02.06.2022.

Minister Stefanović attends tactical live-fire exercise “ Tisza 2022“

Today, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, attended the River Flotilla’s tactical live-fire exercise "Tisza 2022" at the temporary training area near Titel. When the exercise, which he observed from the River Flotilla command ship "Kozara", was completed, he said that the exercise was an opportunity to see how well-trained and special the River Flotilla members and their instructors were. He also said that investments in that unit would continue.

- People who decide to serve in the River Flotilla, to be part of its units, to spend 24 hours a day 7 days a week throughout the year on the water are special people and you can tell that their love for water and this military branch is special. The River Flotilla provides a considerable support to our Army, and today we could see a segment of their live firing on the Tisza River. They fired 20mm four-barrel and single-barrel guns showing in simulated situations what they can do to protect our country. We also had the opportunity to see what our divers do in various situations. The day was too short for them to show us everything they can do, but we had the opportunity to see how well-trained they are and how special the people who train them are - said Minister Stefanović.

According to the Minister of Defence, activities like this are not new to the River Flotilla, but they deserve more attention and investments.

- If these people are to do their job professionally, they must receive strong support from their ministry and money should be invested in the modernization of ships, their equipment, drysuits and wetsuits, and the latest equipment that provides protection and medical care and facilitates action in both good and poor visibility. You could see today, what it looks like when there is zero visibility on the river. We want to pay attention to things like that and continue investing in these young men and women - said Minister Stefanović.

He is also happy that more and more people have been showing interest in our military lately.

- Almost 70 military volunteers from the “Class of December 2021” have been admitted to our armed forces over the past few days and I want to continue providing strong support to our armed forces and those young people who show how much they love Serbia and our armed forces by joining such elite units - said Minister Stefanović.

Minister Stefanović was welcomed aboard the River Flotilla command ship BPN-30 "Kozara" by Deputy Army Commander, Major General Slađan Stamenković, and River Flotilla Commander, Captain Ljubiša Marković, with the ship’s honour guard in attendance.

Exercise "Tisza 2022" included clearing a blocked waterway, a group of multi-role ships engaging targets on the water, rescuing a man from the water, followed by a demonstration of joint firing at targets on the water and land by a group of patrol and landing ships. The final part of today's drill included manoeuvring BPN-30 "Kozara" ship out of the dock, sailing to the Titel port and passing by the formation of ships participating in the exercise. Afterwards, Minister Stefanović visited the display of River Flotilla’s diving equipment.