Naval History and Heritage Command

On 24 March 1999, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched air campaign Operation Allied Force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to stop the humanitarian catastrophe that was then unfolding in Kosovo. The campaign was launched after all diplomatic avenues had failed. Operation Allied Force was suspended by NATO on 10 June 1999 — lasting just 78 days — once it had a Military Technical Agreement that included Yugoslavia’s immediate end to violence and withdrawal of its military, police and paramilitary forces. 

During the operation, naval aviation contributed land-based EA-6B Prowlers, EP-3E Aries IIs, and F/A-18D Hornets. Allied aircraft dropped Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) operationally for the first time. Additional aircraft involved included five Anti-surface Warfare Improvement Program–modified P-3C Orions of VP-5 equipped with synthetic aperture radar and AGM-84E SLAM (Standoff Land Attack Missiles), and RQ-1A Predator camera-carrying unmanned aerial vehicles. 

“Operation Allied Force reminds us of the value of a forward presence that is provided by combat-ready carrier battle groups and amphibious-ready groups with their embarked Marine Expeditionary Units,” said Vice Admiral James F. Amerault, Deputy, Chief of Naval Operations for Logistics. “The Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group commenced highly successful strike operations three days after entering the Mediterranean and only ten days after beginning her regularly scheduled deployment. The Roosevelt Battle Group's performance is noteworthy for its many successes; scores of fixed targets destroyed, more than 400 tactical targets destroyed or damaged, in excess of 3,000 sorties flown without a single loss.”  

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Articles/Blogs

• Triumph in Kosovo: Naval Aviation Keys Allied Success (4 MB pdf download)
• Ambassador Kosnett’s Message on the 20th Anniversary of NATO’s Operation Allied Force
• USS Theodore Roosevelt Kicks off Operation Deny Flight
• Operation Allied Force
• Where are the Shooters? A History of the Tomahawk in Combat 

Notable Naval Vessels

• Vella Gulf (CG-72)
• Leyte Gulf (CG-55)
• Gonzales (DDG-66)
• Ross (DDG-71)
• Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
• Albuquerque (SSN-706)
• Boise (SSN-764)
• Kearsarge (LHD-3)
• Ponce (LPD-15)
• Gunston Hall (LSD-44)
• Inchon (LPH-12)

Additional Resources

• Kosovo Naval Lessons Learned During Operation Allied Force
• Kosovo Campaign Medal
• Islamic Terrorism and the Balkans
• Peacekeeping and Related Stability Operations: Issues of U.S. Military Involvement
• Naval Aviation: 1990–1999
• Cruise Missile Inventories and NATO Attacks on Yugoslavia
• The U.S. Navy’s Role in National Strategy, Especially Between 1980 and Today—Bibliography
• Soldier’s Guide: Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Kosovo Air Campaign: Operation Allied Force
• Operation Allied Force Specials
• Stability Operations in Kosovo 1999–2000: A Case Study
• Kosovo Air Operations: Combat Aircraft Basing Plans Are Needed in Advance of Future Conflicts
• Operation Allied Force: NATO in Kosovo, 10 Years Later
• Operation Allied Force and the Legal Basis for Humanitarian Interventions
• Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) 

Selected Imagery