Founded in 1957, the museum is located adjacent to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.

The current facility, designed by architect Ivan Štraus, was opened to the public on 21 May 1989.

[2] The museum owns over 200 aircraft previously operated by the Yugoslav Air Force (both royal and communist), Serbian Air Force, and others, as well as aircraft previously flown by several civil airliners and private flying clubs.

[3] The most valuable collections are housed in geodesic glass building, with additional aircraft displayed on the surrounding grounds.

In addition, the collection consists of more than 130 aviation engines, more radars, rockets, various aeronautical equipment, over 20,000 reference books and technical documentation as well as more than 200,000 photographs.