Batajnica Air Base (Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base)
Summary
| Operating Country | 🇷🇸 Serbia |
| Location | 🇷🇸 Serbia |
| Status | ◉ Active |
| Usage | Military only |
| Year built | 1951 |
| Operating Organization | Serbian Air Force and Air Defence |
| Units |
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Location & Details
| Coordinates | 44.9353°N, 20.2575°E |
| Elevation | 86 m (282 ft) |
| IATA code | BJY |
| ICAO code | LYBT |
| Runways |
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Description
Batajnica Air Base, officially named Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović Air Base, is the main military air base of Serbia. Located between Batajnica and Nova Pazova, approximately 25 km northwest of Belgrade, the base serves as the primary hub of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence.
Construction began in 1947 and the base was officially opened in 1951 with one grass and two asphalt runways. It was originally designated as the 177th Air Base and housed the 204th Fighter-Aviation Regiment and the 138th Transport-Aviation Regiment of the Yugoslav Air Force.
During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the base was heavily bombed for 25 days and sustained significant damage. It was renamed in 2019 in honor of Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović, a pilot killed during the 1999 campaign. Today, the base hosts the 204th Air Brigade with fighter, transport, training, and helicopter squadrons, as well as the Aeronautical Overhaul Institute "Moma Stanojlović".