TSAMTO, December 14. As already reported, last weekend Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited a number of military facilities in the country, where he met with the command of the Armed Forces and the management of enterprises of the Serbian defense industry.
The President got acquainted with the new equipment recently adopted by the Serbian Armed Forces, and made a number of statements about plans for the near future. So, speaking at one of the events, A. Vucic said that in the next two years Serbia intends to additionally purchase about 30 military helicopters. In particular, the Serbian Armed Forces will acquire 11 new H-145 helicopters manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, four Mi-35 helicopters and three Mi-17 helicopters, as well as 11 Mi-35s that were in service. As stated, the latter are planned to be purchased from one of the countries of the European Union.
According to the president, by the end of 2021, a batch of anti-tank complexes "Kornet" should be delivered to Serbia from Russia, which will significantly strengthen the country's SV.
In addition, it is planned that in the first quarter of 2022, the Serbian government will invest 145 million euros ($163.4 million) in the development and modernization of the country's defense industry. These funds will be used for the purchase of new machinery and equipment, as well as the modernization of existing ones.
According to A. Vucic, over the next five years, the value of contracts concluded by the Serbian Armed Forces with enterprises of the national defense industry for the supply of equipment, weapons, equipment, etc., will exceed 1.25 billion. euro ($1.41 billion).
Note:
According to the CAMTO, it is most likely that the helicopters that were in service will be purchased in Cyprus. In August 2021, the media reported on the plans of the Cypriot authorities to sell 11 existing Mi-35P and ongoing negotiations with Serbia on this issue. In April, a Serbian delegation headed by the Assistant Minister of Defense of Serbia for Material Resources, Nenad Miloradovich, visited the Andreas Papandreou Airbase to assess the technical condition of the Mi-35P.
Cyprus acquired 12 Mi-35P helicopters in 2001. One of them crashed in 2006. According to available information, the helicopters have been repaired twice in Russia and are currently operational.
