Yugoslav People's Army
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The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska armada, JLA), also called the Yugoslav National Army, was the military of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
and its antecedents from 1945 to 1992.


Origins

The origins of the JNA started during the
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
of World War II. As a predecessor of the JNA, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOVJ) was formed as a part of the anti-fascist
People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the U ...
in the Bosnian town of
Rudo Rudo ( sr-cyrl, Рудо) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 7,963 inhabitants, while the town of Rudo has a population of 1,949 inhabitants. It is f ...
on 22 December 1941. After the Yugoslav Partisans liberated the country from the
Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
, that date was officially celebrated as the "Day of the Army" in the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
(SFR Yugoslavia). In March 1945, the NOVJ was renamed the "Yugoslav Army" ("''Jugoslavenska/Jugoslovenska Armija''") and, on its 10th anniversary, on 22 December 1951, "People's" ("''Narodna''") was added. The support the Soviets had within JNA ranks during the
Informbiro period The Informbiro period was an era of Yugoslavia's history following the Tito–Stalin split in mid-1948 that lasted until the country's partial rapprochement with the Soviet Union in 1955 with the signing of the Belgrade declaration. After Wor ...
, after 1948, is contested. Low-end estimates indicate that 10–15% of the army's personnel favoured the Soviet position. Yugoslav sources estimate the number of military members arrested ranged from 4,153 officers and soldiers (estimated by Radonjić), to 7,000 imprisoned officers estimated by Milovan Đilas. The purge included 22 officers in the presidential guard regiment reporting directly to
Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...
, including Momčilo Đurić, wartime commander of the Yugoslav Partisan Supreme Headquarters escort battalion. During this period of Soviet blockade, the Yugoslav Army's development stagnated. Forty-nine Yugoslav Army graduates of the General Staff Academy, the
Frunze Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...
, and other Soviet military academies were deemed potential Soviet supporters. Many of those attending such academies in the USSR at the time of the
Tito–Stalin split The Tito–Stalin split or the Yugoslav–Soviet split was the culmination of a conflict between the political leaderships of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, under Josip Broz Tito and Joseph Stalin, respectively, in the years following World W ...
never returned to Yugoslavia. The split particularly affected the
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
. Almost all Air Force officers had Soviet training, and some of them fled Yugoslavia in Air Force planes. The defectors included
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Pero Popivoda, who was the head of the Air Force operational service. The
Batajnica Batajnica ( sr-Cyrl, Батајница, ) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. It is located in the Belgrade municipality of Zemun. Location and geography Batajnica is located in the Syrmia region, in the northern ...
,
Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
, and Pančevo airbases near
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
saw several attacks by groups of saboteurs. The Zemun airbase commander and his deputy fled to Romania. Between 1948 and 1955, the United States gave Yugoslavia US$600 million in direct military grants and an equal amount in economic aid, enabling Yugoslavia to devote more of its domestic resources to defence. After two visits to the United States by Colonel General Kocha Popovic and Colonel General Kilibarda in May–June and August 1951, respectively, U.S. weaponry began arriving by late 1951. By 1952 the Armed Forces had grown to 500,000 troops, and defence expenditures consumed 22 percent of the
gross national product The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
. A
Military Assistance Advisory Group Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...
(MAAG) of 30 officers commanded by General Harmody was established by the United States in Belgrade in 1951. It operated for ten years, disbursing military grants and arranging another US$1 billion in arms sales on favorable terms. Among weapons transferred were 599 M-4A3 tanks, 319 M-47 tanks, 715 M-7, M-l8, and M-36 self-propelled guns, 565 M-3A1 and M-8 armored cars, and a total of total of 760 105mm, 155mm, and 203mm artillery pieces. The artillery pieces delivered were used to reequip artillery units within Yugoslavia's eight divisions.


Task and command structure

Under the constitution and laws of SFR Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav People's Army was a part of the armed forces with the
Territorial Defense (Yugoslavia) The Territorial Defense ( sh, Територијална Oдбрана / , TO for short) was a component of the armed forces of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that was the primary means of organized armed resistance against ...
as the joint armed forces of all working people and citizens of Yugoslavia. The main task of the Yugoslav People's Army was to protect the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and social organization of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Though the
Presidency of Yugoslavia The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( sr, Председништво СФРЈ, Predsedništvo SFRJ, Bosnian and hr, Predsjedništvo SFRJ, sl, Predsedstvo SFRJ, mk, Председателство на СФРЈ, Preds ...
was the supreme commander of the armed forces and in command of Yugoslav People's Army, some duties from the presidency could be given to the Secretary of Defence. The
Secretary of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...
was the officer with the highest military rank that could command the armed forces, including the Yugoslav People's Army and Territorial Defense. The
President of Yugoslavia The president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or the president of the Republic for short, was the head of state of that country from 14 January 1953 to 4 May 1980. Josip Broz Tito was the only person to occupy the office. Tito ...
had the power to promote members of the military to the highest military ranks such as general or admiral, and to relieve duty of the highest military officers. The Chief of Staff of the Yugoslav People's Army, in the case that the Secretary of Defense was prevented or absent to fulfill his function, was formally his deputy who could take command of the armed forces. In 1987, under decree of the
Presidency of Yugoslavia The Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ( sr, Председништво СФРЈ, Predsedništvo SFRJ, Bosnian and hr, Predsjedništvo SFRJ, sl, Predsedstvo SFRJ, mk, Председателство на СФРЈ, Preds ...
, the General Staff of the JNA was renamed to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Yugoslavia, thus effectively giving command of JNA and the TO to one military body in order to more efficiently command the armed forces in case of war, according to the law of "All-people's defense" from 1982.


Organization


Structure and organization in late 1980s and at beginning of 1990s

In the mid-1980s, plans were made under a formal top-secret strategic and operational plan named "Jedinstvo" (Eng. "unity") for a structural change from republic armies and divisions to military districts and brigades to allow for easier federal consolidation of the republics' territorial armies, particularly in the case of a crisis. Because of internal and external security changes during that time, "Jedinstvo" was later modeled in three parts: "Jedinstvo 1", "Jedinstvo 2", and "Jedinstvo 3", starting from 1987 (with a planned completion date of 1995) for the JNA to start major reform. The first part of JNA major overhaul under "Jedinstvo 1" had its basic force structure nearly completed in 1989. Manpower was planned to be reduced to about 1 million in wartime, while in peacetime it would be 299,057 personnel including officers, soldiers and the civilian workforce, including civil service. Equipment purchase was not realized in full. The JNA's organization and structure after "Jedinstvo 1" consisted of the
Ground Forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
. Under reforms through the "Jedinstvo" plan it was planned to reorganize the army's structure into four major army areas called "Vojna Oblast" under command of SSNO (''Савезни секретаријат за народну одбрану'' (''ССНО'') – The Union's Secretariat for People's Defence, the federal ministry of defence) - "Vojna oblast" or military regions were further divided into corps, brigades, garrisons and smaller districts and sectors that were responsible for administrative tasks such as
draft registration Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
,
mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...
, and construction and maintenance of military facilities. The regions were: *The first military region with headquarters in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
(responsible for eastern
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
, northern and central parts of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and parts of
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
) *The second military region with headquarters in
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
(
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and northern Croatia) *The third military region with headquarters in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...
( Macedonia, Southern Serbia and
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
) *The military-naval region "Vojnopomorska Oblast" with its headquarters in
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
. Military-Naval Region included parts of Croatia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
- almost all Yugoslavia coastline. It had subdivisions on three sectors including flotilla and one corps. Directly under SSNO were the Guard's motorized brigade, school centers, three SIGNAL regiments, a light anti-aircraft artillery regiment, and a few independent battalions and divisions. In the "Jedinstvo 1" reforms, JNA eliminated most of its old
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
al infantry organization and established the
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...
and
corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
structure with some independent units under direct command of SSNO. Territorial defense was also changed and laws and the constitution were amended to address those changes. The Ground Forces "converted ten of twelve
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
divisions into twenty-nine
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
, mechanized and mountain infantry
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...
s with integral
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
, air defense and anti-tank regiments under corps structure. One
airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
brigade was organized before 1990. The shift to brigade-level organization provided greater operational flexibility, maneuverability, and tactical initiative and reduced the possibility that large army units would be destroyed in set piece engagements with an aggressor. The change created many senior field command positions that would develop relatively young and talented officers." In 1989, five independent divisions under general staff command and 25 partisan (reserve) divisions under corps command were formed including many other battalions, regiments and batteries under different commands. The 1989 plan "Jedinstvo 2" commenced and border battalions were transferred under corps command including some divisions that have remained before under others commands. Brigades got some artillery and antiaircraft batteries under their direct command that helped them to gain independence in wartime from higher levels. Defense of all major cities was previously planned with separate units but under "Jedinstvo 2" only Belgrade and Zagreb retained separated units for defense of their cities. There were usually three classes of brigades, regiments and battalions: * A. class * B. class * R. class. A. class brigades and battalions were more than 60 to up to 100% manned, and B. class units had 15-60% manpower. R. class units were reserved with about 15-20% and was manned mostly in their logistic units and commands. Battalions with A. class status were 100% manned and equipped. A. class brigades had a brigade HQ and 4 battalions and B class brigade had 2-3 battalions with HQ. The "Jedinstvo 3" plan started in 1990. To the military leadership of the JNA, it was obvious that
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
was moving to defend its internal borders and the only global superpower left was the USA. It was then agreed in JNA that potential for aggression from the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
had diminished but potential aggression from
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
had increased. The new plan "Jedinstvo 3" included changes to organize better defenses from new perceived external threats. The plan required the building of smaller but more modernized forces with highly mobile units. Corps closer to the border would have two A. class brigades including an artillery regiment of A. class, an anti-armor regiment of B. class and an engineering battalion of A class. Corps deeper inside country would have one brigade of A. or B. class. Under "Jedinstvo 3" every corps in the
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
should have one support aviation brigade, one fighter wing, one Air Surveillance, Early Warning and Guidance regiment, 1-2 rocket brigades or regiments and rest up to possibilities to equip. Under "Jedinstvo 2", the JNA on 1 January 1990 had: * 5 divisions - 2 R. and 3 B. class * 23 partisans divisions of R. class * 72 partisans brigade of R. class * 20 infantry brigades - 2 A., 10 B. and 8 R. class * 17 infantry regiments - 5 B. 12. R. class * 7 hill brigades - 3 B. 4 R. class * 1 mountain brigade B. class * 32 motorized brigades - 4 A., 21 B. and 7. R. class * 2 marines infantries brigades B. class * 1 Guard motorized brigade A. class * 6 Armor brigades of B. class * 11 Mechanized brigades - 7. A. class, 3. B. class and 1 R. class * 1 artillery rocket brigade B. class * 6 mixed artillery brigades B. class * 5 mixed anti-armor artillery brigades B. class and many others, including 19 military police battalions and river
flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...
giving in total 28 divisions, 307 brigades and regiments and 137 independent battalions/divisions. Under "Jedinstvo 3" until 1995, the structure of the JNA was: * 1 Mechanized division in A. class * 18 Partisans divisions of R. class * 7. Motorized brigades of R.class * 39 motorized brigades - 7 A. class * 17 mechanized brigades - 15 A. and 2 R. class There were other units that had smaller but more modern and mobile forces with more mobile A class units with a total of 19 divisions, 234. brigades and 104 independent battalions/regiments in 1995. Total manpower at the end of 1995 was about 222.151 in peace and 834.891 in war. Internal changes in Yugoslavia prevented the total realization of the "Jedinstvo 3" plan. While many changes under it were done during 1990, not all were finished completely. While most commands and units were formed and manned, equipping was not finished according to plan because of dissolution of Yugoslavia and stopping of deliveries from most of domestic factories to units of JNA. As part of the armed forces, there was also the Territorial Defense, based on each republic's territory that formed Yugoslavia that would fall under command of JNA during wartime.


Ground Forces

The Ground Forces had the greatest number of personnel. In 1991 there were about 140,000 active-duty soldiers (including 90,000 conscripts), and over a million trained
reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...
s that could be mobilized in wartime. Each of the Yugoslav constituent six republics had its own Territorial Defence forces which were similar to the US
national guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
and were subordinate to supreme command as an integral part of the defence system in wartime. The territorial defence (reserve force) was made up of former conscripts; they were occasionally called up for war exercises. The ground forces were organised into infantry, armour, artillery, and air defence, as well as signal, engineering and chemical defence corps.


Air Force

The Yugoslav Air Force had about 32,000 personnel including 4,000
conscripts Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...
, and operated over 400 aircraft and 200
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s. It was responsible for transport,
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and
rotary-wing aircraft A rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft with rotary wings or rotor blades, which generate lift by rotating around a vertical mast. Several rotor blades mounted on a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The Internat ...
as well as the national air defence system. The primary air force missions were to contest enemy efforts to establish
air supremacy Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of comm ...
over Yugoslavia and to support the defensive operations of the ground forces and navy. Most aircraft were produced in Yugoslavia.
Missile In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocke ...
s were produced domestically and supplied by the Soviet Union. The Yugoslav Air Force had twelve squadrons of domestically produced ground attack fighters. The ground attack squadrons provided close air support to ground force operations. They were equipped with 165 new
Soko J-22 Orao The Soko J-22 Orao ( sr-cyr, text=Oрао, translation=eagle) is a Yugoslav twin-engined, subsonic ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed and built in collaboration by SOKO in Yugoslavia and by Avioane Craiova i ...
, Super Galeb and
J-21 Jastreb The Soko J-21 ''Jastreb'' ( en, Hawk), referred to as the J-1 ''Jastreb'' in some sources, is a Yugoslav single-seat, single-engine, light attack aircraft, designed by the Aeronautical Technical Institute (ATI) and Vojnotehnički Institut Beogra ...
, and older
Soko J-20 Kraguj The Soko J-20 Kraguj (''Sparrowhawk'') is a light military, single-engine, low-wing single-seat aircraft with a metal airframe, capable of performing close air support, counterinsurgency (COIN), and reconnaissance missions, that was designed by ...
fighters. Many ground attack fighters were armed with
AGM-65 Maverick The AGM-65 Maverick is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) designed for close air support. It is the most widely produced precision-guided missile in the Western world, and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, ...
air-to-surface missiles An air-to-surface missile (ASM) or air-to-ground missile (AGM) is a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft at targets on land or sea. There are also unpowered guided glide bombs not considered missiles. The two most common prop ...
purchased from the United States. Others were armed with Soviet Kh-23 and
Kh-28 The Kh-28 (russian: Х-28; Nisan-28; NATO: AS-9 'Kyle') was the first Soviet anti-radiation missile for tactical aircraft. It entered production in 1973 and is still carried on some Sukhoi Su-22s in developing countries but is no longer in Russia ...
missiles. The air force also had about ninety armed
Mi-8 The Mil Mi-8 (russian: Ми-8, NATO reporting name: Hip) is a medium twin-turbine helicopter, originally designed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s and introduced into the Soviet Air Force in 1968. It is now produced by Russia. In addition t ...
helicopter gunships to provide added mobility and fire support for small ground units. A large number of reconnaissance aircraft were available to support ground forces operations. Four squadrons of seventy Galeb, Jastreb, and Orao-1 fighters were configured for reconnaissance missions. The Yugoslav Air Force had nine squadrons of 130 Soviet-made
MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
interceptors for air defence. First produced in the late 1950s, the MiG-21 design was largely obsolete in 1990 and represented a potential weakness in Yugoslavia's air defence. However, the bulk of the MiG-21 fleet consisted mainly of the ''bis'' variant, the latest production MiG-21 model, and was armed with the Soviet
Vympel K-13 The Vympel K-13 ( NATO reporting name: AA-2 "Atoll") is a short-range, infrared homing air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union. It is similar in appearance and function to the American AIM-9B Sidewinder from which it was reverse-engine ...
( NATO reporting name: AA-2 "Atoll") missile, air-to-air missiles and some Molniya R-60 (NATO reporting name: AA-8 "Aphid") missiles as well as twin 23 mm cannons. By 1989, Yugoslavia started developing a new domestic multirole fighter plane called
Novi Avion The Novi Avion (Serbian Cyrillic:Нови Aвион en, New Aeroplane) was a fourth generation multi-role combat aircraft programme that was to be built by Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer SOKO. The Avion featured a cropped delta- canard con ...
, which was supposed to replace the MiG-21 and J-21 Jastreb fleets entirely. The design of the new aircraft was influenced by the Mirage 2000 and
Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide ran ...
fighter types and it was to enter service by the early 2000s. As an interim solution, a modernization package was planned for the MiG-21 and it is speculated that India's MiG-21 Bison upgrade was actually intended for Yugoslav aircraft. In 1987, Yugoslavia acquired 16
MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...
s. Although not officially known at the time, Yugoslavia was rumoured to have been interested in the purchase of Su-25 attack-aircraft and Mi-24 gunships. Instead of developing its own fighter plane, the
Novi Avion The Novi Avion (Serbian Cyrillic:Нови Aвион en, New Aeroplane) was a fourth generation multi-role combat aircraft programme that was to be built by Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer SOKO. The Avion featured a cropped delta- canard con ...
, the country made a request to licence-build the F-20, but due to unstable relations with the US, the request was rejected. By the late 1980s, the licensed production of
Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter that was designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. It is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers as well as ...
helicopters was also planned, but due to the dissolution of the country, it was not continued. One of the structures operated by the
Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ ...
was the underground
Željava Air Base Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać, Bosnia, was the largest underground airport and military air base in Yugoslavia, and one of the largest ...
near the town of
Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...
in northwest
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The structure was made to withstand a nuclear explosion and was destroyed by the JNA in 1992 to prevent its capture. Željava was home to the 117th Fighter Aviation Regiment, which was composed of the 124th and 125th Fighter Squadrons, equipped with MiG-21Bis fighters, and the 352nd Reconnaissance Squadron, equipped with MiG-21R aircraft. The Air and Air Defence Forces were headquartered at
Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
and had fighter and
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
aircraft, helicopters, and air defence artillery units at
air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
s throughout the former Yugoslavia: Batajnica Air Base (
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
),
Niš Constantine the Great Airport Niš Constantine the Great Airport ( sr, Аеродром Константин Велики Ниш, Aerodrom Konstantin Veliki Niš) , located northwest of downtown Niš, in the suburbs of Medoševac and Popovac. It is the second-largest an ...
, Slatina Air Base (
Priština Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians a ...
),
Golubovci Airbase The Podgorica Airbase (also known as Golubovci Airbase) is an active airbase in Montenegro. The airbase facilities are shared with Montenegro's main international airport, Podgorica Airport. It is the main base of the air arm of the Military of ...
(
Titograd Podgorica (Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; lit. 'under the hill') is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd (Cyrillic: Титоград, ) between 1946 and 1992—in the period that Montenegro forme ...
), Skopski Petrovec,
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
,
Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
, Željava Air Base (Bihać),
Pleso Zagreb Franjo Tuđman Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Franjo Tuđman Zagreb) or Zagreb Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Zagreb) () is an international airport serving Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest and busiest airport in Croatia. In 2019 it handled 3. ...
(
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
),
Split Airport Split Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Split; ), also known as Resnik Airport ( hr, Zračna luka Resnik), is the international airport serving the city of Split, Croatia. It is located from Split, on the west side of Kaštela Bay, in the town of Ka ...
,
Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
,
Zemunik Zemunik Donji is a municipality in Croatia in the Zadar County. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,060 inhabitants, 91% of whom are Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian anc ...
(
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
),
Cerklje ob Krki Cerklje ob Krki (; german: Zirkle''Intelligenzblatt zur Laibacher Zeitung'', no. 141. 24 November 1849, p. 31.Minor surface combatants operated by the
Yugoslav Navy The Yugoslav Navy ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска ратна морнарица, Jugoslavenska ratna mornarica, Yugoslav War Navy), was the navy of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1992. It was essentially a coastal defense force with the miss ...
included nearly eighty
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
s,
corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
s,
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s,
minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
s, and missile, torpedo, and patrol boats in the Adriatic Fleet. The entire coast of Yugoslavia was part of the naval region headquartered at
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
, Croatia. The Partisans had operated many small boats in raids harassing Italian convoys in the Adriatic Sea during World War II. After the war, the navy operated numerous German and Italian submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, and tank-landing craft captured during the war or received as
war reparations War reparations are compensation payments made after a war by one side to the other. They are intended to cover damage or injury inflicted during a war. History Making one party pay a war indemnity is a common practice with a long history. ...
. The United States provided eight torpedo boats in the late 1940s, but most of them were soon obsolete. The navy was upgraded in the 1960s when it acquired ten Osa-I-class missile boats and four s from the Soviet Union. The Soviets granted a license to build eleven additional Shershen units in Yugoslav shipyards developed for this purpose. In 1980 and 1982, the Yugoslav navy took the delivery of two Soviet s. In 1988 it completed two additional units under license. The Koni frigates were armed with four Soviet
P-15 Termit The P-15 ''Termit'' (russian: П-15 "Термит"; en, termite) is an anti-ship missile developed by the Soviet Union's Raduga design bureau in the 1950s. Its GRAU designation was 4K40, its NATO reporting name was ''Styx'' or SS-N-2. China ...
surface-to-surface missile launchers, twin
9K33 Osa The 9K33 ''Osa'' (, literally "wasp"; NATO reporting name SA-8 ''Gecko'') is a highly mobile, low-altitude, short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and fielded in 1972. Its export version na ...
(NATO reporting name: SA-8 "Gecko") surface-to-air missiles, and anti-submarine rocket launchers. The Yugoslav navy developed its own submarine-building capability during the 1960s. In 1990, the main combat units of the submarine service were three s armed with 533 mm torpedoes. Two smaller s entered service in the late 1970s. Two ''Sutjeska''-class submarines had been relegated mainly to training missions by 1990. At that time the navy had apparently shifted to construction of versatile midget submarines. Four Una-class midgets and four Mala-class swimmer delivery vehicles were in service in the late 1980s. They were built for use by underwater demolition teams and special forces. The Una-class boats carried five crewmen, eight combat swimmers, four Mala vehicles, and limpet mines. The Mala vehicles carried two swimmers and of mines. The Yugoslav navy operated ten Osa-class missile boats and six missile boats. The Osa I boats were armed with four P-15 Termit surface-to-surface missile launchers. In 1990, ten domestic ''Kobra'' missile boats were scheduled to begin replacing the Osa I class. The ''Kobra'' class was to be armed with eight Swedish
RBS-15 The RBS 15 (Robotsystem 15) is a long-range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface anti-ship missile. The later version Mk. III has the ability to attack land targets as well. The missile was developed by the Swedish company Sa ...
anti-ship missiles, and fifteen of them were ordered in late 1989. Armed with two P-15 Termit launchers, the ''Končar''-class boats were modeled after the , and there were plans to upgrade them with Swedish-built missiles. Two ''Kobra'' missile boats were built by
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
as the and both are still in service. The navy's fifteen Topčider-class torpedo boats included four former Soviet Shershen class and eleven Yugoslav built units. The Yugoslav navy's mine warfare and countermeasures capabilities were considered adequate in 1990. It operated four ''Vukov Klanac''-class coastal minesweepers built on a French design, four British s, and six 117-class inshore minesweepers built in domestic shipyards. Larger numbers of older and less capable minesweepers were mainly used in riverine operations. Other older units were used as dedicated minelayers. The navy used amphibious landing craft in support of army operations in the area of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
,
Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...
, and Drava rivers. They included both tank and assault landing craft. In 1990, there were four 501-class, ten 211-class, and twenty-five 601-class landing craft in service. Most of them were also capable of laying mines in rivers and coastal areas. The Yugoslav Navy had 10,000 sailors (including 4,400 conscripts and 900 marines). They were essentially a coastal defence force with the mission of preventing enemy amphibious landings along the country's rugged 4,000-kilometer shoreline and coastal islands, and contesting enemy
blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...
or control of the strategic Strait of Otranto. The entire coast of Yugoslavia was part of the naval region headquartered at
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
. The naval region was divided into three smaller naval districts and a riverine flotilla with major
naval base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that u ...
s located at Split,
Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...
,
Pula Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
,
Ploče Ploče (; it, Porto Tolero) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. Geography Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-south ...
and
Kotor Kotor ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
on the Adriatic Sea, and
Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
on the River Danube. The strategic islands of Vis and
Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 p ...
were heavily
fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and unauthorised entry was prohibited. The
fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
was organized into missile, torpedo, and patrol boat brigades, a submarine division, and minesweeper flotillas. The naval
order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the arme ...
included four frigates, three corvettes, five patrol submarines, fifty-eight missile, torpedo, and patrol boats, and twenty-eight minesweepers. One antisubmarine warfare helicopter squadron was based at Split on the Adriatic coast. It employed Soviet
Ka-25 The Kamov Ka-25 (NATO reporting name "Hormone") is a naval helicopter, developed for the Soviet Navy in the USSR from 1958. Design and development In the late 1950s there was an urgent demand for anti-submarine helicopters for deployment on ne ...
,
Ka-28 The Kamov Ka-27 ( NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...
, and Mi-14 helicopters, and domestic Partisan helicopters. Some air force fighter and reconnaissance squadrons supported naval operations.


Military education and composition

The Yugoslav Constitution of 1974 principally tried to have the most proportional representation of Yugoslavia's republics and autonomous provinces in the high army ranks. It is defined in article 242 of the constitution, which says that, ''"Regarding the composition of staff and the employment in the high command and leadership functions in the Yugoslav People's Army the principle is applied of as proportional representation as possible of republics and autonomous provinces''"''.'' Serbs, Montenegrins, and Yugoslavs were by some opinions over-represented in the officer corps, but that was still in accordance with cited constitution. JNA's high-ranking positions in 1980 was dominated by ethnic Serbs, including the chief of the armed forces, minister of defense and secretary of the LCY in the JNA. Nobody was preventing anyone in Yugoslavia to become JNA officer in accordance to the law "Zakon o vojnim školama i naučnoistraživačkim ustanovama Jugoslovenske narodne armije" that had no exclusions clause. Proportional presentations was to be between republics and autonomous provinces according to cited part of constitution and not between nations. Military schools in Yugoslavia in accordance with law about military schools were built in all Yugoslavia Republics. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, military schools possessed 38,391 annual capacity or 50.54% of the total compared to Serbia, which had 30,843 capacity for educating military personnel that constituted about 40.62% of total capacity and rest was among other republics. Representation of the main nations and nationalities of Yugoslavia in the general population and the armed forces: Ethnic distribution among higher ranks of the JNA:


Anniversaries and rewards

December 22 was established as the Day of the JNA. On that day all units and organizations within JNA including other Yugoslavia states bodies celebrated the day the JNA was founded. Prestigious awards were given on that day: they were called ''dvadesetdrugi decembar''. Rewards were given to anyone who had contributed to the defence of Yugoslavia in some way including military, scientific, economic or another contribution. Winners of such awards were highly praised in media and among the populace. Every ten years, special medals were awarded on December 22. It was last promoted by the JNA general, the winner of the December 22nd reward and JNA silver star medal. Major general Ener Taso died on December 12, 2018.


Industry

The arms industry was dominant in the Yugoslav economy. With annual exports of $3 billion, it was twice as large as the second largest industry, tourism. Several companies in Yugoslavia produced airplanes and combat aircraft, most notably
SOKO Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...
of
Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
, with the
Soko J-22 Orao The Soko J-22 Orao ( sr-cyr, text=Oрао, translation=eagle) is a Yugoslav twin-engined, subsonic ground-attack and aerial reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed and built in collaboration by SOKO in Yugoslavia and by Avioane Craiova i ...
being its best known product. There was also
Zastava Arms Zastava Arms ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Застава oружје, Zastava oružje) is a Serbian manufacturer of firearms and artillery, based in Kragujevac, Serbia. It was founded in 1853 when it cast its first cannon. It is the leading producer of firear ...
for firearms and artillery. Another important manufacturer was Utva in Serbia. The Yugoslav
military–industrial complex The expression military–industrial complex (MIC) describes the relationship between a country's military and the defense industry that supplies it, seen together as a vested interest which influences public policy. A driving factor behind the r ...
produced tanks (most notably, the M-84), armored vehicles (
BOV APC The BOV ( sr, Борбено оклопно возило (БОВ), Borbeno oklopno vozilo (BOV), lit=Combat Armored Vehicle), is an all-wheel drive armoured vehicle manufactured in the former Yugoslavia and today in Serbia. The second generation B ...
,
BVP M-80 The BVP M-80, is a tracked Yugoslavian-made infantry fighting vehicle, produced from the 1980s until the country's collapse in the 1990s. Development Early research and development of the M-80 began in 1969, with testing of the first completed pr ...
), various artillery pieces ( mortars,
multiple rocket launcher A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a volle ...
s, howitzers), anti-aircraft weapons, as well as various types of infantry weapons and other equipment.


Infrastructure

JNA had modern infrastructure with many air bases including underground shelters and command and control centers in many locations including several mountains. The biggest and best known installation was the
Željava Air Base Željava Air Base, situated on the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać, Bosnia, was the largest underground airport and military air base in Yugoslavia, and one of the largest ...
, also known as the Bihać Underground Integrated Radar Control and Surveillance Centre and Air Base, in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
.


Doctrine

The JNA adopted the concept of
total defence Total defence is a defence policy combining and extending the concept of military defence and civil defence. It has been adopted by several countries: for example Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, ...
(as did a number of other small European and neutral countries). Yugoslavia based its defence doctrine upon the
total war Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-combata ...
concept of "Total People's Defence" (sh. Opštenarodna odbrana / Općenarodna obrana) which drew upon Yugoslavia's successful partisan history during the
Yugoslav People's Liberation War World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the U ...
during the Second World War. "TND prepared the entire population to contest the occupation of the country and finally to liberate it. The Territorial Defence Forces would mobilize the population for this purpose. The combat readiness of the TDF meant that the steps of organization and training could be bypassed after the start of hostilities. The TDF would supplement the YPA, giving it greater defensive depth and an armed local population ready to support combat actions." The entire Yugoslav population was to be engaged in armed resistance, armaments production, and civil defence under this concept. It was believed by the Yugoslav planners to be the best method by which a smaller nation could properly defend itself against a much stronger invader, specifically,
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
or the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
.


Dissolution

In January 1990, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia was effectively dissolved as a national organization following its 14th Congress where the Serbian and Slovene delegations engaged in a public confrontation. The Yugoslav People's Army was left without an ideological support mechanism. 99% of the officers of the Army were members of the communist party. The
dissolution of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
began when independent, non-communist governments were established in the Yugoslav republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. In 1990, the Socialist Republic of Slovenia changed its name to
Republic of Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
and ceased contributing funds to the federal government for a sustained military budget. Soon afterward the Slovene government began a re-organization of its territorial defense, bringing the former constituent republic's Territorial Defense reserve forces under its control as the
Slovenian Territorial Defence The Territorial Defense of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Teritorialna obramba Republike Slovenije (TO RS)), also known as the Territorial Defense of Slovenia (Slovenian: ''Teritorialna obramba Slovenije OS'), was the predecessor of the Slovenia ...
. In March 1991, Yugoslav defense minister General
Veljko Kadijević Veljko Kadijević ( sr-Cyrl, Вељко Кадијевић; 21 November 1925 – 2 November 2014) was a Serbian general of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). He was the Minister of Defence in the Yugoslav government from 1988 until his resignatio ...
organized a meeting at the military complex in
Topčider Topčider ( sr-cyr, Топчидер; ) is a forest park and an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is divided between the municipalities of Čukarica, Rakovica and Savski Venac. Being close to downtown, it is one of the ma ...
,
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
. Present at this meeting were all 6 presidents of the Yugoslav republics, presidents of the autonomous republics, the Yugoslav president and all top military officers. Kadijević claimed that there were numerous paramilitary organizations in Yugoslavia sponsored by foreign and domestic enemies of the state. He also stated that the Yugoslav People's Army was dealing with
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
, Chetniks, and other "enemies of socialism" stemming from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
conflicts. Kadijević proposed a declaration of martial law. A subsequent vote was held on Kadijević's recommendation of martial law, and the suggestion was vetoed. In April 1991, the government of Croatia formed the
Croatian National Guard The Croatian National Guard ( hr, Zbor narodne garde or ZNG) was an armed force established by Croatia in April and May 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. Although it was established within the framework of the Ministry of the Interio ...
(''ZNG''), which the Yugoslav People's Army considered to be a paramilitary organization. On 25 June 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Yugoslavia. On the same day,
Slovenian Territorial Defence The Territorial Defense of the Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Teritorialna obramba Republike Slovenije (TO RS)), also known as the Territorial Defense of Slovenia (Slovenian: ''Teritorialna obramba Slovenije OS'), was the predecessor of the Slovenia ...
units captured Yugoslav control posts on the borders with Italy, Hungary and Austria. Slovene forces also established border control posts on their border with Croatia. As a result of these actions, on 27 June 1991 the Yugoslav People's Army attacked Slovenia, with its top commanders citing the constitutional obligation to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia. Yugoslav forces attacked the Slovene units on the border and in all other areas under Slovene control. The Slovenian Territorial Defence blockaded all ten Yugoslav bases in Slovenia and kept them under siege in the
Ten-Day War The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...
which ended on 6 July 1991. Yugoslav forces had 44 killed and 146 wounded, with many Yugoslav officers wounded or captured. After the
Brioni Agreement The Brioni Agreement, also known as the Brioni Declaration ( hr, Brijunska deklaracija, sr, Brionska deklaracija, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Брионска декларација, sl, Brionska deklaracija), is a document signed by representativ ...
was signed, the Yugoslav People's Army agreed to withdraw from Slovenia by 10 October 1991, leaving large amounts of equipment behind. On 27 June 1991, war in Croatia began. The People's Army and the Serbians were on one side and Croatian military units on the other. On 14–15 September, Croatia launched the
Battle of the Barracks The Battle of the Barracks ( hr, Bitka za vojarne) was a series of engagements that occurred in mid-to-late 1991 between the Croatian National Guard (ZNG, later renamed the Croatian Army) and the Croatian police on one side and the Yugoslav Pe ...
, besieging over 20 Yugoslav People's Army barracks and depots, leaving Yugoslav soldiers without food, water or electricity for weeks. Some Croatian citizens deserted from the Yugoslav People's Army and began joining Croatian military forces. Senior Yugoslav officers also defected to Croatia, including Air Force Commander-in-Chief
Colonel general Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...
Anton Tus. In August 1991, the
Battle of Vukovar The Battle of Vukovar was an 87-day siege of Vukovar in eastern Croatia by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various paramilitary forces from Serbia, between August and November 1991. Before the Croatian War of Independence the Bar ...
began. It was the biggest battle in the War in Croatia after operations
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
and
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...
. In the battle, 90% of the city was destroyed. The Yugoslav People's Army used fighter and attack aircraft, rocket launchers, a large number of tanks and other equipment. Macedonia declared independence on 8 September 1991, but the Yugoslav People's Army did not militarily respond. In November, Vukovar was captured and 80% of Croatian forces were destroyed or captured. Many atrocities were committed in the city by the Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb volunteers, including the Velepromet concentration camp, Vukovar massacre, etc. In mid-October 1991, Yugoslav ground forces, supported by naval and air forces, attacked the city of Dubrovnik and the Konavle area where the Croats had strongholds, starting the Siege of Dubrovnik. By 6 December, Yugoslav forces had neutralized all Croat formations in the Konavle area, but Dubrovnik had not been captured. After these two operations, the Yugoslav People's Army signed the
Sarajevo Agreement The Vance plan ( hr, Vanceov plan, sr, Vensov plan, italics=yes) was a peace plan negotiated by the former United States Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in November 1991 during the Croatian War of Independence. At that time, Vance was the ...
with Croatia and began to withdraw. In January 1992, Veljko Kadijević resigned after the 1992 European Community Monitor Mission helicopter downing. The Yugoslav People's Army left Macedonia in March 1992. Around the same time, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence following a
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
and the Bosnian War started soon thereafter between the country's Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The Yugoslav People's Army officially withdrew from Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 1992. On 20 May 1992 the Yugoslav People's Army was formally dissolved, the remnants of which reformed into the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
of the newly founded "
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
".


Peacekeeping operations

*
United Nations Emergency Force The United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) was a military and peacekeeping operation established by the United Nations General Assembly to secure an end to the Suez Crisis of 1956 through the establishment of international peacekeepers on the bor ...
(1956–1967) – 14,265 soldiers in 22 rotations,
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
Lazar Mušicki as commander of mission (August 1964 – January 1965) *
United Nations Yemen Observation Mission The UN Yemen Observation Mission (UNYOM) was established in 1963. Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, North Yemen entered into a state of North Yemen Civil War, civil war in 1962. Yemen had joined Egypt in 1958, and then in 1962, separated again, spa ...
(1963–1964) – one squad *
United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group The United Nations Iran–Iraq Military Observer Group (UNIIMOG) was a United Nations commission created during the Iran–Iraq War by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 619 of August 9, 1988. The withdrawal of UNIIMOG forces in ...
(1988–1991) – military observers, General Slavko Jović as commander of mission *
United Nations Transition Assistance Group The United Nations Transition Assistance Group (UNTAG) was a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force deployed from April 1989 to March 1990 in Namibia, known at the time as South West Africa, to monitor the peace process and elections there. N ...
(1989–1990) – military observers *
United Nations Angola Verification Mission I The United Nations Angola Verification Mission I (I UNAVEM) was a peacekeeping mission that existed from January 1989 to June 1991 in Angola during the civil war.Meisler, Stanley. ''United Nations: The First Fifty Years'', 1997. Page 368. It was e ...
(1989–1991) – military observers


Operational experience

*
World War II in Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the US ...
* Trieste crisis *
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
**
Ten-Day War The Ten-Day War ( sl, desetdnevna vojna), or the Slovenian War of Independence (), was a brief armed conflict that followed Slovenia's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. It was fought between the separatists of the ...
in Slovenia (1991) ** Croatian War of Independence (1991) ** Bosnian War (1992)


See also

*
Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
* OZNA *
KOS Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...
* Organization of the League of Communists in the Yugoslav People's Army Successor militaries of the former Yugoslavia: * Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina *
Armed Forces of Croatia The Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Oružane snage Republike Hrvatske – OSRH) is the military service of Croatia. The President is the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, and exercises administrative powers in times of war by giv ...
*
Kosovo Security Force , image = KSF logo.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem , image2 = Flag of the Kosovo Security Force.svg , alt2 = , caption2 = Flag , motto = , founded ...
*
Army of North Macedonia , image = Logo of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Army , image2 = , alt2 = , caption2 = , motto = ...
*
Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro The Armed Forces of Serbia and Montenegro ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војска Србије и Црне Горе, Vojska Srbije i Crne Gore, ВСЦГ / ''VSCG'') included ground forces with internal and border troops, naval forces, air and air defense ...
*
Serbian Armed Forces The Serbian Armed Forces ( sr, Војска Србије, Vojska Srbije) is the military of Serbia. The President of Serbia acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the Government ...
*
Armed Forces of Montenegro The Armed Forces of Montenegro ( cnr, Војска Црне Горе, Vojska Crne Gore) are the military forces of Montenegro. The Armed Forces consists of an army, navy and air force. The military currently maintains a force of 2,350 active ...
*
Slovenian Armed Forces The Slovenian Armed Forces or Slovenian Army (SAF; sl, Slovenska vojska; 'SV'' are the armed forces of Slovenia. Since 2003, it is organized as a fully professional standing army. The Commander-in-Chief of the SAF is the President of the R ...


Notes


References

* * * * Razvoj Oruzanih Snaga SFRJ he Development of the Armed Forces of the Socialistic Federative Republic of Yugoslavia Vols.3-2, The Ground Forces (Belgrade 1987). "This is a classified edition marked with the military security label 'for internal use' published for the 40th Anniversary of the Yugoslav Army. The entire set includes 24 books covering all aspects of the Yugoslav Army, written with consultation of the still classified primary sources" omment in endnotes of Dimitrijevic 1997 * * {{Authority control Disbanded armies Military units and formations of the Cold War 1945 establishments in Yugoslavia 1992 disestablishments in Yugoslavia Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992