126th Air Surveillance, Early Warning and Guidance Brigade

The 126th Air Surveillance, Early Warning and Guidance Brigade (Serbian: 126. бригада ваздушног осматрања, јављања и навођења, romanized: 126. brigada vazdušnog osmatranja, javljanja i navođenja; abbr. VOJIN) is a joint tactical unit of Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, tasked with surveillance of the Serbian airspace and providing information on the current situation in airspace to all command levels in the Serbian Armed Forces.^[1]

126th Air Surveillance, Early Warning and Guidance Brigade
126. бригада ваздушног осматрања, јављања и навођења
Active	1992 – present
Country	Serbia
Branch	Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
Type	Air brigade
Role	Air surveillance
Garrison/HQ	Belgrade
Anniversaries	18 June
Engagements	1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Aleksandar Dučić

History

The brigade was formed after the break-up of Yugoslavia, on 12 October 1992, out of the three previous regiments. During the 1999 NATO bombing, the unit successfully conducted its tasks and was awarded the Order of the National Hero for its outstanding courage and achieved results.

Missions

The 126th ASEWG Brigade conducts the following tasks:

• continuous surveillance of airspace
• detection, monitoring and identification of targets in airspace
• collection, processing, presenting and distributing data about the situation in air space to all command levels
• radar security and guidance of fighter aircraft
• direction of air defence artillery-missile units to targets in airspace
• navigation support to aircraft in need
• selection and arrangement of basic, reserve, false and follow-on radar positions
• maintenance of radar systems^[1]

Structure

The brigade consists of two ASWEG battalions, one support battalion and a command company:

• Command Company
• 20th ASWEG Battalion (Batajnica Air Base)
• 31st ASWEG Battalion (Lađevci Air Base)
• Battalion for Aero Technical Maintenance and Supply (Batajnica Air Base)

Equipment

The main equipment of a brigade consists of the following radar-computing resources and systems:

• AN/TPS-70 medium-range three-dimensional surveillance radar
• S-605/654 medium-range two-dimensional surveillance radar
• S-613 altitude measuring radar
• АS-74 and AS-84 automated systems^[1]

In 2021, it was announced that three Thales radar systems (including 2 sets of Ground Master 400, 4 sets of Ground Master 200 and 16 sets of Ground Master 40) are purchased with expected introduction to the unit by the end of 2022.^[2]

Traditions

Anniversary

The anniversary of the unit is celebrated on June 18, in memory of the day in 1915 when the Serbian Supreme Command issued an order to form steady surveillance signal stations, in order to mark the direction of enemy airplanes flights.^[1]

Decorations

Order of the National Hero (2000)

References

1. "126th ASEWG Brigade | Serbian Armed Forces". www.vs.rs. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
2. "Srbija sledeće godine dobija nove Talesove radare za Vazdušno osmatranje, javljanje i navođenje". Tango Six (in Serbian). 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2022-09-09.