08.09.2020.

Minister Vulin: Armed Forces are not abandoning any of their weapons

Today, at the military airport “Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlović”, the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin attended Air Defence’s firing practice engaging air targets with “Strela 2M”, as well as the retraining of units and firing from a weapon that is being developed, the PASARS system.

Minister Vulin pointed out that the Serbian Armed Forces are constantly preparing and that every day some of our members conduct training, in accordance with the plans and the needs of our armed forces.

- You could see some of our new weapons which are being prepared for field target firing, and you could also see the legendary “Strela 2M” that was being destroyed at some earlier time, that was being sold out and thrown out of the armed forces, and now we can see that the armed forces are using it wonderfully and that it is a very good weapon – emphasized Minister Vulin.

The Serbian Armed Forces, as the Minister of Defence pointed out, are being equipped with new weapons and assets, they are acquiring the latest knowledge and learning from others.

- But the Serbian Armed Forces do not lose any of their capabilities, and none of the weapons in our arsenal should be thrown away. Everything can be used, improved and serve the purpose in the Serbian Armed Forces – Minister Vulin concluded.

Major Milan Erić, Commander of the 25th Air Defence Battalion, the person in charge of the preparation of the "Strela 2M" air defence missile system, says that the firing practice engaging air targets, i.e. aircraft and helicopters, is in progress.

- The aim of the firing practice is the control firing practice that will be carried out tomorrow, and in the next two days we will move to Pasuljanske livade, where we will conduct field target firing at 26 mm illuminating shells – says Major Erić.

Staff Sergeant Saša Maksimović, commander of the gun section of the 25th AD Artillery Missile Battalion of the Second Army Brigade, says that their focus is on retraining the commanders of gunners and the procedures related to the PASARS system.

- It is a complex system that we are currently conducting firing practice and control firing practice on, which is the precondition for conducting field target firings at ground and air targets that follow – says Staff Sergeant Maksimović and adds that the training is demanding, but it is somewhat easier for them who have worked on the “bofors” system for a longer period of time.

For the light-weight portable short-range missile system - "Strela 2M", training is underway on the "N100" trainer for firing at actual targets, and units are being retrained on the hybrid artillery-missile system PASARS, a weapon that is being developed under the leadership of the General Staff and the Military Technical Institute, prior to the introduction of the weapon into the armament of the Serbian Armed Forces.

After the completion of today's firing practice, which was attended by the Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence, Brigadier General Željko Bilić and the Commander of the 204th Air Brigade, Colonel Brane Krnjajić, control firing practice will be conducted tomorrow, followed by field target firings at Pasuljanske livade and Nikinci ranges.