Yesterday, Croatian media focused mostly on the procurement of a new combat aircraft Rafale. Serbia has MiG 29 and 21 combat aircraft in its arsenal, while Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) does not have any combat aircraft or helicopters. However, this does not mean that our skies are unmonitored.
Djuro Kozar, a military-political analyst, emphasizes that BiH does not have combat aviation, meaning that our fleet lacks combat aircraft and attack helicopters, with only transport helicopters present.
“Our airspace is protected by NATO. Countries without their own combat aviation have their airspace protected by other countries. The closest NATO members to us are Croatia, which has combat aviation, followed by Hungary, and Italy, all of which are close to BiH. There are no problems in that regard,” said Kozar.
He added that based on the Agreement on Subregional Arms Control, it is not even foreseen for BiH to have combat aviation.
“Montenegro also does not have combat aviation. Their airspace is protected by Italy. BiH, therefore, does not have combat aircraft, nor is it envisaged to have them. We only have transport helicopters, which can of course be armed if necessary. In any case, these are not combat air assets. With the NATO headquarters and EUFOR here, our skies are protected. No one would dare to threaten the NATO headquarters, which is in Sarajevo. NATO headquarters would immediately report if combat aircraft from other countries were to be deployed,” Kozar emphasized.
BiH is not capable of defending its airspace with its own forces, mainly due to its old and outdated equipment. However, as previously stated by our Ministry of Defense, if an attack were to occur, NATO or EUFOR has the mandate to take control of the airspace above BiH, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
