24.12.2024.
Message from Minister of Defence to mark Air Force and Air Defence Day
Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić has sent a message to mark December 24 - the Air Force and Air Defence Day, which says:
"On the occasion of December 24, the Air Force and Air Defence Day, I would like to convey my congratulations to all members of the service.
For more than a century, you have kept alive the memory of the heroic deeds of your predecessors and developed the traditional values of the Air Force and Air Defence in a unique way, always ready to fulfil the assigned tasks to the standard expected of you.
The greatest values of the Air Force and Air Defence units that have kept you at the top throughout your existence, regardless of the assets you had at your disposal, are your people and their competence and dedication.
From the establishment of Serbia’s first Air Force Command headed by Major Kosta Miletić, to the first Serbian pilot who died in battle - Sergeant Mihajlo Petrović, to participation in two world wars, entering the jet age in the early fifties, going through numerous organizational and technical changes, the Air Force and Air Defence has experienced a series of reforms to date.
The structure of the command and units has gone through organisational changes, and a number of units have been reformed and armed with new modern weapons that follow world trends.
You have proven in exercises and capabilities displays held over the past year that all investments and organizational changes have brought you closer to your main goal - the creation of strong and modern Air Force and Air Defence.
I wish you a happy holiday, convinced that the efforts put in the modernization of the Serbian Air Force, which are fully supported by the Ministry of Defence and the state, will pay off and help you perform your tasks even more successfully in the future."
