23.06.2021.
Serbian Armed Forces successfully conduct largest night-time exercise
General Mojsilović: I compliment all participants in the exercise
Last night, more than 750 members of the Third Army Brigade, with the support of the Air Force and Air Defence units, successfully conducted SAF’s largest night-time exercise on "Pasuljanske livade" training ground, where a tactical group preformed complex tasks as part of a defensive night operation, using the cutting-edge optronic devices that were recently introduced into our armed forces’ armament. The exercise was conducted as part of the joint tactical live-fire exercise "Lightning Strike 2021".
The Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, complimented the Army and the Air Force on conducting the action-packed exercise involving security risk and told the citizens of Serbia that the Armed Forces were able to perform all their combat tasks, including those performed at night in complex weather conditions.– Over the last seven days, the Serbian Armed Forces have been intensively conducting their exercise activities in the air, on the water and land. Tonight, we have seen a defensive operation at night, a very demanding and complex exercise in terms of engaging targets - said General Mojsilović.
He expressed his satisfaction at the fire action, but also at the execution of tactical and combat tasks in general.
– In this way, the Army proves that it can perform combat action even at night, not only in defensive operations, but also in offensive ones, and that is something that builds up the trust in the combat equipment owned by the Army and the Air Force and Air Defence and creates confidence in all tasks performed by the Serbian Armed Forces - said the Chief of the General Staff.
The exercise activities started seven days ago when the combat readiness of the entire Serbian Armed Forces was tested, he noted.
– We still have to carry out the activities at the "South" Base and the most action-packed and dynamic part of the "Lightning Strike" joint tactical exercise on 27 June at the “Pešter” temporary range - General Mojsilović emphasized.
Besides General Mojsilović, the exercise was attended by State Secretary Branko Živanović, Assistant Minister of Defence for Material Resources Nenad Miloradović, PhD, Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Petar Cvetković, Army Commander, Lieutenant General Milosav Simović, and the Air Force and Air Defence Commander, Lieutenant General Duško Žarković. Commander of the Third Army Brigade, Brigadier General Sladjan Stamenković, led the exercise.According to Assistant Minister of Defence for Material Resources, Nenad Miloradović, PhD, the ability to carry out combat operations at night and during the day, has always been one of the main advantages of technologically advanced armies compared to those that are not. He points out that special attention was paid to that ability over the past few years, when 23 different optronic systems were developed and introduced into armament, from rifle sighting sets to complex surveillance systems on Army and AF and AD’s vehicles. According to Miloradović, ten more such vehicles are undergoing the final testing phase.
– All this increases the ability to observe targets, move at night and fire effectively, which we could see at tonight's exercise. It is a pleasure to see how enthusiastically the members of the 3rd Brigade accepted that equipment and how well they can use it - Miloradović pointed out.
Alongside the Third Army Brigade, members of the Air Force and Air Defence, T-72 MS tank battalion, BRDM-2M armoured reconnaissance battalion, some Mixed Artillery Brigade’s units and the Military Technical Institute personnel saw action last night with the weapons that are being developed by the Serbian Defence Industry.
Participants in the tactical exercise demonstrated the defence of an area at night, with a combination of fire manoeuvres and movement. During the execution of combat operation under the cover of night, the troops relied on modern optronic systems for observation and firing at night. These systems have been integrated in "Lazar 3", PASARS, "Pantsir S-1" and BRDM 2MS wheeled armoured vehicles, T-72MS tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other vehicles under development, H-145 and Mi-35 helicopters, and SN-92 "Sparrow" unmanned aerial vehicles. In carrying out the assigned night tasks, the rest of the tactical group was supported by a fire team which, besides providing fire support, illuminated the battlefield with photoflash bombs, thus ensuring accurate hits.The joint tactical live-fire exercise "Lightning Strike 2021", organized by the Army, is being conducted at eight locations throughout the Republic of Serbia by Army units in cooperation with the Air Force and Air Defence, the 72nd Special Operations Brigade and the 63rd Parachute Brigade. The exercise is designed to test the operational capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces, as a response to the national security challenges, risks and threats.
