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On the 23rdof November, 2013, China enacted an Air Defense Identification Zone over large
swathes of the South China Sea, including over disputed islands that an international
court at The Hague ruled China was illegally occupying.
For weeks tensions mounted across the Pacific and between China and the US, and many feared
that China would escalate the situation by enacting a No-Fly Zone over parts, or all,
of the South China Sea.
But what exactly is a No-Fly Zone?
Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at what would happen if you entered a No-Fly Zone.
A No-Fly Zone, NFZ, or air exclusion zone, is territory over which aircraft are not permitted
to fly.
Typically No-Fly Zones are set up in a military context and enforced by armed fighter patrols.
When set up within a military context, No-Fly Zones are meant to keep civilian airplanes
out of a war zone, and can be established to warn a hostile nation not to even attempt
to take to the skies, much like the US/NATO No-Fly Zone established against Iraq during
the first Gulf War.
While the terms of a No-Fly Zone can vary, aircraft violating it can be shot down with
only a single warning- if that.
In these cases, No-Fly Zones act like a demilitarized zone in the sky, helping keep the peace by
keeping hostile aircraft out.
A No-Fly Zone can also be set up however to protect sensitive locations during peace time,
such as the Olympic Games during 2012 and 2016 when Britain and China enacted No-Fly
Zones to limit the threat of terrorism.
Nations also often have established No-Fly Zones around important government buildings,
such as the US's White House.
In peace time, No-Fly Zones can also be set up to limit or prevent the use of drones near
sensitive installations such as airports, observatories, or high rise buildings, where
a wandering drone could cause a serious mishap.
Past no-fly zones include the one enacted by the United States, Great Britain, France
and Turkey over northern Iraq from 1991 to 2003.
After atrocities committed against the Kurdish populations in the northern regions of Iraq,
this no-fly zone was meant to prevent any possible bombing or chemical attacks against
civilians living under their protection and was known as Operation Provide Comfort and
Operation Provide Comfort II.
While not specifically authorized by the UN Security Council, and called “illegal”
by the Secretary-General of the UN, few nations protested their implementation.
After the start of Operation Provide Comfort in 1991, Iraq's no-fly zone was extended to
the south of the country under Operation Southern Watch in order to protect Iraq's Shia population.
In 1993 during the Bosnian War, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution
781, prohibiting unauthorized military flights in Bosnian airspace.
This resolution led to the creation of Operation Sky Monitor, with NATO monitoring violations
of the no-fly zone but not taking direct action.
After 500 documented violations, including one combat violation, the UN Security Council
quickly passed Resolution 816, prohibiting all unauthorized flights and allowing all
UN member states to “take all necessary measures to ensure compliance with the no-fly
zone restrictions.”.
This led to NATO initiating Operation Deny Flight, during which NATO engaged in its first
combat engagement in its history.
In February 1994, two American F-16s detected a flight of six unidentified radar contacts
inside the No-fly zone.
Two other F-16s were vectored in on the unknown contacts to discover six Bosnian J-21s and
two J-22s bombing a military factory at Novi Travnik.
Issuing two orders to “land or exit the no-fly zone or be engaged”, per UN and NATO's
rules of engagement, the F-16s orbited overhead while the orders were ignored.
As the warnings were issued the Bosnian aircraft dropped bombs over their target, immediately
clearing the US planes to attack.
Detecting a flight of two F-16s descending on them, the Bosnian jets quickly changed
course trying to retreat back to their base.
Chasing the fleeing planes, one F-16 downed the first J-21 with an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile,
after which the remaining jets dove for cover at low altitude, sticking close to the ground.
Undeterred, the American F-16s gave chase and shot two more aircraft down with AIM-9
Sidewinder missiles.
With the first F-16 out of missiles and low on fuel, the chase was given over to his wingman
who had been flying top cover in the skies above.
Dropping down and locking on, the second F-16 severely damaged the tail of another J21.
By this time though the American flight was running low on fuel and had to break pursuit,
handing over the attack to a second flight of F-16s which had been vectored into the
firefight.
The second flight managed to down one more Bosnian plane, and only one of the enemy planes
limped home, undergoing an emergency landing.
Of the six aircraft engaged by the US jets, three of the pilots were killed and three
survived- two after ejecting.
Operation Deny Flight would help limit the scope of the Bosnian War, denying both sides
involved the use of air power which had too often been used to target civilians.
After the Bosnian Serb Army threatened and then attacked UN-designated safe areas for
civilians, leading to two massacres, Operation Deny Flight evolved to Operation Deliberate
Force, a sustained and blistering air campaign conducted by NATO to help protect UN forces
and undermine the capabilities of the Bosnian Serb Army.
In 2011 the United Nations Security Council once more approved the enforcement of a no-fly
zone, this time in Libya in response to the civil war.
Learning their lessons from Operation Sky Monitor in Bosnia, this time the UN resolution
establishing the no fly zone included provisions for further actions against violators- namely
allowing enforcing aircraft to engage any aircraft that violated the no fly zone without
having to wait weeks for a new UN resolution.
With NATO aircraft watching helplessly during the Bosnian war's Operation Sky Monitor as
civilians were bombed, these further provisions allowed enforcing aircraft to engage violating
aircraft without having to wait weeks for a new UN resolution, helping protect Libya's
civilian population.
NATO quickly seized the opportunity to then take the offensive in Libya, bombing government
positions and providing close air support for rebel forces.
No fly zones can be established in war time to protect civilians, or in peace time to
enforce a nation's sovereignty.
No matter what their nature though, it's always in the best interest of a pilot to be aware
of, and abide by, any local no fly zones, lest it costs them their life.
Entering a no-fly zone can have some serious consequences, and going through life without
the proper knowledge, skills and training can have just as serious consequences.
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Does the UN have the right to limit another nation's airspace, even during war time?
Do you think you could come up with better names for NATO operations?
Let us know in the comments Also, be sure to check out our other video Is The Human
Max Age 122?
Thanks for watching, and as always, please don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time.