A Balkan country with a turbulent past has been making concerted efforts to modernize its Armed Forces amid rising tensions with its neighbors. However, in the quest to modernize, the country’s military has emerged as one of the most diverse forces in the region, operating equipment from Russia, the US, France, China, and now Israel.
As part of the modernization drive, Serbia recently finalized a US$335 million deal with Israeli defense behemoth Elbit Systems to acquire the cutting-edge PULS (Precise and Universal Launching System) artillery rocket system and Hermes 900 MALE reconnaissance drones.
The Elbit PULS is a sophisticated, modular, multi-caliber rocket artillery system that allows the operator to choose different munitions based on mission requirements, thanks to its range of rocket calibers.
The PULS can launch 122 mm rockets with 40 kilometers range, 160 mm rockets with 45 kilometers range, 306 mm rockets with 150 kilometers range, and heavy rockets and missiles like the EXTRA and Predator Hawk, with about 300 kilometers range. Thus improving the versatility of the platform.
More importantly, the PULS is platform-agnostic and has a modular architecture. This essentially means that it could be integrated on various wheeled or tracked chassis of different sizes, including 4×4, 6×6, and 8×8.
The PULS artillery system can function independently or be integrated into pre-existing command-and-control networks. Additionally, this state-of-the-art artillery system can obtain targeting information straight from forward observers, radar, or UAVs.
The PULS’ versatility and precise targeting capabilities make it highly suitable for modern battlefield environments where adaptability, speed, and accuracy are critical.
The acquisition emphasizes Serbia’s dedication to strengthening its defense capabilities in the face of growing regional tensions and geopolitical rivalry with Croatia. The Serbian purchase of PULS follows the Croatian purchase of the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
In fact, the Serbian leader Aleksandar Vucic emphasized the sophisticated capabilities of the Israeli systems in what appeared to be a bid to position the PULS as a direct countermeasure to Croatia’s expanding military capabilities.
The two neighbors continue to spar with one another sporadically since the 1990s when, during the Balkan war, Serbian-led soldiers intervened in Croatia in a land grab operation that resulted in Belgrade’s defeat and the expulsion of tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs who lived there. The two states, albeit not confronting one another directly, remain locked in a tense rivalry, which drives the purchase of sophisticated arms on either side.
Besides PULS, Serbia has also acquired the Hermes 900 MALE reconnaissance drones. The Hermes 900 is a Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) UAV with an endurance of about 36 hours and a range of about 1,000 kilometers.
With a payload capacity of 300 kilograms, this drone offers cutting-edge Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to its operators. Serbia would be better positioned to keep an eye on evolving threats in the region with the help of this UAV.
The acquisition is a testament to the relationship between Serbia and Israel, which goes back several years. Israel used to arm the Bosnian Serbs in the 1990s during the height of the Balkan Wars. The defense relationship between the two countries has been strengthened in recent times, as seen recently when Serbia facilitated the transfer of arms to Israel to bolster its fight against adversaries in the West Asian region.
In 2024, Yugoimport-SDPR, Serbia’s principal state-owned arms dealer, shipped at least US$17.1 million worth of weapons to Israel using both Israeli military and civilian airplanes.
However, Israel is not the only country that has supplied weapons to Serbia. This Balkan state has managed to procure a rare combo of weapons from Russia, China, and the West.
Serbia’s Diverse Arms Purchases
Serbia has had a complicated relationship with the West, especially after the NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia in the late 1990s.
Following an armed conflict between the Serbian Army and Albanian rebels from the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1999, NATO forces bombed what was then the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which included Serbia and Montenegro.
The operation was undertaken without the approval of the UN Security Council. It was based on allegations by Western countries that the Yugoslav authorities were allegedly carrying out ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians.
NATO’s 11-week bombing campaign eventually reached Belgrade, where it caused significant infrastructural damage to Serbia. The airstrikes claimed the lives of over 2,500 people, including 87 children.
Later, Yugoslavia disintegrated, but tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, however, continued. Kosovo had been under international administration since 1999, and in 2008, it finally declared independence. The United States heartily supported the independence, much to Serbia’s dismay.
“Since Kosovo’s independence in 2008, the United States and over 100 UN-member countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent, sovereign state. The United States continues to support a multiethnic, democratic Kosovo, fully integrated into the international community,” states the US State Department.
Despite that, Serbia operates an array of military equipment acquired from the West, particularly from the US, France, and Germany. One of its most significant acquisitions from the West in recent times is undoubtedly the French Dassault Rafale fighters.
It also operates the US-origin PA-34 Seneca reconnaissance aircraft, the AN/TPS-70 radar, and Humvee and BearCat-G3 armored vehicles, among other things.
The Serbian armed forces also operate several unarmored utility vehicles and the H145M utility helicopter acquired from Germany. However, this Western-origin equipment forms a relatively smaller part of its military equipment.
Like several other East European or Balkan countries, Serbia’s military is built on Soviet technology owing to years of political and cultural ties with Moscow. For instance, the Serbian Air Force operates Soviet-era military aircraft like the MiG-29 fighter jet, the An-26 military transport aircraft, and the Mi-35, Mi-17, and Mi-8 military choppers.
The Serbian military also has a host of air defense systems acquired from the Soviet Union, including the S-125 Neva, the 2K12 Kub, the 9K35 Strela-10, and the 9K31 Strela-1. It also operates the Russian Pantsir air defense system.
The Serbian Ground forces operate a host of Russian armored systems and artillery. For instance, the 2S1 Gvodzika has served the Serbian Army for a long time along with its own Nora B-52 self-propelled gun. In addition, the Serbian Army uses the modernized variants of the T-72 Main Battle Tank (MBT).
These are just some of the many pieces of Russian military equipment that this Balkan country has acquired and operated for several decades.
However, Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine has pushed Serbia closer to China. Currently, Serbia is the only European country using Chinese weapons – notably drones and air defense systems.
Belgrade acquired China’s FK-3 surface-to-air defense system in 2019. It is an export version of the HQ-22 missile system comparable to the Russian S-300. The system was delivered by China in 2022 and has since been operated by the Serbian military.
At the time, Serbian President Vucic described the system as a “powerful deterrent” against potential attackers – a subtle reference to NATO’s bombardment of Serbia. In addition to the HQ-22, Serbia operates the Chinese HQ-17AE air defense system.
In 2020, China also equipped Belgrade with six CH-92A combat drones and eighteen FT-8C laser-guided missiles, which can fly up to 16,400 feet, cover a 250-kilometer radius, and achieve a maximum speed of 124 miles per hour. Later, Serbia purchased the state-of-the-art Chinese CH-95 UAVs.
Milos Vucevic, the deputy prime minister and defense minister of Serbia, stated that Chinese military hardware had greatly bolstered the Serbian armed forces.
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