23.11.2023.
President Vučić Visits Arms and Military Equipment Recently Procured for Serbian Armed Forces
President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić visited today arms and military equipment recently procured for the Serbian Armed Forces at military airfield “Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlović” in Batajnica. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Miloš Vučević, and Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Želimir Glišović were also present during the visit.
President Vučić noted that it rarely happened in our history that we were able to present that much new assets in just one day.
- We have bought 22 radars, while Serbia and Yugoslavia did not buy it for decades. Two new Spanish transport aeroplanes CASA have also been presented today, and it is important to underline that they can transport 70 soldiers of 48 paratroopers with full parachute equipment who can jump much faster over combat area when required owing to two ramps on the sides of the aeroplanes. These aeroplanes have considerably enhanced our transport capacities both for the needs of international missions and in the country, because these are modern and very good aeroplanes - said President of Serbia expressing gratitude to Spanish and French friends and partners on their cooperation.
He also emphasised that a new German helicopter H-145 was presented as well, which is considered to be “quieter and better than his predecessor”. According to the President of Serbia, 10 more such helicopters should arrive by September next year.
- Today, you have had the opportunity to see our modernised aeroplanes “Lasta” and “Orao”, and we have also presented 11 Mi-35 helicopters. By January, six of them will be modernised in the first phase, and the remaining five will be modernised by the end of summer, which is to be followed by the second phase of the modernisation. It is a huge reinforcement of the Serbian Armed Forces and we will continue in the same manner in the future. We will build hangars, because, previously, the aeroplanes were outside, exposed to corrosion. I thank all the partners for helping us to strengthen the capacities of the Serbian Armed Forces, and we will persist in this, regardless of the efforts to discredit us, and the attacks coming from those who do not like a strong Serbia - President Vučić stated.
President Vučić expressed his gratitude to the people of our country who “has always been with their armed forces, who desired to see stronger armed forces”. As the President pointed out, there will be more investments next year than in this one, and this year, according to President Vučić, was a record breaking year in the history of Serbia in terms of investments in our country and our armed forces.
The President of the Republic spoke about the additional admission of soldiers, in special units in particular touching upon high salaries of members of those units and he expressed his hope that “it will attract all those who love the armed forces, who are patriots, and who wish to live decently serving their fatherland”.
During the visit, Assistant Minister of Defence for Material Resources Nenad Miloradović PhD and Air Force and Air Defence Commander Major General Duško Žarković informed President Vučić about projects to equip Air Force and Air Defence with newly purchased assets of arms and military equipment. The static display presented in Batajnica included helicopters Mi-35P and H-145M, modernised aeroplane “Orao”, transport aeroplanes CASA C-295 and aeroplanes “Lasta”
