Serbia intends to buy six Russian MiG-29 fighter jets

[flamer84]

Not really. Price for overhaul and modernization on SM standard for our 4 Mig 29, and 6 from Russia, plus spare parts for all 10 of them, ground equipment and air to air and air to ground armament for 185 million euros. It's basically 18.5 million of euros per plane. Romania had to pay 628 million of euros for Portuguese F 16, plus 32 million of euros invested in ground infrastructure needed for F 16. If you ask me, it's a fair deal. You can't get new fighters for that kind of money.



I really dont know why are we getting those 30 T72S and 30 BRDM2. Serbian army already have 232 M84/M84A and 61 T72M. From those tanks 212 are in active use, in four Serbian army land brigades tank battalions, each one with 53 tanks, plus one reserve tank batallion in reserve Banat brigade. But again i can see a certain use for those tanks, maybe forming one more reserve battalion in one of reserve brigades. But BRDM 2??? We are already using some of those in our reconnaissance units, but if you ask me, we need to get rid of those, and acquire something new, instead of getting additional ones from Russia.

So,Serbia will have 6+4+8=18 Mig29's.Not bad...

 

[Hindustani78]

https://sputniknews.com/military/201703281052054880-russia-helps-serbia-modernize-air-force/


Serbia with Moscow’s aid is set to modernize its air force fleet, though apart from relying on Russia’s MiG jet fighter aircraft it also depends on its own potential, which it accumulated since the time of Yugoslavia.

Currently, Serbia awaits the delivery of six Russian MiG-29s, which the country will receive on very preferential terms, as it will pay only for repairs and upgrades.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the cost will amount to 185 million euros.

The exact date of this delivery will be known only after the relevant documents are signed by Vladimir Putin and all the technical details are mutually agreed upon.

However, apart from relying on the delivery of Russian jets, Serbia has a few of its own aircraft that need to be modernized.

The light attack and training aircraft Galeb and the twin-engine, subsonic ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft Soko J-22 Orao, known for being the first in the history of Yugoslav aviation to overcome the sound barrier, are set for some upgrades soon.

“We need to modernize Orao to support land units and as a means of distance fighting,” head of the defense technologies department at the Serbian Defense Ministry Major-General Dr. Bojan Zrnic told Sputnik in an interview.

He further said that since from a technical point of view the process of modernization of Galeb differs little from the modernization of Orao, the ministry is close to deciding on the fighter jets first.

According to the head, presently they are awaiting the final decision, as modernization of Orao will include the development of new types of air weapons operating on a principle of standoff.

The Orao aircraft was first produced in the 80s and ceased in 1992 but according to the major general it is still early to write it off completely.

“Experts came to a conclusion that the service life of the jet can be extended to up to 40 years and possibly for another eight years, so in that way Orao can serve up to 48 years,” Zrnic said.

He further added that the modernization of each aircraft can cost on average from 1 to 8 million euros depending on its condition.

An upgraded version of the Orao jet equipped with laser-guided bombs, modern air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles and new reconnaissance equipment was revealed in April 2016 at Serbian aerodrome Batajnica.

 

[proka89]

So,Serbia will have 6+4+8=18 Mig29's.Not bad...

Nothing is signed yet with Belorussia. In may this year they will form the joint military commision for defence cooperation, which job among other things will be to negotiate possible acquisition of additional 8 Mig 29 and two divisions of BUK. Serbia is also interested in used Belarus S300 systems, but at the same time is talking with Russia about possible acquisition of BUK and Tunguska missile systems from that country.

Also Serbia is close to sign a deal with Russia to form a center for overhaul and modernization of Mi family of helicopters in Serbia. They already have a contract for overhaul of Mi 17 for undisclosed foreign customer with Russian help in Serbian Moma Stanojlovic Aeronautical Plant. For the similar reason job of overhaul and modernization of these 10 Mig 29 will be done in Moma Stanojlovic plant in Serbia with help of Russian experts. And less than a year ago Serbia bought two new Mi 17 helicopters.

At the same time Serbia signed a deal with Airbus for 9 H145M, but interesting thing is this:

In addition to the procurement of helicopters and the support solution including spares, tools and documentation, the contract also includes the transfer of dedicated technology for maintenance and repair tasks on the purchased helicopters.

In parallel, the Serbian aeronautics plant "Moma Stanojlovic" near Belgrade will be certified as a Maintenance Centre for Airbus’ Gazelle helicopters and integrated into Airbus Helicopters maintenance network.

Furthermore, Serbian manufacturing plants and research institutions will receive support in order to obtain relevant qualifications and certifications enabling them to become part of the Airbus supply chain.

There is also unconfirmed information about possible donation of additional 4 UH-72 Lakota from US. There are also plans for modernization of existing equipment in Serbian Air force and Air defence units, some steps are already taken. Modernization of P12 radar, introduction in use of new mobile Air defence center for radar data acquisition, processing and communication (M11), modernization of KUB missile system, modernization of Gazelle/Gama helicopters.... Serbia also bought 2 used AN/TPS-70 in 2016.

So it looks like a better days are ahead of Serbian Air force and Air defence.

 

[flamer84]

Nothing is signed yet with Belorussia. In may this year they will form the joint military commision for defence cooperation, which job among other things will be to negotiate possible acquisition of additional 8 Mig 29 and two divisions of BUK. Serbia is also interested in used Belarus S300 systems, but at the same time is talking with Russia about possible acquisition of BUK and Tunguska missile systems from that country.

Also Serbia is close to sign a deal with Russia to form a center for overhaul and modernization of Mi family of helicopters in Serbia. They already have a contract for overhaul of Mi 17 for undisclosed foreign customer with Russian help in Serbian Moma Stanojlovic Aeronautical Plant. For the similar reason job of overhaul and modernization of these 10 Mig 29 will be done in Moma Stanojlovic plant in Serbia with help of Russian experts. And less than a year ago Serbia bought two new Mi 17 helicopters.

At the same time Serbia signed a deal with Airbus for 9 H145M, but interesting thing is this:



There is also unconfirmed information about possible donation of additional 4 UH-72 Lakota from US. There are also plans for modernization of existing equipment in Serbian Air force and Air defence units, some steps are already taken. Modernization of P12 radar, introduction in use of new mobile Air defence center for radar data acquisition, processing and communication (M11), modernization of KUB missile system, modernization of Gazelle/Gama helicopters.... Serbia also bought 2 used AN/TPS-70 in 2016.

So it looks like a better days are ahead of Serbian Air force and Air defence.

Glad to hear it,best of luck to our friendly neighbour,the Serbian nation!

 

[Hindustani78]

https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703311052169802-serbia-regional-center-repair-russian-helicopters/

The discussion about whether Serbia can become a regional center for the repair of Russian Mi helicopters has been ongoing for over a year. Recently the Serbian Defense Ministry stated that Russia has expressed interest in such a center.
The latest statements made by the Serbian Defense Ministry suggest that the country is contemplating opening a center for the modernization and repair of Russian Mi helicopters.

“Everything is going towards this idea getting realized. At first, it will be a small regional center, which in the future should become a large modern center for all of southeastern Europe,” Serbian Defense Minister, Zoran Djordjevic, recently said.

However, questions remain whether Serbia has the right opportunities for such a center and who will be the potential customers once the center is functioning?

The military observer of the newspaper Politica, Miroslav Lazanski, spoke to Sputnik Serbia saying that an aviation factory called Moma Stanojlovic could be suitable for such a center but the problem is that in the last few years Serbia has sent its best workers into retirement: engineers and highly qualified technicians.

Training an aircraft or helicopter specialist within just a year or even within three years is not quite possible.

Similarly, another military analyst Andrej Mlakar told Sputnik Serbia that during the times of the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia [SFRY], local factories had a license to repair all types of Soviet helicopters.

He also pointed to the issue of the lack of specialists, noting that three NATO member countries, Bulgaria, Croatia and the Czech Republic, already use the Mi helicopters.


Interestingly, in Croatia eight out of 10 Russian helicopters have crossed their service life and this fact has left a number of rescuers quite alarmed.

“They were promised American transport helicopters but the situation is still the same there and already a conversation is ongoing about where to repair the Russian helicopters,” Mlakar said, adding that, “logically Croatia could service their helicopters with Serbia but whether they would agree to that, remains a big question.”

The military analyst Aleksandar Radic shared his opinion saying that the big question is how feasible is it to open a repair center in Serbia considering the fact that currently there is only one Mi-17 helicopter in Serbia and two more arrived just last year so they will not be needing any service any time soon.

He added that there is also the situation with NATO. The rules of the game are clearly formulated within NATO, so if, for example, Bulgarian Mi need maintenance or servicing, a carte blanche is provided with the factories located on the territory of the alliance.

“Croatia, for example, does not show the slightest desire to be repaired in Serbia, Macedonia has already been repaired in Lithuania and now gradually and secretly it is passing on to Ukraine. Also Bosnia, in general, always relied on Ukrainian factories,” the analyst said.

Radic concluded by saying that before seriously talking about repairs in Serbia it is necessary to understand whether there is a market for it given that there are repair centers in Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://tass.com/defense/943075

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. Russia and Serbia confirm both countries’ interest in developing cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Zoran Djordjevic on Tuesday.

"Our regular meetings once again confirm our interest in promoting cooperation that has been organized and is being developed between us both in the military and military-technical spheres," the Russian defense minister said on the eve of the 6th Moscow conference on international security.

Moscow views Belgrade as a reliable and time-tested partner, which is also safeguarding the basic principles of international security, Shoigu said.

"Unfortunately, the world is not becoming calmer and more stable and the events of the past decades related both to ‘color revolutions’ and various sorts of invasions and the violent overthrows of the leadership of countries do not lead to anything good," the Russian defense minister said.

However, the proclaimed initial goal of achieving democracy and prosperity has not been reached in any of the countries where ‘color revolutions’ were staged, he added.

"Our Moscow conference is precisely aimed at discussing and exchanging opinions on all these issues and, perhaps, finding some solutions," the Russian defense minister said.

 

[Hindustani78]

19:49
S-300 supplies to Serbia depend on its financial capabilities - Rogozin

 

[proka89]

19:49
S-300 supplies to Serbia depend on its financial capabilities - Rogozin

He also confirmed that Serbia is more interested in BUK and Tor missile systems. S300 is too expensive for us, there are some possibilities for acquiring a second hand S300 from Belarus, but that is under question.

 

[mike2000 is back]

Russia has their own interests, just like any other superpower, nobody denies that. I am just sick from all those bulshit newspaper articles about rising tensions in the Balkans, every time when someone even farts here. Yes there are tensions in the Balkans, but if you took all armies from ex SFRJ republics and put them together, you still would not get a one single decent army in the end. And every time someone here buys some insignificant amount of weapons, we end up with bunch of articles how stability in the region is jeopardized, how balance is being destroyed..... And all the countries in this region are already in NATO, or trying to get in NATO, except Serbia, which has the IPAP agreement signed with NATO. Serbian army participated in 26 international military exercises in 2016. 24 with NATO and EU countries, and 2 with Russia and Belarus. And also since november this year Serbian army is a part of EU HELBROC Battlegroup.

Does Serbia even needs these aircrafts? The country is quite poor with a weak economy, and I don't see them fighting any wars anytime soon. Their adversaries aren't that strong either . So what's even the point?

On another note. Does Serbia also want to join NATO? Since I know almost all Balkan states are either in NATO or want to join(it's still up to the main NATO powers to decide )

 

[Penguin]

T72? Why?

Anyway,the upgrades for the fighters cost just as much as new planes.What a *gift*......

Remember Admiral Gorshkov deal with India: we throw in the old ship for free, just pay us billions for upgrading it.

Does Serbia even needs these aircrafts? The country is quite poor with a weak economy, and I don't see them fighting any wars anytime soon. Their adversaries aren't that strong either . So what's even the point?

On another note. Does Serbia also want to join NATO? Since I know almost all Balkan states are either in NATO or want to join(it's still up to the main NATO powers to decide )

1. You need a certain minimum number of jets to maintain a credible high end air policing function. This is e.g. why within Nato, some members rotate a group of aircraft in/out of another NATO member country that doesn't have high end jet aircraft: air policing.

NATO Air Policing is a peacetime mission which aims to preserve the security of Alliance airspace. It is a collective task and involves the continuous presence – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – of fighter interceptor aircraft, which are ready to react quickly to airspace violations and infringements.
http://www.nato.int/cps/sk/natohq/topics_132685.htm?selectedLocale=en

2. Unlike other Western Balkan partners, Serbia does not aspire to join the Alliance. However, the country is deepening its political dialogue and cooperation with NATO on issues of common interest. Support for democratic, institutional and defence reforms is an important focus of NATO’s partnership with Serbia.
http://www.nato.int/cps/sk/natohq/topics_50100.htm

 

[Fledgingwings]

Only 6?

 

[mike2000 is back]

Unlike other Western Balkan partners, Serbia does not aspire to join the Alliance. However, the country is deepening its political dialogue and cooperation with NATO on issues of common interest. Support for democratic, institutional and defence reforms is an important focus of NATO’s partnership with Serbia.

I see. Yes I know Serbia has very close ties and common interests with Russia, so it's unlikely they will want to risk Putin's anger by joining NATO, which I believe is a smart move by Serbia to avoid getting into power plays between two giants. But according to the article, it seems Serbia once aspired to be a member of the E.U?

 

[Penguin]

I see. Yes I know Serbia has very close ties and common interests with Russia, so it's unlikely they will want to risk Putin's anger by joining NATO, which I believe is a smart move by Serbia to avoid getting into power plays between two giants. But according to the article, it seems Serbia once aspired to be a member of the E.U?

The year 2013 saw the latest member, Croatia, accede to the Union, and the EU has prioritised membership for the rest of the Balkans – namely Western Balkans. Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all formal, acknowledged candidates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_Union#Enlargement

 

[proka89]

Does Serbia even needs these aircrafts? The country is quite poor with a weak economy, and I don't see them fighting any wars anytime soon. Their adversaries aren't that strong either . So what's even the point?

On another note. Does Serbia also want to join NATO? Since I know almost all Balkan states are either in NATO or want to join(it's still up to the main NATO powers to decide )

Penguin explained most of it. I would also add, that this way we are preserving at least some of our air force capabilities. If we lose even that, than in the future it would be really hard to build those capabilities from zero. This way we are at least keeping some core, that can be expanded in the future if needed.

Serbia is not trying to join NATO, but we have signed IPAP agreement with NATO, our army is having regular exercises with many NATO members armies. We also have a great cooperation with Ohio state National Guard, and Serbian army is also part of EU battle group HELBROC.

Only 6?

6 from Russia, our 4, and we are negotiating additional 8 from Belarus.

 

[mike2000 is back]

The year 2013 saw the latest member, Croatia, accede to the Union, and the EU has prioritised membership for the rest of the Balkans – namely Western Balkans. Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all formal, acknowledged candidates
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_state_of_the_European_Union#Enlargement

Oh, I see, so Serbia wants to join? Didn't think they will want to do that. Not sure Russia will be happy about that(which is understandable).

Serbian army is also part of EU battle group HELBROC

Oh, I didn't know this. Seems Serbia has a much more pragmatic foreign policy than I thought. Thanks for the info. Interesting.