Operation Deny Flight

Operation Deny Flight
Part of the NATO intervention in Bosnia
An F-15C is met by maintenance personnel at Aviano Air Base during Operation Deny Flight
Date 12 April 1993 – 20 December 1995; (2 years, 8 months, 1 week, and 1 day) Location Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia Result Operation changes to Operation Deliberate Force
Belligerents
NATO  United Nations	Republika Srpska
Commanders and leaders
Jeremy M. Boorda (1993–1994) Leighton W. Smith (1994–1995)	Radovan Karadžić Ratko Mladić
Casualties and losses
1 Aeritalia G.222 shot down, 8 killed[1][2] 1 French Mirage 2000 crashed in the Adriatic sea, pilot rescued[3] 1 Dassault Étendard IV damaged[4] 1 BAE Sea Harrier shot down[5] 1 BAE Sea Harrier crashed in the Adriatic Sea[6] 1 F-16C shot down 1 F/A-18C Hornet crashed in the Adriatic sea, killing pilot[7][8] 2 MQ-1 Predators destroyed 1 Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion damaged[9] Hundreds of POWs[10]	5 J-21 Jastrebs destroyed 1 ammunition depot destroyed[11] 2 command posts destroyed[11][12] 1 airstrip damaged[11] 4 SA-6 missile sites destroyed[12][13] Several armored vehicles destroyed

Operation Deny Flight was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation that began on 12 April 1993 as the enforcement of a United Nations (UN) no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United Nations and NATO later expanded the mission of the operation to include providing close air support for UN troops in Bosnia and carrying out coercive air strikes against targets in Bosnia. Twelve NATO members contributed forces to the operation and, by its end on 20 December 1995, NATO pilots had flown 100,420 sorties.

The operation played an important role in shaping both the Bosnian War and NATO. The operation included the first combat engagement^[14] in NATO's history, a 28 February 1994 air battle over Banja Luka, and in April 1994, NATO aircraft first bombed ground targets in an operation near Goražde. Cooperation between the UN and NATO during the operation also helped pave the way for future joint operations. Although it helped establish UN–NATO relations, Deny Flight led to conflict between the two organizations. Most notably, significant tension arose between the two after UN peacekeepers were taken as hostages in response to NATO bombing.

The operations of Deny Flight spanned more than two years of the Bosnian War and played an important role in the course of that conflict. The no-fly zone operations of Deny Flight proved successful in preventing significant use of air power by any side in the conflict. Additionally, the air strikes flown during Deny Flight led to Operation Deliberate Force, a massive NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia that played a key role in ending the war.