Zoltán Dani

Zoltán Dani (; ; 23 July 1956) is a Serbian-Hungarian retired officer of the Yugoslav Army.

Dani was the commander of the 3rd battery of the 250th Missile Brigade, which shot down a NATO F-117 Nighthawk near the village of Buđanovci on 27 March 1999, during the Kosovo War. The hit was achieved with a S-125 surface-to-air missile system. He was initially unknown to the public and aliased with the name Gvozden Đukić . However, upon retiring from the military, he revealed his identity.

Dani claimed that his battery also shot down a NATO F-16. Although NATO initially claimed the loss was due to "mechanical failure"; the F-16's pilot recounted that his aircraft was hit by a SAM.

Since retiring from military service, Dani has opened a bakery and a family restaurant in his native village of Skorenovac.

The stealth kill On the particular night of the F-117 shootdown, 27 March 1999, Dani broke his own ruleset. He had information about unfavorable Adriatic weather conditions and Yugoslav spies residing near Italian NATO airbases informed the Yugoslav Air Defense HQ about lack of EA-6 Prowler electronic jammer and "Wild Weasel" anti-SAM aircraft launches during the late evening. Therefore, any F-117s in the air on that night were alone in the dark, but with high crew morale due to their invulnerability during previous days' sorties.

In the evening, Dani's P-18 long-distance radar set malfunctioned at 19:05, almost the same time when four F-117s prepared for take-off from Aviano Air Base to attack targets in Belgrade. The repaired P-18 radar returned to air by 19:50 and started to emit lower frequency. Lt. Col. Dale Zelko's plane (tail number 82-0806) and three other F-117 flying northbound were acquired at 20:40 local time and so the SA-3 battery's fire control radar went on air. The UNV radar emitted at high frequency for 2 × 20 seconds, but it was unable to obtain a lock on the targets.

Dani then ordered a third illumination round, against his own rules, but knowing that NATO lacked immediate counterstrike capability on the particular occasion. Lock was obtained at a distance of and an altitude of . Two SA-3 missiles were launched in short succession, with one obtaining a proximity fuse hit, as notified by an automatic radio pinger burst. The F-117 was structurally disabled by the sudden minus 6G negative load and stall-crashed in inverted position in an agricultural field, near the village of Buđanovci. The pilot ejected successfully and was rescued later on by NATO Combat search and rescue helicopters. The F-117's large kite-shaped titanium engine outlet heatshield is still kept by Dani in his garage.

Further combat activity Dani also claims that his unit downed the commander's F-16 plane from the Aviano-based 555th Fighter Squadron "Triple Nickel". On 1/2 May 1999 the F-16 (s/n 88-0550) had already completed its combat sortie and was flying outbound from Yugoslav airspace, when its on-board radar warning receiver indicated illumination from Dani's SA-3 fire control radar. The pilot, Lt. Col. David L. Goldfein, decided to turn back and attack, but this proved a mistake, as two missiles were already underway and one hit his plane. Dani was not actually in the combat shift (for a unit to provide 24h/day readiness the crew is divided in 3 shifts) when the shootdown occurred. The shift was commanded by Maj. Boško Dotlić.

The radio signal logs of unit 250/3 contain two further proximity fuse activation pings beyond the F-117 and F-16 shootdown events, indicating that either extra NATO aircraft were hit or ALE-50 towed jammer devices were destroyed by the missiles, as opposed to the SAMs simply missing due to radar jamming or chaff dispersal. The one recorded on 30 April 1999. by the combat shift commanded by Major Boško Dotlić corresponds to a hit on a second F-117 which managed to return to its base in Spangdahlem, Germany, only to be written off. The other ping was recorded on 19 May 1999. by the combat shift commanded by Lt. Col. Đorđe Aničić (Dani's second in command). In his published wartime diary Aničić stated that the target had a large radar reflection and that the battery received unconfirmed reports that they hit a USAF B-2 strategic bomber which supposedly had crashed in Croatia near the border with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, although Dani was of the opinion that they hit a towed decoy instead.

Personal life Zoltán Dani is part of the Hungarian minority in Serbia. Zoltán Dani is of Bukovina Székely origin. Dani is of Hungarian ancestry; his paternal family were Hungarians from Székelys of Bukovina, who, like the majority of inhabitants of the village, settled in Vojvodina in the late 19th century, while his mother was also of Hungarian ancestry. Dani is the father of three adult children, he lives with his wife in Skorenovac. On 27 March 1999, he became the first person in the world to shoot down a stealth aircraft with an air defense missile. He was celebrated as a hero in Yugoslavia. During the Kosovo War, NATO officially lost 2 aircraft: the stealth F-117 bomber and an F-16 fighter, both shot down by the unit of Dani. He was promoted to be colonel after the shot the stealth bomber, but as a Hungarian in the Serbian army, that was the highest rank he could attain. Dani finished his service in 2004. Retiring with the rank of colonel, Zoltán Dani continued his career as a baker in Skorenovac (Székelykeve in Hungarian)

Dale Zelko, the pilot of the American aircraft shot down by the missile ejected safely. Years later, they began corresponding, eventually met in person, and formed a friendship. A film was later made about their story.

In media A documentary movie The 21st Second was made about Zoltán Dani. Dani also participated in the documentary movie The Second Meeting, where he met Dale Zelko, the F-117 pilot he had shot down. Politics Dani was a Socialist Party of Serbia candidate in the 2022 general election, positioned 26th on the SPS ballot list. He assumed his position as a Member of the National Assembly on 1 August 2022, but is not an active Member of Parliament anymore.