It became clear why the Serbs decided to buy French Rafale
At the end of August 2024, in Belgrade, the Serbian Ministry of Defence signed a contract with the French company Dassault Aircraft for the purchase of 12 new-build Rafale multirole fighters (9 single-seat and 3 two-seat) of the F4 modification for the needs of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence. The contract, which is to be completed in 2028, is worth 2,7 billion euros (including weapons).
It should be noted that the Serbs want to replace the 14 Russian-made MiG-29 fighters in their arsenal with the aforementioned Rafale. Interesting details about the reasons for Serbia's choice of French combat aircraft were provided by sources of a specialized Russian blog bmpd, dedicated to military topics.
The publication notes that the head of the Serbian government, Milos Vucevic (since May 2, 2024), speaking in the country's parliament, cited the circumstances due to which Belgrade chose the French Rafale. Moreover, he named the reasons why the products of other aircraft manufacturers of multirole fighters were not actually considered by the Serbian side.
During the discussion of the country's budget, one of the members of parliament reproached the government for the fact that future Serbian Rafale will have a "built-in block on use against NATO countries", i.e. there will be a deliberate reduction in the capabilities of the Serbian Air Force and Air Defense. However, Vucevic did not remain silent and responded, which became the first official interpretation of the reasons for the choice of Rafale fighters by the Serbian state, as well as the alleged shortcomings of proposals and solutions from other manufacturers.
The whole point is that Vucevic was previously the head of the Serbian Ministry of Defense (since October 26, 2022), i.e. he was in this position during the final stage of negotiations on Rafale and is well aware of this issue. Vucevic reminded the deputy that Serbia already operates French helicopters and radars, and there are no complaints about this.
There was a project and discussion with a consortium of European countries, we are talking about the Eurofighter aircraft, they did not produce results and were stopped more than ten years ago, and since then there has been no progress
– Vucevic pointed to the previously failed negotiations on the Eurofighter Typhoon.
As for the United States, according to Vucevic, Washington does not consider the Serbian Armed Forces as a partner in the supply of aircraft.
We even had talks about combat training aircraft, but even with this, everything is going rather difficultly. For various reasons, such as international and defense policy USA
– added Vucevic, confirming the information that it is the American state, and not private manufacturing companies, that does not want to sell even used fighters to Belgrade.
The American-Swedish advanced trainer, the Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk, but even the US Air Force does not expect to have this aircraft model at its disposal before the end of 2027. Moreover, in 2023, the commander of the 252nd training squadron of the Serbian Air Force tested a slightly different simulator in Dubai (UAE) at an exhibition.
Vucevic also did not ignore the problems with purchasing aircraft from Russia and China. Firstly, Moscow is currently focused on the Ukrainian conflict and supplying its own armed forces is a priority for it. Secondly, logistics difficulties have also become a stumbling block for supplies from Russia and China. Serbia is surrounded by NATO countries, so "delivering this type of weaponry is very difficult, even impossible." The Serbs were thinking about buying the Chinese J-10, which, according to him, was "an excellent aircraft with truly magnificent technology" However, there is no physical possibility of delivering these fighters to Serbia.
Regarding Rafale, the contract amount also includes spare parts and a simulator. In order to obtain unbiased information, the Serbs even visited North Africa and had a detailed conversation with their colleagues from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense about the operation of Rafale, Vucevic concluded.
We remind you that Rafale fighters, in addition to France, are operated by Egypt, India, Qatar, Greece and Croatia. The UAE and Indonesia have also signed contracts for different versions of the aircraft.
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