...Serbian Air Force 2024: Dassault Rafale jet deal signed with France...

[Stratofreighter]

...see
https://scramble.nl/military-news/serbi ... r-aircraft

Plus
https://balkaninsight.com/2024/04/09/se ... hter-jets/

The number of jets being purchased and the price Serbia will pay for them has not been made public yet.
Reuters reported that Vucic said last year/2023 that the cost of buying 12 Rafaele jets would be around 3 billion euros.

There has been talk about Serbia buying Rafale jets for two years.
Serbia initially showed interest in the French fighters after neighbour Croatia in 2021 signed a contract to buy 12 used Rafale jets.

Vucic in April 2022 said that Serbia wants to buy 12 new Rafal jets and added that negotiations were underway to also purchase of 12 used ones.

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... rom-france

Serbia and France will seal a deal on the procurement of 12 newly produced Rafale fighters
for the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (RV i PVO) in the next two months,
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić
told Serbian media in Paris on 9 April 2024
after meetings with President of France Emmanuel Macron
and representatives of Dassault Aviation the day before.

Media close to the Serbian government have reported that negotiations have been under way for nearly three years
for 10 single-seat and two twin-seat fighters for the RV i PVO.
The weapon package is expected to include MICA and beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles,
in addition to a flight simulator,
training of flying and technical personnel,
and a multi-year integrated logistical support package.

...this story is of course developing....

[Canberra TT.18]

Contact signed for 12 Rafales.

Le Monde
The deal will see Serbia receive nine single-seat and three two-seat jets by 2029 

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international ... 515_4.html

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 024-08-29/

https://tangosix.rs/2024/29/08/poslednj ... ona-rafal/

[orange]

Various media outlets report on the transfer of Serbia’s 14-strong MiG-29 fleet to France as part of the Rafale deal.

This should happen in December after which the Fulcrums will be handed over to Ukraine.

This all sounds a bit dodgy since Serbia seems part of the Z-coalition and delivery of the first Rafale (replacing the MiGs) is scheduled not earlier than 2028.
Ten of 14 Fulcrums were handed over to Serbia by Belarus and Russia not that long ago!

[Levente]

Russia already stoped sending spare parts for the serb MiG's some time ago. They are not on speaking terms at the moment.

[Levente]

Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić has denied the false information published by some domestic and regional media that the contract to purchase 12 new Rafale planes from Dassault Aviation allegedly contains a clause stipulating that Serbian MiG 29 jets should be transferred to France and subsequently delivered to Ukraine.

- It is one more in a series of barefaced lies and fabrications whose sole aim is to cast a shadow over the procurement of 12 brand new fourth-generation Rafale multirole fighter aircraft. The MiGs that Serbia owns are Serbian and we will never give them to anyone - said Minister Gašić.

He has said that “thanks to President Vučić’s responsible policy, Serbia has acquired 14 modernized MiG-29 aircraft” and reminded that the “’efforts’ of Ponoš and the likes of him have devastated our fighter aviation to such an extent that, a little over ten years ago, there were days when not a single MiG-29 could take off and protect our airspace”.

- Serbia will by no means give up its MiG-29 jets and they will still be usable for a certain number of years. Moreover, we will continue to procure state-of-the-art combat equipment with the aim of strengthening the capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces and preserving peace and stability – stressed Gašić.

https://www.mod.gov.rs/eng/21564/minist ... rbiji21564

[Levente]

Vucic announced yesterday, at the Zastava 2024 power demo, that Serbia wil get the Rafale F4.1 version.

https://tangosix.rs/2024/20/09/poslednj ... plLABneRdw