The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence has given itself the goal of putting years of crisis behind it and embarking on the road to recovery, as Aleksandar Radić explains.
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence
Last year saw some significant progress for the Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana (RV i PVO, Serbian Air Force and Air Defence). It received six MiG-29 fighters donated by Russia, launched modernisation work on the Orao attack aircraft and procured six Airbus Helicopters H145Ms – four attack and two utility versions.
In the past, the RV i PVO has insisted on only acquiring new-build fighters as part of its modernisation strategy. During autumn 2010 the defence ministry received responses to requests for information (RFIs) detailing the F-16C/D, MiG-29M2, Rafale, Su-30, Typhoon and the Chinese FC-17. Saab did not submit a bid involving its Gripen. At the start of the following year, the preparation procedure for the tender was suspended. RAC MiG’s offer of ten ex-Hungarian MiG-29s had meanwhile been rejected, since only new aircraft were being considered.
In 2012 the Serbian Progressive Party won the parliamentary election. Its leader, Aleksandar Vučić (at the time first vice-president…
