With the delivery of the Chinese-made FK-3 anti-aircraft system and its integration into the defense system, the ambitious five-year project to procure weapons and military equipment has been successfully completed. The following plan to develop the Armed Forces, relating to the period through the end of this decade, envisions a thus far unprecedented leap technological leap in domestic weapons, a turn towards robotic platforms, the use of artificial intelligence — and procurement of new aircraft for the Air Force.

“The plan has been drafted, and the initial instructions for its implementation have been written. This means that the country has a clear picture of the types of military technology, weapons and equipment it will be procuring over the following years,” said Deputy Minister of Defense Nenad Miloradović.

A summary of the recently completed phase and a hint of the following stage in strengthening the Armed Forces was shown during “Štit 2022”, the April 30 Serbian Armed Forces muster held at the “Colonel-pilot Milenko Pavlović” Air Base (Batajnica Air Base).

Without question, the biggest star of Saturday’s military celebration was the FK-3, the Chinese mid-range anti-aircraft defense system, which made its European debut at Batajnica. This system, developed based on the experiences of the Russian-made S-300 and the US-made “Patriot”, has a range of 27 kilometers in height and about a hundred kilometers in diameter, and will form the cornerstone of the future airspace defense.

“The missile umbrella has been opened over Serbia,” explained the Serbian Armed Forces. This means that the FK-3 will be in combat readiness at great heights, and the Russian “Panzer” will take the role of its protector. The existing “Neva” and “Kub” systems will operate at similar levels. In the lowest layers, there will be the French “Mistral” and the “Strela 2M” light systems. For the first time in many years, Serbia has at its disposal a full missile pyramid, covering most of the country’s territory.”

The spectators at the Batajnica Air Base were also privy to the debut of the domestic drone “Pagaz”, developed in cooperation with China, as well as a new set of guided weapons for the domestic attacker “Orao”.