US backs Kosovo's plan to create an army
Washington supports Kosovo's plans to create its own army, the US ambassador to Pristina said 6 December, signalling a rift with NATO, which is against the move.
Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008, is expected to vote 14 December on whether to transform its lightly-armed emergency force, Kosovo Security Force (KSF), into a national army.
Since the end of the 1998-99 war that effectively cleaved it from Serbia, Kosovo has been defended by international NATO-led troops.
On 6 December NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg stressed that Kosovo's army plans are ‘ill-timed’ and go ‘against the advice of many NATO allies.’
But Washington is fully behind the move, US ambassador Philip Kosnett told state broadcaster RTK in Pristina.
‘We think that KSF's evolution into Kosovo's armed forces is a positive step and that it is only natural for Kosovo as a sovereign and independent country to have its own defence capability,’ he said, adding that the US has invested money and training in the emergency force's development.
‘This is a process that will take many years,’ he added.
Belgrade has led the charge in raising concern over Kosovo's army plans, which it has cast as a threat to the 120,000 Serbs still living in the former southern province.
Serbia refuses to recognise Kosovo's independence and still considers it a renegade territory.
Speaking about Pristina's army plans 5 December, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said: ‘I hope that we will never have to use our army, but at this moment it is one of the options on the table’.
You may also like
More from Land Warfare
-
![MyDefence delivers counter-drone system to US Army ahead of livefire exercise]()
MyDefence delivers counter-drone system to US Army ahead of livefire exercise
The Soldier-Kit system consists of detector, jammer, tablet and wideband antenna and is being evaluated as part of Project Flytrap 3.0 counter uncrewed aerial system (CUAS) exercise.
-
![Arquus and Milrem push their UGVs fitted with long-range missiles]()
Arquus and Milrem push their UGVs fitted with long-range missiles
Arquus displayed the Drailer uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV) integrating the Akeron LP long-range missile at the Techterre technology demonstrator event ahead of trials in September.
-
![Czech CAESAR howitzer order at risk of cancellation]()
Czech CAESAR howitzer order at risk of cancellation
The Czech Republic ordered 52 CAmion Equipé d’un Système d’ARtillerie (CAESAR) self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2021 and added another 10 a year later. A cancellation of the programme would impact both the army’s capabilities and local industry which is involved in the manufacture.
-
![Sweden turns to Nammo and Rheinmetall as world demand grows for 155mm shells]()
Sweden turns to Nammo and Rheinmetall as world demand grows for 155mm shells
Demand for ammunition continues to increase with manufacturing capability growing to match. Sweden have turned to the two supply lines of Rheinmetall and Nammo as part of a Nordic effort to meet demand. The Polish Government has also announced a US$700 million investment to boost manufacture of munitions.
-
![Contract moves new Abrams tank forward in the face of cuts]()
Contract moves new Abrams tank forward in the face of cuts
Several US Army vehicle programmes were axed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s plans to transform the US Army, as outlined in the Letter to the Force: Army Transformation Initiative document. However, the new generation Abrams M1E3 main battle tank (MBT) was singled out for survival. But what will it look like?
-
![Malaysia signs for two additional GM400α air surveillance radars]()
Malaysia signs for two additional GM400α air surveillance radars
The order is in addition to two systems ordered in 2023. It forms part of a family of systems which is becoming widely used and part of a growing demand for the capability, both in deliveries and requirements.
