SKY MONITOR

NATO aircraft monitored the No-Fly Zone declared by the United Nations Security Council against flights by military aircraft of the warring factions over Bosnia during the fighting in Former Yugoslavia. This operation was followed by the enforcement operation known as DENY FLIGHT.

The rules of engagement for the mission were very restrictive: units were prevented from responding to fire, taking evasive action if attacked. Even with these strict rules, no NATO force engaged any combat during the operation.

“Sky Monitor detected numerous violations (more than 500, from all factions) of the no-fly zone. It noted that the UN ban was ineffective. On 18 December 1992, NATO members voted to enforce the no-fly zone by military force, if requested by the UN even with the crucial support of President Clinton). The UN request to proceed came on March 31, 1993 with Resolution 816: thus NATO ended “Sky Monitor”, launching Operation “Deny Flight”.

“Sky Monitor” was the first NATO air operation in the Balkans, being also the first one outside its own area. In addition, it was one of the first collaborative missions of the UN, being able to rely on the expertise of the Atlantic Alliance for its own hard power.