Serbia receives first Pantsir-S1 from Russia
The Serbian Ministry of Defence has received the first of six Pantsir-S1 missile defence systems from Russia, as agreed in a 2019 contract.
The delivery was made to Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlovic Airport in Batajnica according to Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin.
Vulin told reporters on 22 February: ‘our ability to remain militarily neutral is further strengthened, which is a fundamental security commitment of the Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vicic, our Government and the Assembly.’
The system comprises SAMs, radar and 30mm cannons which are capable of intercepting cruise missiles, UAVs and aircraft at a maximum altitude of 15km and a range of 20km.
The initial Pantsir-S1 for Serbia arrived days after Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, visited Belgrade. Whilst Serbia is an EU candidate country, it remains diplomatically close with Russia and has ruled out accession to NATO.
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