Zoltán Dani
Serbian military officer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Zoltán Dani (Hungarian: Dani Zoltán; Romanian: Zoltan Dani; Serbian Cyrillic: Золтан Дани; 23 July 1956) is an Serbian Hungarian retired officer of the Yugoslav Army.
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Zoltán Dani | |
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Born | (1956-07-23) 23 July 1956 (age 67) Kovin, PR Serbia, Yugoslavia |
Allegiance |
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Years of service | 1978–2004 |
Rank | Colonel |
Unit | 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade |
Commands held | 3rd battery of the 250th Missile Brigade |
Battles/wars | Kosovo War |
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.[1] Although NATO initially claimed the loss was due to "mechanical failure";[2] the F-16's pilot recounted that his aircraft was hit by a SAM.[3]
Since retiring from military service, Dani has opened a bakery and a family restaurant in his native village Skorenovac.[1] He 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.[4]