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Operation Deliberate Force
Part of NATO intervention in Bosnia
A US Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft returns to Aviano AB, Italy, from a mission in support of NATO airstrikes against Republika Srpska
Date 30 August - 20 September 1995 Location Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina Result Siege of Sarajevo lifted.
Belligerents
NATO	Republika Srpska
Commanders
Willy Claes	Ratko Mladić
Casualties and losses
1 Mirage 2000 shot down[1] 2 pilots POW[1] 2 BAE Harrier shot down	40 + Soldiers killed

The 1995 NATO bombing in Bosnia and Herzegovina (code-named by NATO Operation Deliberate Force) was a sustained air campaign conducted by the North-Atlantic military organization to undermine the military capability of the Army of the Republika Srpska who threatened and attacked UN-designated "safe areas" in Bosnia. The operation was carried out between August 30 and September 20, 1995, involving 400 aircraft and 5000 personnel from 15 nations.

Although planned and approved by the North Atlantic Council in July 1995, the operation was triggered in direct response to the second wave of Markale Massacres on August 28, 1995.

During the campaign, a total of 3515 sorties were flown against 338 individual targets. Aircraft involved in the campaign operated out of Italy and from the U.S. aircraft carriers USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS America. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the bombs used in this campaign were precision-guided munitions. The Bosnian Serb integrated air defence network, comprising of aircraft and surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), presented a high-threat environment to the allied air operations. A French Mirage 2000 was shot down by a Serbian shoulder-fired SAM on August 30, 1995.^[2] On the night of 10 September, the Ticonderoga class cruiser USS Normandy launched a 13 Tomahawk missile strike against a key air defense command and control facility near Banja Luka.^[3]

The air campaign increased the international pressure on Milošević’s Yugoslavia to take part in negotiations that resulted in the Dayton Peace Agreement.

Image taken by a US aircraft upon hitting a Bosnian Serb target.

References

External links

• Operation Deliberate Force fact sheet, NATO website, updated December 16, 2002.
• "Operation Deliberate Force," Globalsecurity.org.
• "Aircraft Carrier USS America Replaces USS Roosevelt in Adriatic," September 12, 1995, CNN.
• "Louder Than Words," TIME magazine, September 11, 1995.
• "If U.S. Force Is Needed In Bosnia," by Michael Johns, The Christian Science Monitor, February 25, 1994.

See also

• Strategic Bombardment in the Kosovo War

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Military of the United States portal

Bosnian War Timeline 1991 Karađorđevo agreement · SAO Bosanska Krajina · SAO Herzegovina · SAO North-Eastern Bosnia · SAO Romanija · Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia 1992 Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina · Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina · Siege of Sarajevo · Graz agreement · Croat-Bosniak war · Operation Vrbas '92 · Operation Koridor 1993 Kravica (1993) · Operation Neretva '93 · Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia · Operation Deny Flight 1994 Operation Bøllebank · Operation Amanda · Banja Luka incident · Washington Agreement · Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina · Operation Tiger · Operation Spider 1995 Mrkonjić Grad incident · Operations Krivaja '95 and Stupčanica '95 · Operation Summer '95 · Operation Storm · 1995 NATO bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina · Operation Mistral · Operation Sana · Dayton Agreement · Bosnia and Herzegovina War Crimes Massacres Ahatovići · Ahmići · Čemerno  · Dobrinja · Doljani · Duša · Foča · Grabovica  · Korićani Cliffs · Kravica (1995) · Lašva Valley · Markale · Mokronoge · Paklenik · Prijedor · Sarajevo · Sjeverin · Srebrenica · Stupni Do · Tuzla · Višegrad Rape Rape in the Bosnian War Camps Čelebići · Dretelj · Gabela · Heliodrom · Keraterm · Manjača · Omarska · Trnopolje · Uzamnica · Vilina Vlas · Vojno Cases Sarajevo · Sijekovac · Trusina · Tuzla