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This is a historic strategic shift and a manifestation of the European spirit – this is how French President Emmanuel Macron described the agreement with Serbia to purchase French fighter jets.
With the signing of an agreement with France to purchase 12 Rafale aircraft, Serbia’s military aviation will have Western aircraft for the first time.
For former Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac, it was a signal that the country wanted to align itself with NATO in terms of military aviation.
“This is a turning point for our aviation industry, but also a political turning point. There is no doubt that this is good politically, and even better militarily,” Shutanovac said.
Serbia has been working with NATO members through the Partnership for Peace programme since 2006, but officials in Belgrade insist the country remains militarily neutral.
When Serbia’s Ministry of Defense announced in April that it was negotiating with France on the purchase of Rafale aircraft, it said this did not mean a change in the country’s military direction.
Since the late 1950s — when the United States sent a limited number of American fighter jets under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito — the former Yugoslavia and later Serbia have mainly chosen weapons from the East, Šutanovac said.
“It was not only a question of protecting the country, but also, in a way, a political signal that Yugoslavia could actually be found at the time and later also Serbia,” said Šutanovac of Radio Free Europe.
Serbia has been repeatedly criticized by Brussels and Washington in recent years for its purchases of weapons and military equipment from Russia and China.
According to Serbia’s Defense Ministry, in recent years the country has received supplies of modern aircraft, missile and electronic systems, radars and combat vehicles from countries including Russia, China, the United States, Spain and France.
Procurement value of nearly 3 billion euros
The purchase of 12 French aircraft and related goods and services is valued at 2.7 billion euros.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said this was the largest allocation in Serbia’s military budget.
Šutanovac, chairman of Belgrade’s non-governmental Strategic Policy Council, believes that buying the Rafale aircraft is not controversial because Serbia “will soon lose its combat aviation capabilities” if it does not start buying new aircraft “at the right time.”
For him, the decision to buy the planes was as much political as it was defensive.
“Politically, because France has recently shown more understanding towards Serbia and its interests. On the other hand, these aircraft will guarantee security over Serbia’s skies for decades to come,” Šutanovac said.
“If Serbia did not have such aircraft, our skies would probably be protected by someone else,” he added.
According to the manufacturer, the Rafale aircraft can carry out air-to-ground attack as well as air-to-air attack and interception in the same flight.
The manufacturer’s website also states that the Rafale aircraft can fly unnoticed in enemy airspace.
Serbia and France have cooperated in the field of defense.
Airbus Serbia purchased helicopters worth 105 million euros, two C-295 transport aircraft worth 66 million euros, 15 million euros for equipment and pilot training, and 18 Mistral air defense systems from the French company. There are 50 rockets.
Guaranteed not to fall into “Russian hands”
At a joint press conference in Belgrade this week, Macron and Vucic stressed that the Rafale deal ensures that Western defense technology does not end up in Russian hands.
“Make sure that everything we do is correct, just as we have done everywhere else. There are guarantees and I am sure that our decisions will stand,” Macron said.
Vucic said he would not offer technology transfer “for anything in the world.”
Serbia has purchased a large amount of military equipment and weapons from Russia since 2016.
Russia has not signed any new arms procurement contracts since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and some previous supplies have not yet arrived because of the war in Ukraine.
However, on National Day in February this year, it displayed the electronic jamming anti-drone system “Repelent” purchased from Russia for military needs.
The system was proposed by Vucic, who did not specify when it was imported but said Serbia “paid for it a long time ago.”
Serbia has not joined the European Union and other Western countries in imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
But at the same time, it continues to condemn Russian aggression and provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
A “small wish” to stay away from Moscow and get closer to the EU
Before Serbia, Croatia purchased the Rafale aircraft, allocating about 1 billion euros to buy 12 second-hand aircraft.
Among other countries surrounding Serbia, Greece also has Rafale.
Vucic thanked Macron and said “we are very happy to be part of the Rafale club.”
Serbia became a member of the “Rafale” club of former Serbian ambassador to France Radomir Diklic, a move that expressed “President Vucic’s small desire to distance himself a little from Russia and get closer to the West.”
“On the other hand, this suits France very well, not only economically but also politically, because it now positions itself as a country with great influence in Serbia,” said Diklic of Radio Free Europe.
Asked why he thought it was a small wish, Diklic said “Vucic never fully clarified his political stance”.
“He always left a seat empty so he could come back later and quickly go from one chair to another,” Dicklic said.
Vucic has repeatedly reiterated that Serbia’s strategic commitment is to join the European Union, but he also stressed that Serbia will not give up its close relations with Russia, China and the United States.
Vucic also maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the years before Russia invaded Ukraine. Serbia began negotiations to join the European Union in early 2014. However, it opened its final chapter before the Ukrainian war in December 2021.
The stagnation of this process is mainly due to non-compliance with the EU’s foreign policy, especially the failure to implement sanctions against Russia./relatively
Posts What French Rafale aircraft brought to Serbia First appeared in Ku Klux Klan.
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