NATO scars

F117 Nighthawk wreck

Village people are taking pieces of F117 as a trophy

Goverment Building in Belgrade

On March 27, 1999, during the NATO invasion, the 3rd Battalion of the 250th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Zoltán Dani, equipped with the Isayev S-125 'Neva-M' (NATO designation SA-3 'Goa'), downed F-117A serial number 82-806 with a Neva-M missile.

Several SA-3s were launched, one of which detonated in close promixity to the F-117A, forcing the pilot to eject.

The pilot survived and was later rescued by NATO forces.

However, the wreckage of the F-117 was not promptly bombed, and the Serbs are believed to have invited Russian personnel to inspect the remains, inevitably compromising the US stealth technology. Parts of the shot-down aircraft are now presented to the public in the Museum of Yugoslav Aviation in Belgrade.