action to be conducted by the J-22 occurred when the Yugoslav National Army used them to strike targets in Croatia. As a result of the conflicts of the 1990s, the majority of the former Yugoslav Air Force's aircraft were relocated to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, with smaller numbers ending up under the control of the other new states created by the break-up of Yugoslavia. The JNA left a squadron equipped with nine Oraos in the Bosnian-Serb Republika Srpska, with these aircraft becoming part of the new Republika Srpska Air Force, based at Mahovljani Airport outside Banja Luka. The airworthiness of these aircraft soon deteriorated due to the combination of limited funding and the impact of international embargoes. By June 2003, the Republika Srpska Air Force had a force of seven J-22 Oraos. These aircraft were ultimately inherited by the unified Bosnian Air Force. By 2008, all of Bosnia's J-22s had been placed into storage while the nation negotiated with neighbouring Serbia to potentially buy them; reportedly, Serbia was viewed as the only viable customer for the type. Several ex-Yugoslav Air Force J-22s were also operated by the Air Force of the Republic of Serbian Krajina following the withdrawal of the Yugoslav National Army from Croatia. During 1999, Yugoslav J-22s saw limited combat against the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), reportedly flying 36 combat missions. One J-22, piloted by Lt. Colonel Života Ðurić, was lost on 25 March 1999 in unclear circumstances, either through malfunction, pilot error or ground fire from KLA units. In addition, eleven aircraft were destroyed on the ground, the majority of these at Ponikve Air Base, when a NATO air strike hit one hangar that reportedly had six J-22 and two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 aircraft inside. By July 2019, the Serbian Air Force was reportedly operating a fleet comprising ten J-22 and NJ-22 Oraos; in addition to these airworthy examples, the service reportedly also had further airframes in storage, including the IJ and INJ reconnaissance variants. According to aerospace periodical Flight International, the Orao's service life had been originally anticipated to be around 24 years; based on structural inspections, some airframes are in such good condition that this forecast could be effectively doubled; following an overhaul, individual J-22s can be approved to perform a further 1,000 flight hours. Variants IJ-22 Orao 1 26 dedicated reconnaissance aircraft. Includes 15 pre-production aircraft converted to reconnaissance role. The IJ-22A Orao