Banja Luka incident

Banja Luka incident
Part of the Bosnian War and Operation Deny Flight
Artist's depiction of the incident
Date 28 February 1994 Location Southwest of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina 44°32′8.54″N 16°34′57.42″E / 44.5357056°N 16.5826167°E / 44.5357056; 16.5826167 Result NATO victory
Belligerents
Republika Srpska	NATO •  United States
Strength
6 J-21 Jastrebs 2 J-22 Oraos	4+ F-16s
Casualties and losses
4 aircraft shot down[1][a] 1 aircraft crashed[3][4] 1 aircraft damaged 3 pilots killed 1 wounded	None

The Banja Luka incident was an air-to-air action that took place over Bosnia on 28 February 1994 when six Republika Srpska Air Force J-21 Jastreb single-seat light attack jets were engaged, and five of them shot down or crashed during escape, by NATO warplanes from the United States Air Force. In response to an attack on a Bosnian weapons factory, U.S. F-16 fighters operating southwest of Banja Luka successfully intercepted and destroyed the Bosnian Serb warplanes. The engagement resulted in no U.S. casualties. It marked the first active combat action, air-to-air or otherwise, in NATO's history.^[5]

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