Serbia’s Chief of the General Staff Milan Mojsilovic said in an interview with the Vechernje Novosti tabloid news site that Belgrade was terminating several contracts for military materiel with Russia. He said that under the current conditions, it had proven impossible for Russia to fulfill them.
Mojsilovic said that a large proportion of Serbia’s military weapons and equipment were acquired during the Soviet-era which had previously been maintained and renewed by Russia. He suggested since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Moscow, Serbia had relied on third party nations who produced the same equipment under license for the support they needed.
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He said that they had largely been able continue the necessary levels of maintenance, repair and spare parts to keep Serbia’s forces at the required state of combat readiness
He went on to say, however, that because of the imposition of Western sanctions against Russia it had proved impossible to receive modern replacements or key components for its current weapon systems. Mojsilovic said Belgrade had tried to solve the problem through “diplomatic channels,” but had been unable to make a breakthrough.
As a result, he said that Serbia had terminated some contracts and postponed others in the hope that once the war in Ukraine was over international relations would return to normal allowing the contracts to be implemented.
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Despite being a candidate for membership of the European Union Serbia has historically been one of Russia’s closest allies. The ongoing illegal war against Ukraine has put pressure on Belgrade to adjust its foreign policy to align itself more closely with the West. The combination of historical eastward looking links and the aspiration to join the EU have led to a complex, some might say almost schizophrenic, defense and foreign policy.
Serbia has provided around $800 million worth of military aid to Ukraine channeled through third countries, a level that exceeds the contributions of some NATO members, which further highlights Belgrade’s increasingly problematic position in relation to the ongoing conflict between Russia and the West, as it looks to modernize its defense forces.
Last year, Serbia chose to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29s with 12 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter aircraft, valued at €2.7 billion ($3 billion).
A further example of Serbia’s strategic shift is exemplified by it apparently turning to China as a key arms supplier. On Jan. 2 Belgrade displayed the Chinese FK-3 anti-aircraft missile system, the export version of Beijing’s HQ-22 medium-range air defense system – which is an alternative to Russia’s S-400.
The FK-3 system consists of three launchers, each with four missiles, a radar station, and a control center. It is said to be capable of engaging airborne targets at a range of 100 kilometers (62.5 miles) at an altitude of up to 27 kilometers (17 miles). Unlike Russian air defense systems, the Chinese system has not yet been tested in real combat conditions.
While displaying the system the commander of Serbia’s FK-3 missile battery said the system was a “milestone in air defense systems.”
He added “The FK-3 has an exceptional anti-jamming system and the capability to intercept missiles designed to destroy tracking radars. He said it was exceptionally maneuverable.”
It is thought that the system would be deployed to protect government buildings, military installations, and critical infrastructure, for which the crews operating the FK-3 had undergone comprehensive and intensive training in China according to the battery commander.
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