Fuerza Aérea de Montenegro
The Montenegrin Air Force (Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Crne Gore) was born at independence in 2006 on the Yugoslav air base at Golubovci, inherited 17 G-4 Super Galeb jets it could not afford to fly, sold or gave them away, and today is a small helicopter force of Bell 412s and Bell 505s whose NATO airspace has been guarded by Greek and Italian fighters since 2017.
The Montenegrin Air Force story: a Yugoslav base, jets it could not keep and helicopters for rescue
1961–1991: Golubovci, a Yugoslav training base with a tunnel in the hill
Montenegro’s air force has no long national lineage of its own; its story starts on a Yugoslav airfield. In 1961 the Podgorica civil airport moved to Golubovci, about 5 km south of the city, where it has shared one 2,500-metre runway with the military ever since. According to English Wikipedia, the air base, now named Knjaz Danilo after the 19th-century ruler, was home to the Yugoslav Air Force’s 172nd Aviation Brigade and served as the main flying school for primary and basic pilot training. Its best-known feature was Šipčanik, an aircraft shelter tunnelled into a hill and linked to the runway by a taxiway of about 6 km. For the air force Montenegro would one day have, Golubovci was both an inheritance and a burden: far more airfield than a small new state would need.
1991 and 1999: flying from the base, then being bombed on it
The base’s war record belongs to the Yugoslav state, not to Montenegro, and it is contested. When the Yugoslav People’s Army moved on Dubrovnik in October 1991, English Wikipedia records Yugoslav Air Force MiG-21s striking Komolac on 1 October and further air attacks on the city on 3, 6, 18 and 20 October; the sources checked do not say which airfields those aircraft flew from, and Croatian and Yugoslav accounts of the campaign differ sharply. Eight years later the base was on the receiving end. During NATO’s Operation Allied Force in 1999 Golubovci was a frequent target, and the G-4 Super Galebs of the Leteće zvezde aerobatic team were destroyed there. Montenegro’s own government under Milo Đukanović was by then opposed to Slobodan Milošević, yet English Wikipedia counts eight deaths in Montenegro during the bombing. On 9 December 1999 Yugoslav Army troops and Montenegrin police faced off over control of the airport.
2006: independence and a jet fleet nobody could pay for
Serbia and Montenegro became a state union in 2003, and its air force was renamed accordingly. When Montenegro voted for independence in 2006 and the union ended in June, the bulk of the air force went to Serbia, but what stood at Golubovci stayed. Montenegro kept, by the government’s own later count, 17 G-4 Super Galeb jet trainers and four UTVA-75 piston trainers, alongside Gazelle and Mi-8 helicopters. It was a fleet built for a federal flying school, not for a small new army, and the government eventually said so plainly: in 2016 it told parliament that the costs of training, operating and maintaining the jets exceeded what the budget could bear and that keeping them was “not rational”. The bad side was obvious: aircraft were bought by a larger state and could not be sustained by a small one. The good side was that Montenegro recognised this quickly and did not pretend otherwise.
2010–2021: selling the Galebs, buying helicopters
The jets were dispersed in stages. Under an agreement signed on 14 April 2010, six G-4s flew to Batajnica in Serbia in October 2010, in exchange for shares in the Herceg Novi company Novi Prvoborac, night-start equipment for the air base and personal files held in Serbia. Seven more, according to the daily CdM, went to the Croatian firm ZPZ Aerospace for refurbishment. The last four were placed in storage in 2012, and on 25 February 2016 the government decided to sell them, with three UTVA-75s, a G-4 simulator and 18 Viper engines, putting the whole package at about €15.35 million and earmarking the proceeds for modern helicopters. Those helicopters came through Canada: Bell 412EPIs for firefighting, rescue and medical evacuation, and two Bell 505s ordered on 5 June 2020 for pilot training, delivered in September 2020 and March 2021 through a Canadian Commercial Corporation government-to-government deal.
2017–2026: NATO, borrowed fighters and a fourth helicopter type
Montenegro joined NATO as its 29th member on 5 June 2017. With no fighters of its own, it relies on its allies: NATO states that Greece and Italy have covered Montenegro’s airspace since 2017, as they have Albania’s since 2009, while an air surveillance and reporting centre at Golubovci feeds NATO’s air defence system. The air force’s real work is at home: fighting summer wildfires with 1,500-litre buckets, winching climbers off cliffs, as a Bell 412 did near Kotor on 28 September 2026, and flying the sick to hospital. In February 2025 Montenegro signed a maintenance contract with Bell through the Canadian Commercial Corporation, and on 12 June 2026 it agreed to buy four Airbus H145M helicopters from Germany, Germany’s first government-to-government arms sale. Whether the last stored G-4s have finally left Golubovci could not be confirmed on an official page and is left open here.
The Montenegrin Air Force in numbers
Servicio
- Nombre nativo
- Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Crne GoreThe Ministry of Defence page abbreviates it VVCG. In Cyrillic, Montenegrin also writes Ваздухопловство Војске Црне Горе; the Cyrillic form was not seen on the official page
- Fundado
- 2006Formed with the Armed Forces of Montenegro after independence in June 2006. Before that the base belonged to the air force of Yugoslavia (to 1992), the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003) and Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)
- Parte de
- Armed Forces of MontenegroOne of three branches, with the Land Forces and the Navy. Chief of the General Staff: Brigadier General Miodrag Vuksanović
- Sede
- Golubovci air base, PodgoricaKnjaz Danilo air base shares its runway with Podgorica Airport
- Comandante
- Bojan Popadić (named 2022)Named as commander in a Bell press release of November 2022; not confirmed for 2026
- Ministro de Defensa
- Dragan KrapovićIn office in September 2026
Fortaleza
- Personal
- The whole Armed Forces of Montenegro number about 2,350 active personnel according to English Wikipedia; no official air force figure was found
- Helicópteros
-
- Bell 412EP/EPI — 3
- Bell 505 Jet Ranger X — 2
- SOKO/Aérospatiale Gazelle — 0–6, status disputed
The ministry names the Bell 412 EP/EPI and Bell 505 as the backbone of the air force. English Wikipedia’s armed forces article gives 12 Bell 412s, which no other source supports
- Aviones de ala fija
-
- Cessna 421B Golden Eagle — 1
Transport and medical evacuation; per English Wikipedia. The Air Tractor water bombers at Podgorica are registered to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the air force
- Bajo pedido
- 4 Airbus H145MAgreed with Germany on 12 June 2026
- Presupuesto de defensa
- About €134 million (2024)1.9 per cent of GDP, per English Wikipedia; a NATO figure for 2025–2026 was not confirmed
Infraestructura
- base aérea
- Golubovci (Knjaz Danilo), PodgoricaRunway 18/36, 2,500 m, shared with the civil airport
- Forward operating sites
- Seasonal, NikšićTemporary forward bases in the fire season, per English Wikipedia
- Cavern shelter
- Šipčanik, decommissionedAircraft shelter tunnelled into a hill, linked by a taxiway of about 6 km; converted to civilian use in the early 2000s
- vigilancia aérea
- Greece and Italy since 2017NATO: Greece and Italy have covered Montenegro’s airspace since 2017, Albania’s since 2009 and North Macedonia’s since 2020
- Vigilancia aérea
- Air Surveillance and Reporting Centre, GolubovciReports into NATO’s integrated air defence system through the CAOC in Spain, per English Wikipedia
How the Montenegrin Air Force is organised
A small air arm at a single base, Golubovci, with a helicopter squadron and an air surveillance and reporting centre. Montenegro has flown no combat jets since independence in 2006 and owns no fighters; since it joined NATO in 2017, Greek and Italian fighters have covered its airspace. The Air Tractor water bombers at Podgorica belong to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the air force.
Fuerza Aérea de Montenegro
One of three branches of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, with the Land Forces and the Navy, under the Chief of the General Staff, Brig. Gen. Miodrag Vuksanović. Bell named Bojan Popadić as its commander in November 2022; no official page naming the commander in 2026 was found.
Escuadrón de helicópteros
The backbone of the air force in the ministry’s words: three Bell 412EPIs for firefighting with 1,500-litre buckets, rescue and medical evacuation, and two Bell 505s for pilot training, delivered in 2020 and 2021. Four Airbus H145Ms were agreed with Germany on 12 June 2026.
Air Surveillance and Reporting Centre
Feeds NATO’s integrated air defence system through the CAOC at Torrejón in Spain, according to English Wikipedia. Montenegro has no fighters; Greek and Italian jets have covered its airspace since 2017.
What the Montenegrin Air Force flies today
Cada tipo está sujeto a cargos, vinculado a su página en el Libro de las Bestias, cuando existe. Las cifras corresponden a aeronaves registradas, no a aeronaves disponibles en un día determinado.
| Tipo | Role | En servicio | Desde | Unidades | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell 412EP/EPIEn servicio | Utility, search and rescue, medical evacuation and firefighting helicopter | 3 | 2020 | Three per Bell (2022) and English Wikipedia. English Wikipedia’s Armed Forces of Montenegro article gives 12, which no other source supports. | ||
| Bell 505 Jet Ranger XEn servicio | Helicóptero de entrenamiento y utilitario ligero | 2 | 2020 | Two, ordered 5 June 2020. | ||
| Cessna 421B Golden EagleEn servicio | Light transport and medical evacuation | 1 | One, per English Wikipedia; not confirmed on an official page. |
Bajo pedido
| Tipo | Ordenado | Primera entrega | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helicópteros Airbus H145MBajo pedido | 4 | Agreed on 12 June 2026 by the defence ministers Boris Pistorius and Dragan Krapović: four light utility helicopters taken from a tranche ordered by the German Army, Germany’s first government-to-government defence sale.
Más |
Every type the Montenegrin Air Force has retired
4 types, from the SOKO SA341/342 Gazelle (Gama and Partizan) to the SOKO SA341/342 Gazelle (Gama and Partizan). Las cifras máximas corresponden a las aeronaves puestas en servicio durante toda su vida útil, no al número total de efectivos de la flota en una fecha concreta.
| Tipo | Role | Cima | Servido | Reemplazado por | Notas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOKO SA341/342 Gazelle (Gama and Partizan) | Helicóptero ligero utilitario y de entrenamiento | 2006–2020 | 0–6 in service, depending on the source: English Wikipedia’s air force article lists six SA342s in service and 13 stored since 2019, while its armed forces article says the Gazelles have not been used since 2020.
MásThe official page names only the Bell types. |
|||
| SOKO G-4 Super Galeb | Entrenador a reacción y ataque ligero | 17 | 2006–2012 | Bell 412, Bell 505 | 17 inherited in 2006. Six went to Serbia in October 2010, seven to the Croatian firm ZPZ Aerospace (CdM), and four were stored in 2012 and offered for sale in 2016. | |
| UTVA-75 | Entrenador principal | 4 | 2006–2012 | Campana 505 | Four inherited; three offered for sale in 2016. | |
| Mil Mi-8 | Helicóptero de transporte | 4 | 2006–2012 | Campana 412 | Four, per English Wikipedia. |
Where the Montenegrin Air Force flies from
Los marcadores negros indican bases activas, los marcadores huecos, aeródromos que han cerrado. Golubovci, the military side of Podgorica Airport, is Montenegro’s only air base, and it holds no fighters: the jets that guard Montenegrin airspace are Greek and Italian, flying NATO air policing. Šipčanik, the Yugoslav aircraft shelter tunnelled into the hill beside the runway, has been a wine cellar since 2007. Entries with no published aerodrome data carry no pin.
| Base | OACI | Estado | Pista | Unidades y aeronaves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GolubovciGolubovci, Zeta, south of Podgorica | LYPG | Activo | 18/362.500 m |
|
| Šipčanik Aircraft ShelterGolubovci, Zeta, beside Podgorica Airport | Cerrado en 2007 |
Ninguna base aérea coincide con esa búsqueda.
Who is stationed where in the Montenegrin Air Force
Unidades voladoras por base, unidades actuales primero. The Helicopter Squadron is Montenegro’s only flying unit; the Yugoslav 127th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment and 172nd Aviation Brigade that trained jet pilots at Golubovci are listed as former units. Where a unit or date rests on Wikipedia alone, the entry says so.
- Helicopter Squadron (Helikopterska eskadrila)Escuadrón de helicópteros · activo
- Bell 412 EP/EPI, Bell 505 Jet Ranger X, SOKO SA341/342 Gazelle (stored, per Wikipedia)
- Air Surveillance and Reporting CentreAir surveillance · active
- 172nd Aviation Brigade (172. vazduhoplovna brigada)
- SOKO G-4 Super Galeb
- 127th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment
- SOKO G-4 Super Galeb (239th squadron), SOKO J-21 Jastreb (242nd squadron), SOKO J-22 Orao (242nd squadron)
No se encontró ninguna unidad que coincida con esa búsqueda.
Montenegrin Air Force milestones, 1914 to today
Podgorica’s civil airport moves to Golubovci and shares the military runway; the air base becomes a Yugoslav Air Force flying school with the Šipčanik tunnel shelter.
1 October: Yugoslav Air Force MiG-21s strike Komolac near Dubrovnik, the first of several air attacks in October, per English Wikipedia.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is formed from Serbia and Montenegro, and with it the FRY air force.
24 March–10 June: NATO’s Operation Allied Force; Golubovci is repeatedly bombed and the Leteće zvezde team’s G-4s are destroyed. 9 December: Yugoslav Army and Montenegrin police face off over the airport.
The FRY becomes the state union of Serbia and Montenegro; the air force is renamed.
June: Montenegro becomes independent; its new armed forces keep 17 G-4s and four UTVA-75s at Golubovci.
December: Montenegro is given a NATO Membership Action Plan.
14 April: agreement with Serbia; in October six G-4s fly to Batajnica.
2 September: a SOKO HS-42 Partizan helicopter crashes in the Bay of Kotor and three crew die, per English Wikipedia.
The last four G-4s are put in storage; the Mi-8s and UTVA-75s are retired.
25 February: the government decides to sell four G-4s, three UTVA-75s and the G-4 simulator to pay for new helicopters. 19 May: NATO accession protocol signed.
5 June: Montenegro joins NATO as the 29th member; Greece and Italy take over the policing of its airspace.
5 June: two Bell 505s ordered through Canada; the first is delivered in September. Bell 412s enter service the same year.
March: the second Bell 505 is delivered.
September: CdM reports an exchange with Slovenia, a G-4 and a Gazelle for naval guns.
25 February: maintenance and repair contract for the Bell 412 and Bell 505 fleet signed through the Canadian Commercial Corporation.
12 June: four Airbus H145M helicopters agreed with Germany.
Every war the Montenegrin Air Force and the Yugoslav air forces before it have been part of
Salidas y pérdidas donde consta en el registro, y un espacio en blanco honesto donde no.
- The Dubrovnik campaign 1991 Yugoslav Air Force aircraft attacked targets in and around Dubrovnik in support of the Yugoslav People’s Army offensive
- Campaña aérea de la OTAN contra Yugoslavia 1999 Defended against the NATO air campaign; Golubovci air base was repeatedly attacked
Who built the Montenegrin Air Force fleet
Cada empresa que fabrica los aviones que aparecen en esta página tiene su propia página: la historia, todos los tipos que ha fabricado, las cifras y las demás fuerzas aéreas que los utilizan.
Everything people ask about the Montenegrin Air Force
What is the Montenegrin Air Force called in Montenegrin?
What aircraft does the Montenegrin Air Force fly in 2026?
Does Montenegro have fighter jets?
What happened to Montenegro’s G-4 Super Galeb jets?
What did Montenegro inherit from Yugoslavia at Golubovci?
Was Montenegro bombed by NATO in 1999?
When did Montenegro join NATO?
Are the Air Tractor water bombers at Podgorica air force aircraft?
What does the Montenegrin Air Force do day to day?
Read the aircraft the Montenegrin Air Force flew
Cada tipo tiene una página en el Libro de las Bestias, primero en servicio y luego por el año en que abandonó la flota.
Todos los datos, verificados
- Government of Montenegro, Ministry of Defence: VazduhoplovstvoOfficial name Vazduhoplovstvo VCG; tasks; Bell 412 EP/EPI and Bell 505 as backbone.
- Government of Montenegro: Krapović: Brza reakcija Vojske Crne Gore još jednom potvrdila svoju spremnost (28 September 2026)Bell 412 cliff rescue near Kotor; Minister of Defence Dragan Krapović.
- Government of Montenegro: Vuksanović primio nove potporučnike (29 September 2026)Headline only read, via the ministry’s front page; confirms Vuksanović in post.
- Ministry of Defence of Serbia: Two more G4 planes from Montenegro landed at Batajnica (23 October 2010)Six G-4s; agreement of 14 April 2010; Novi Prvoborac shares, night-start equipment and documents in return.
- CdM: Crna Gora prodaje avione Super Galeb (25 February 2016)Government decision on surplus aircraft: four G-4s, three UTVA-75s, simulator, engines; 17 G-4s and four UTVA-75s kept in 2006; six to Serbia, seven to ZPZ Aerospace.
- CdM: Slovenija donira Crnoj Gori sedam brodskih topova i 112 salvi, mi njoj avion G4 Super Galeb i helikopter Gazela (22 September 2023)Headline and snippet only (the article itself could not be read, HTTP 429): a G-4 and a Gazelle to Slovenia for naval guns.
- Vertical: Montenegro Air Force relies on Bell 412 EPis to fight wildfires (Bell press release, 11 November 2022)Three Bell 412EPIs, two Bell 505s; 1,500-litre bucket; Commander Bojan Popadić. Its figure of 200,000 firefighting flight hours is implausible and not used.
- Vertical: Montenegro Air Force signs purchase agreement for 2 Bell 505s (Bell press release, 5 June 2020)Two Bell 505s for training via CCC; Colonel Nenad Pavlović.
- Vertical: Bell delivers Montenegro Air Force’s 1st Bell 505 (15 September 2020)Headline and date from Vertical’s search listing; article not opened.
- Vertical: Air Ambulance Technology delivers first Bell 412 EMS kit to Montenegro Armed Forces (8 June 2020)Headline and date from Vertical’s search listing; article not opened.
- Vertical: CCC, Bell Textron Canada to provide aircraft maintenance and repair services to Montenegro (25 February 2025)G2G MRO contract; Bell 505 and 412 acquired in 2020 through CCC.
- Aviation Week: Helicopter sale to Montenegro is Germany’s first G2G defense deal (12 June 2026)Four H145M from a German Army tranche; Pistorius and Krapović.
- NATO: Montenegro joins NATO (5 June 2017)29th member; flag raised 7 June 2017.
- NATO: Air policing and air defence (topic page)Greece and Italy have covered Albania since 2009, Montenegro since 2017, North Macedonia since 2020; 2026 integration into an air defence posture.
- Civil Aviation Agency of Montenegro: register entry 4O-EAAAT-802A, built 2008, registered 10 July 2009 to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
- eAIP Serbia/Montenegro, AD 2 LYPG Podgorica (AIRAC 3 September 2026)SMATSA; ARP 42°21’34"N 19°15’07"E, elevation 122 ft, runway 18/36 2,500 x 45 m asphalt, operator Aerodromi Crne Gore; helicopters use the runway.
- eAIP Serbia/Montenegro, AD 1.3 Index to aerodromes and heliports (AIRAC 3 September 2026)Lists Podgorica (LYPG) and Tivat (LYTV) as the only Montenegrin aerodromes; Podgorica is open to military traffic. No Montenegrin military aerodrome is listed separately.
- Aerodromi Crne Gore: Istorija Aerodroma PodgoricaAirport operator’s history: old field at Ćemovsko Polje (1928), Titograd airport opened 1961, reconstructed Titograd-Golubovci airport with a 2,500 m runway opened 13 July 1977, taken over from JAT 23 April 2003, new terminal 14 May 2006.
- Government of Montenegro: Two new Bell 412 EPI multi-purpose helicopters to arrive in Montenegro on Monday (9 September 2018)Ceremony on the military part of Golubovci Airport; three helicopters for about EUR 30 million, contract 30 January 2018, first shipped 13 April 2018; flown in from Prague by the Air Force commander, Lt Col Nenad Pavlović.
- Ministry of Defence of Montenegro: Vojska Crne GoreOfficial: the air force’s backbone is a modernised helicopter squadron.
- Ministry of Defence of Montenegro: VazduhoplovstvoOfficial: the backbone of the air force is the Bell 412 EP/EPI and Bell 505.
- Ministry of Defence of Montenegro: Helikopteri Vojske Crne Gore spremni za požare (21 June 2022)Two Bell 412s with 1,500-litre firefighting equipment ready for the fire season; the third in five-year maintenance.
- Ministry of Defence of Serbia: Two more G4 Galeb aircraft from Montenegro land at Batajnica (23 October 2010)Six G-4s to Serbia, taken over at Podgorica airport, in exchange for shares in Novi Prvoborac, a night start device for Montenegro’s air base and documents.
- Human Rights Watch: Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign (February 2000), main reportThree incidents and eight civilian deaths in Montenegro, by HRW’s count.
- Human Rights Watch: Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign, Appendix A (incident list)Entry 34: 28 April 1999 attack on the airfield south of Podgorica; cluster bomblets in Gosići and Mataguži; one killed, three wounded.
- Human Rights Watch: Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign, Appendix B (victims)Names the victim at Golubovci on 28 April 1999.
- 13. Jul Plantaže: Wine cellars (Šipčanik)Former military airfield facility; wine instead of aircraft since November 2007; 356 m long, 7,000 square metres, more than 30 m deep.
- 13. Jul Plantaže: HistoryŠipčanik cellar opened in November 2007 after reconstruction of an old military facility.
Cifras verificadas el 30/09/2026. Las páginas de Orden de Batalla se regeneran a partir de un único conjunto de datos; si algún número aquí no coincide con el de una página del Libro de las Bestias, esta página es la más reciente de las dos.
Photographs: Photo: Matjaž Mirt from Krško, Slovenia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo (Bell 505 in civil markings shown): Bene Riobó / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo (Cessna 421 in civil markings shown): Cory W. Watts from Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo (Serbian UTVA 75 shown): Srđan Popović / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo (Mi-8 in other markings shown): Zyzzek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)