Batajnica Air Base


The Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base, commonly known as Batajnica Air Base is the main military air base of Serbia. It is located between Batajnica and Nova Pazova, about 25 km northwest from the center of Belgrade, Serbia. It is the only airport in Serbia with two runways.

History

Construction of the airbase started in 1947 and was completed in 1951, when the airbase was officially opened. The purpose of the airbase was to protect the capital from attack. One grass and two asphalted runways are used. It was known as 177th Air Base, which was its name until the 2006 reorganization. The airbase was home of 204th Fighter-Aviation regiment, 138th Transport-Aviation Regiment and other units of Yugoslav Air Force.
During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia the airbase was heavily bombed for 25 days and sustained heavy damage.
In June 2006, two USAF F-16 fighter jets, landed in the airbase. It was the first official visit of USAF aircraft in more than 20 years and the first since the bombing. In June 2019, Batajnica Air Base officially changed its name to Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base, in honor of Milenko Pavlović, a pilot killed during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Units

units operating from Milenko Pavlović Air Base: