In a far-sighted move in the late 1950s the Yugoslav government, unsure whether the more credible military threat it faced was from NATO or WarPac forces, authorised the construction of a large underground air base at Bihac (Zeljava). The aim was to build all facilities bar taxiways and runways underneath a mountain; this, it was hoped, would allow the base to continue to operate, albeit to a degraded degree, even after a nuclear attack. A visit to Sweden to examine the Flygvapnet's underground bases impressed the Yugoslav delegation and led eventually to the allocation of funds-said eventually to total $6 billion-to construct the facility. Work was completed by 1968, with the 200th Air Base being established there. Justification for the decision for such a huge investment was taken from the experiences of the 1967 Arab-Israeli 'Six-Day War! during which Egyptian aircraft parked in the open proved embarrassingly vulnerable to air attack.
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