Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Air Force and Air Defence Brigade of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian: Brigada zračne snage i protivzračne odbrane Bosne i Hercegovine; Croatian: Brigada zračne snage i protuzračne obrane Bosne i Hercegovine; Serbian: Бригада ваздушне снаге и противваздухопловна одбрана Босне и Херцеговине, romanized: Brigada vazdušne snage i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana Bosne i Hercegovine) is part of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The headquarters is in Sarajevo. It maintains operating bases at Sarajevo International Airport, Banja Luka International Airport and Tuzla International Airport.

Air Force and Air Defence Brigade of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brigada Zračne snage i protivzračne odbrane (Bosnian) Бригада ваздушне снаге и противваздухопловна одбрана (Serbian)
Founded	1 December 2006; 18 years ago (2006-12-01)
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial defence Aerial warfare
Size	700 airmen 300+ civilian personnel 1,100 guard personnel
Part of	Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Headquarters	Sarajevo
Motto(s)	Perspektiva "Perspective"
Colours	Ultramarine Blue and Golden Yellow
Insignia
Fin flash
Aircraft flown
Attack	Bayraktar TB2
Helicopter	Aérospatiale Gazelle, Bell UH-1 Iroquois, Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-17

History

The Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Defence Brigade of Bosnia and Herzegovina was formed when elements of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska Air Force were merged in 2006.^[1]

Bosnia and Herzegovina is in talks to acquire Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey.^[2]

The United States Department of State approved Bosnia and Herzegovina's requested military sale of AgustaWestland AW119 Koala latest Kx model helicopters, related equipment and services for up to five years for $100 million on May 21, 2025.^[3]

Structure

• Air Force and Air Defense Brigade, at Sarajevo Air Base and Banja Luka Air Base
  • 1st Helicopter Squadron, at Banja Luka Air Base
  • 2nd Helicopter Squadron, at Sarajevo Air Base
  • Air Defence Battalion, at Sarajevo Air Base
  • Early Warning and Surveillance Battalion, at Banja Luka Air Base
  • Flight Support Battalion, with detachments at the two air bases

Airbases

• Banja Luka International Airport
• Sarajevo International Airport
• Tuzla International Airport

Aircraft

A Bosnian Bell Huey II TH-1H presented at Rajlovac Air Force Base.

Planned procurement of 6 Bayraktar TB2 UCAV.^[4]

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Variant	In service	Notes
Helicopters
Mil Mi-8	Soviet Union / Russia	Utility	Mi-8MTV	4[5]
		Transport	Mi-8 Hip	8[5]
Mil Mi-17	Soviet Union	Utility	Mi-17 Hip H	1[5]
Bell UH-1	United States	Transport	UH-1H Iroquois	6[5]	2 used for MEDEVAC[5]
			UH-1H Huey II	3[5]	One in store[5]
Aérospatiale Gazelle	France	Utility	SA341H	1[5]
			SA341L	3[5]
UAVs
Bayraktar TB2	Turkey	UCAV		2	4 ordered.[6]

Retired

Previous notable aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the UTVA 75, CASA C-212 Aviocar, Mil Mi-34, Mil Mi-24, Soko J-22 Orao, Soko G-2 Galeb, Soko G-4 Super Galeb, and the Bell 206 helicopter.^[7][8]

Air defense

Name	Origin	Type	In service	Notes
SAM
2K12 Kub	Soviet Union	Mobile SAM system	20[5]
9K31 Strela-1[9]	Soviet Union	Mobile SAM system	34
9K35 Strela-10[10]	Soviet Union	Mobile SAM system	N/A
M53/59 Praga	Czechoslovakia	SPAAG	96[11]
9K34 Strela-3[10]	Soviet Union	MANPADS	N/A[5]
FIM-92 Stinger[12]	United States	MANPADS	N/A
9K38 Igla[10]	Soviet Union	MANPADS	N/A
Anti-aircraft artillery
Bofors 40 mm gun[13]	Sweden	Anti-aircraft gun	47[11]	31 L/60, 16 L/70[5]
ZU-23-2	Soviet Union	Anti-aircraft gun	30[11]
Anti-UAV - Electronic warfare
Kangal FPV[6][14]	Turkey	Jamming/Blunt (Jammer) System	N/A	Anti-drone jammer system

See also

• Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina