The Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base (Serbian: Војни аеродром пуковник-пилот Миленко Павловић, romanized: Vojni aerodrom pukovnik-pilot Milenko Pavlović), commonly known as Batajnica Air Base (Serbian: Војни аеродром Батајница, romanized: Vojni aerodrom Batajnica) (IATA: BJY, ICAO: LYBT) is the main military air base of Serbia. It is located between Batajnica and Nova Pazova, about 25 km northwest from the center of Belgrade, Serbia.
Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base Вoјни аеродром пуковник-пилот Миленко Павловић | |||||||||||||||||||
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 Control tower of the air base | |||||||||||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Military air base | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator |  Serbian Air Force and Air Defence | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Belgrade | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Belgrade,  Serbia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Built | 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||
| In use | 1951 - present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 281 ft / 86 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 44°56′07″N 020°15′27″E / 44.93528°N 20.25750°E | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||||||
  Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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History
editConstruction of the airbase started in 1947 and was completed in 1951, when the airbase was officially opened with one grass and two asphalted runways. The purpose of the airbase is to protect the capital Belgrade from aircraft attacks. It was known as 177th Air Base until the 2006 reorganization and was home of 204th Fighter-Aviation regiment, 138th Transport-Aviation Regiment and other units of Yugoslav Air Force.
During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia the airbase was heavily bombed for 25 days and sustained heavy damage.
In 2019, Batajnica Air Base officially changed its name to Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base, in honor of Milenko Pavlović, a pilot killed during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[1]
Units
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The base is the home station of the following Serbian Air Force and Air Defence units:
101st Fighter Squadron "Knights"
138th Transport Squadron "Storks"
252nd Training Squadron "Ušće Wolves"
890th Mixed Helicopter Squadron "Pegasuses"- 177th Air Force Air Defence Artillery Battalion
- 24th Air Technical Battalion
- 17th Air Base Security Battalion
- Aeronautical Overhaul Institute "Moma Stanojlović"
The air base also houses Air Force and Air Defence Training Center of the Training Command as well as the Center for Flight Tests of the Technical Testing Center.
References
edit- ^ "Aerodrom Batajnica dobio ime po pilotu poginulom u ratu 1999". n1info.com (in Serbian). Beta. 26 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
External links
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