The Serbian Armed Forces use a significant amount of Soviet and russian-made equipment and weapons. We are talking not only about 14 MiG-29 aircraft or 30 T-72 tanks, but also about six Pantsir air defense systems received from russia.
In order to keep this equipment in working order, Serbia had to look for alternative sources of supply of components, as it can no longer rely on russia, especially for arms supplies. This was essentially stated by the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilović, in an interview with the Serbian daily newspaper Večernje novosti.
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The wording of the Chief of the Serbian General Staff in this story was as follows: "As for the supply of weapons from the russian federation, it is practically impossible at the moment. Through diplomatic channels, we are trying to find a way to overcome the situation. We have terminated some contracts and postponed some in the hope that the situation in international relations at the global level will normalize and this will allow us to implement the agreements."
General Milan Mojsilovic also emphasized that, since Soviet-made weapons are still used by a significant number of countries in the world, Serbia has found a way to establish supply chains for the necessary components of weapons and military equipment to meet the needs of its army.
Speaking of the number of Soviet or russian-made weapons in the Serbian army, the figures may be significantly higher than anyone expected.
According to The Military Balance 2024, the Serbian Army has 76 BRDM-2 amphibious armoured scout cars, 12 BTR-50 armored personnel carriers and 32 MT-LB 50 armored personnel carriers, as well as an unspecified number of russian-made Kornet-EM and Fagot anti-tank systems.
The gun artillery includes 18 wheeled 155-mm NORA self-propelled howitzers and 36 towed 152-mm M084 NORA-A howitzers of Serbian production. Serbia still uses 67 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, 78 D-30 howitzers as well as 18 units of 130 mm M-46 towed field guns. The Air Defense of the Serbian Army has 77 Kub missile launchers and five Strela-10M systems.
As for Soviet or russian-made aircraft, in addition to the aforementioned 14 MiG-29s, Serbia also has four An-26 transport aircraft, six Mi-17s, eight Mi-8s, and four Mi-35 helicopters (purchased from Cyprus). In terms of air defense, in addition to the aforementioned six Pantsir systems, Serbia also has nine Kub air defense systems and six S-125M Neva-M systems of Soviet/russian design.
Earlier Defense Express reported that 550 out of 1,200 russian aircraft are nearing end of service life.
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