within source #2. Reconstructed flight The provided map is rough reconstruction based on interview and publicly known information. Due to the possibility of friendly fire from ground the locations of the SAMs belonging to the PVO are also provided. Locations of the short range SAMs and AAA belonging to ARJ PVO KOV are not available at this moment. Damage report taken from book "Mig-29 - Naša priča (Our story)" Technical team from Air Force Institute "Moma Stanojlović" has arrived to the airport very soon, to assess the possibility of repair of airplane 18104, after it was damaged in the air. The team has discovered the following damage: 1. Conical cup was penetrated multiple times and the Pitot tube was broken. 2. Front glass was penetrated and broken. 3. Penetration on the right side of fuselage, below the cabin, sized 80 x 20 mm. 4. Leading edge on right side of the wing, penetration 150 mm in length. 5. First integral fuel tank on upper side of the hump, penetration size 40 x 20 mm. 6. Penetrated root of right vertical stabilizer, at actuator position, size 40 x 20 mm. 7. Penetration on exit side of the left wing, made of composite, 100 x 30 mm in size. Damages marked with 5 and 6 from upper part of the airplane are not likely to be inflicted from the missile fired from ground. Sources 1. Niko nije rekao neću (drugi deo) - Nobody refused - part 2 (see above), author Slađana Zarić, director Boban Simojlović, journalist Vesna Ilić, montage Marija Bogićević, link. 2. Operation Allied Force - Air war over Serbia 1999 - volume 1, Bojan Dimitrijević, Lt. Gen. Jovica Draganić, link. 3. Three Fingers of Death - Soviet 2K12 KUB (SA-6 Gainful) Missile System, Mike Mihajlović, Danko Borojević, Zoran Vukosavljević, link. 4. FRONTKAST ep. 29: priča pukovnika Boškovića 25 godina nakon NATO agresije, PONOS, EMOCIJE, PRKOS, link. 5. Additional documentary material: exact title of documentary is unknown, link. 6. NATO Briefings, link. 7. NATO Briefings Video, link. 8. Mig-29 - Naša priča, Danko Borojević, Dragan Ivić, Željko Ubović, link. Credits Ronin Gaijin, for review and english corrections Edited January 17 by okopanja reworked the structure of the document. moved patches to corresponding sections, added titles. Added damage report. 3
okopanja Posted January 17 Author Posted January 17 Updates: - added is the damage report of the airplane + image marking damage and structural diagram - Ilić did receive missile lock warning prior to being hit.
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