Serbia refuses to buy Russian fighter jets and decides to buy French ones
Vucic reaches agreement with Macron on purchase of 12 state-of-the-art Rafale aircraft
Serbia is abandoning the Russian fighter jets it has been buying since the Soviet era and switching to French ones.
Source. This is reported by the Associated Press with reference to the statement of the country's President Aleksandar Vucic.
Belgrade will buy a total of 12 Rafale multirole fighters from France, he said.
On Monday, Vucic visited Paris, where he met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, as well as with officials of the French Ministry of Defence and representatives of Dassault Aviation, which produces Rafale fighter jets.
According to the Serbian president, he had a conversation with Macron, during which they "reached concrete agreements on the purchase of Rafale fighter jets".
Vucic added that the contracts relating to the fighter jets will be signed in the next two months in the presence of Macron, and stressed that the purchase of these military aircraft will significantly expand military cooperation between Belgrade and Paris.
The financial details of the potential deal are not disclosed, but pro-government Serbian media have estimated it at around €3bn.
The acquisition of Rafale fighter jets will allow Serbia to modernise its air force, which is largely made up of MiG-29 aircraft produced in the USSR and old Yugoslav warplanes.
At the end of 2021, Serbia considered continuing to purchase Russian combat aircraft. However, sanctions imposed after the outbreak of the war with Ukraine made it impossible to even maintain the existing MiG-29 fleet.
"You can't import almost anything related to military purposes from Russia," Vucic complained at the time, adding that despite the difficulties with Russian supplies, Serbia plans to continue modernising its armed forces.
According to today's statement by the Serbian Ministry of Defence, the country's armed forces, as well as the majority of its citizens, "welcomed the news" that Vucic had reached an agreement with Macron to purchase 12 Rafale aircraft. The defence ministry stressed that this is one of the most modern aircraft of this type in the world, and that its introduction into the Serbian Air Force will ensure long-term protection of Serbian airspace and contribute to the country's security.
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