03.08.2020.
Minister Vulin: We are equipping the armed forces with new, domestic weapons and military equipment, because Vučić saved the Serbian Defence Industry from disintegration in 2012
Answering the journalist’s question on TV Pink’s “Novo jutro” program,about the equipping of our armed forces, the Minister of Defence, AleksandarVulin,especially pointed out the importance of the Serbian Defence Industry in that process.
- “Lazar 3“ has already been introduced into the armament of our armed forces and it is being used by the 41st Infantry Battalion. It is a modern vehicle that meets all technical requirements of our armed forces. It has already appeared on foreign markets and what is important – it is a product of our intelligence and our engineers, produced by “Jugoimport SDPR”, our renowned company – emphasized Minister Vulin.
According to him, it is a great thing to have your own industry because this enables you to set your own conditions, say what you need and adjust your entire development to what the industry offers, that is, the industry adapts to you.
Minister Vulin pointed out that the medium-term goal is not to transport any of our soldiers “under a tarpaulin” because soldier protection is the imperative in modern warfare, especially protection from infantry weapons and mines.
- That is why we are producing “Lazar 3”, “Miloš”, and “MRAP“ which is intended for the protection from mines and ambushes. Everything we do, we do for soldiers to be fully protected. A soldier is the greatest value of every army – emphasized the Minister of Defence.
As he added, in support of that is the fact that we have recently introducedunmanned aerial vehicles that we received from China and the unmanned platform “MaliMiloš”, which is proof that we are trying to follow world trends.
- We do not have the means to do that like the great powers, but when you have the Serbian Defence Industry which President Vučić saved from complete privatisation and disintegration in 2012, you have the possibility to follow world trends and equip your armed forces with far less resources – pointed out Minister Vulin, adding that we are already on a number of world markets and our NORA B52 155 mm howitzers have been sold.
Minister Vulin pointed out that the first question that buyers ask when you want to sell a product is – whether your armed forces use that, because if that is the case, than it makes sense to talk further.
- “Lazar“ is a part of the armament of our armed forces and “Miloš” will be introduced soon, and the modular rifle is also a part of our armament, and these are all assets that passed rigorous tests – Minister Vulin pointed out.
The modular rifle, as the Minister of Defence pointed out, is our product and it is produced by “Zastavaoružje” and it is significant because it has two calibres– 7.62 and 6.5 mm, and the 6.5 mm proved to be exceptional during testing and it meets all the needs and adapts to different tasks. Even much more developed countries cannot boast that they have gone that far in the development of this rifle, which will soon be the standard for all armed forces, said the Minister of Defence speaking about equipping.
