The government of Serbia is seeking to modernize the country’s air force and air defence system. Serbia is in discussions with the United Kingdom to acquire both new-build and surplus Eurofighter Typhoon fighting aircraft as part of a broader effort to enhance the country’s air force.
Nebojša Stefanović, Defence Minister of Serbia, said on 16 April that the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence are seeking to buy the Typhoons. Serbia continues its discussion with France for the Dassault Rafale.
Further, he added that he is seeking an unknown missile type that can be carried by both the Eurofighter and the Rafale as part of the deal and that the willingness of either France or the UK to sell the missile could be a factor in any procurement decision.
“What is interesting for me and for what I talked about with RV i PVO experts are the abilities that a potential partner [nation] can offer us.
If Great Britain offers us a missile that has twice the range of a plane with similar characteristics as Rafale, that is a massive advantage for RV i PVO – when it can fire a missile at 300 km, [rather] than when it can shoot at 120 km or 150 km.
If one partner [nation] does not offer us such a rocket, and it owns it in use but says it is not ready to sell it to Serbia, that should also be taken into account,” Stefanović emphasized.
