Serbian Air Force- Stuck at the crossroads.

[Versus]

This development, prompted Serbian defense industry into an absolute procurement frenzy and after the Azerbaijan/Armenia conflict it went into a panic mode as it recognized drones and UCAV's as the biggest threat. In order to counter the threat, emphasis was placed on a short range anti air systems and ammunition. Recently it bought Mistral short range missiles from France and Pantsir batteries from Russia. In addition, it started to develop domestic systems and ammunition. For the Bofors 40 mm anti aircraft gun it developed the 3P ammunition which has high effect against unmanned aircraft and other air targets. Based on the aerodynamic configuration of the AA2 Atoll missile from the Vietnam era a new projectile was made called RLN-IC FM-2. From the outside it looks like an Atoll but from the inside its a completely new missile. It has a digital control, new multi-channel seeker, warhead and the motor. The missile's heat seeking warhead has increased protection against the counter measures and the fact that is a 3 channel guided makes it very difficult to avoid (the missile uses its own heat seeking sensor which is backed up by optical and laser targeting guidance and recognition systems from the ground, in other words, ground station tells the missile what is a target and what is a decoy during the missile flight). At least, in theory. Live firing tests have been done and the missile did hit the targets.
From the aerial systems, the development of loitering ammunition, gave the birth to the Raven family of armed drones. at first it was a classical twin boom, pusher configuration that looks like a miniaturized OV-10 Bronco but in the latest iteration, it got folding wings which gives the Raven ability to be launched from a container in a swarm like configuration.

All in all Serbian defense industry finally caught up with the reality but the question is did it wake up on time and will its efforts be enough to avoid the disaster that is looming on the horizon.

Below are the Ravens, both in the initial configuration and a new.

[Versus]

From the maps available on the internet, regarding the plans for the future war against Serbia, they go along known lines,aspirations and desires of our enemies or to use British politically correct pronoun "competitors". Current developments and actions follow closely this map and point areas for future operations. We see that Croatia plans to finish its program in Bosnia and to take a good chunk of Serbia. Albanians also work in sync with them on their territorial expansion. Current focus on ground support missions by the SAF indicate that Serbia will not be able to hold two front attack, the western and the southern and that focusing on surface to air systems as a primary way to defend is airspace is too foolish and inadequate, at least by my opinion.
We will see how it will go, so far, everything points out to this scenario.

[Versus]

As the situation in Afghanistan naturally nears to its logical end the new wave of "migrants" is almost certain. Parallel with that, there is an ongoing war against narco cartel from Montenegro whom gruesome executions shocked the public as well as its political ties to the high government officials. With this disruption in the illegal funding and cash and drugs flow, the danger of narco cartels sparking the new ethnic conflict in order to maintain their business grows exponentially.
The "white noise" regarding new acquisitions is also unbearable, latest one being the acquisition of Buk M3 "Viking" SAM systems, few days ago. It is really difficult to separate facts from fiction but the amount of "chatter" is increasing steadily, indicating the rise in tensions.

[Versus]

Ten minutes ago, "Kosovo" president announced that they are willing to accept Afghan "refugees". Meanwhile, there was another acquisition of two Ka-32 helicopters and negotiations for the acquisition of 11 Mi-35P are underway. All pieces are falling into the place just as it was predicted.

[Versus]

Most recent development has produced first domestic ramjet engine and the new areal platform that can serve as a targeting drone or a cruise missile with possible anti ship role.

[Albany Rifles]

Versus, I'd like to get your views on this announcement. I think it is a good move.

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/10...s-from-airbus/

Serbia is to acquire C295 transport aircraft and H145 helicopters from Airbus


During the first day of the Partner 2021 defense exhibition in Belgrade, Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic announced that a contract with Airbus for the acquisition of two C295 and a batch of H145M helicopters would be signed in a few months.

According to the Serbian defense website Tango Six (T6), the minister’s statements reportedly followed a meeting he held with the National Armament Director of the Spanish Defense Ministry, Admiral Santiago Gomez on October 11, the first day of the Partner 2021 exhibition held in the country’s capital.
Airbus H145 «Cobra» of the Ecuadorian Air Force
The Serbian Air Force currently has only one An-2 and one An-26 as its only cargo aircraft, so the C295s would not only be a necessary replacement, but would significantly increase the Force’s transport capabilities, while gaining operational flexibility thanks to the possibility of installing various kits (tanker, firefighting, MEDEVAC, ISR, etc) available for the aircraft.

Leonardo was also present at Partner 2021 (for the first time) with a stand in Hall 4, promoting products such as the M346 trainer and, particularly, the C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft. But it seems that it is too late for Leonardo and the decision came down on the side of Airbus Spain.
With the aerial refueling kit, the C295 can offer great operational flexibility and become a powerful force multiplier.
The future agreement with Airbus would be made according to the «Government-to-Government» principle, for which a memorandum of cooperation between Spain and Serbia has already been signed. The procurement process is just beginning, the signing of the procurement contracts for the C295 and H145M could take place by the end of this year or early 2022.

[Versus]

Versus, I'd like to get your views on this announcement. I think it is a good move.

https://www.aviacionline.com/2021/10...s-from-airbus/

Yeah, from what I know, that deal is a go. Our transport fleet resources are all but expired so this one is an urgent matter. Also they will get two helicopters from Kamov with coaxial rotors for firefighting and mountain rescue operations (I think that they are Ka-32 but I need to check). H145's proved to be a good choice and our pilots love them a lot. Also a cooperation with Airbus is established for our weapon and ordinance integration which should be beneficial for both parties. What can I say, our defense industry is still in overdrive on multiple fields and they are producing new things so fast that it is difficult to keep paste with the development.
However, that speed sometimes comes with a price, like today, when a rocket fuel depo exploded not far away from the place where I live. This one was intense.

[Albany Rifles]

Yeah, from what I know, that deal is a go. Our transport fleet resources are all but expired so this one is an urgent matter. Also they will get two helicopters from Kamov with coaxial rotors for firefighting and mountain rescue operations (I think that they are Ka-32 but I need to check). H145's proved to be a good choice and our pilots love them a lot. Also a cooperation with Airbus is established for our weapon and ordinance integration which should be beneficial for both parties. What can I say, our defense industry is still in overdrive on multiple fields and they are producing new things so fast that it is difficult to keep paste with the development.
However, that speed sometimes comes with a price, like today, when a rocket fuel depo exploded not far away from the place where I live. This one was intense.

WHOOAH!!! That sucks. I manage the Army's munitions software program and I know all about net explosive weight and safety precautions. But that is one big blast.

I think our UH-72 Lakota is a variant of the H145 and our pilots love it.

What do you see for helo gunship going forward?

[Versus]

WHOOAH!!! That sucks. I manage the Army's munitions software program and I know all about net explosive weight and safety precautions. But that is one big blast.

I think our UH-72 Lakota is a variant of the H145 and our pilots love it.

What do you see for helo gunship going forward?

Yeah, it was a big blast. According to the reports 500 MRLS rocket motors exploded in the depot and unfortunately, so far we have two confirmed deaths. Although the fire has been contained, I can still hear explosions.

For the gunships, it seems that they opted for high low mix. Mi 35's as heavy and H145 as light attack role. Also SAF has SA-342 from the olden days that are being upgraded with new types of
missiles. In addition there are couple of VTOL UCAV's that are going trough the trials but God knows when they will enter service if they enter at all. The main problem are the resources, most of our aiframes are old and nearing the end of their lifecycle. Even the MiG 29's that we bought recently are just a stop gap measure until the real replacement aiframe is defined. I am guessing that that is the reason why they went absolutely berserk on the UAV/UCAV/loitering/cruising munition front.

Personally, I don't like the direction in which our defense industry is heading (and I am not afraid to say it openly, which is the reason why I am banned form tango six (they are a good source of information,nevertheless)). Too many prototypes, too many systems form different manufacturers and countries will create logistic and maintenance nightmare for the personnel. On one side, it is good that they are working and generating profit and getting skills, but on the other side there is a felling that they actually don't know what they want and what systems they need to procure or design. Most of our defense industry projects are export oriented and the fact that they are made here doesn't mean that they will be introduced into service within our armed forces. But they are good for shows and exhibitions and everlasting Balkan peacocking.

You know...whom has the biggest ....

[Versus]

Here some of the VTOL UAV/UCAV platforms that are under development.

[Albany Rifles]

1. As far as supporting multiple platforms....I know that pain. I am an Acquisition Logistician for over 30 years so system sustainability is right in my wheelhouse. I like to remind people that when the US Army got the M1 tank, we didn't just get a new tank. We also got new fuel trucks, repair parts, tank recovery vehicles, heavy truck transporters, mobile bridges, rail cars...all new systems needed to support the new tank and its added weight, etc. Need to look at full life cycle costs.

2. I think our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan really started to show the value of drones in warfare. The recent Azerbaijan-Armenia War showed the real value of hunter killer drones. No surprise that folks are going all in on a cheaper attack option. Much easier on the pilot training.

[Versus]

Heh, yeh, aside from UAV/UCAV they also developed few UGV and UCGV's. It seems that they are going skynet with full throttle.

[Versus]

Croatia has signed officially the Rafale deal with France. As a token, two of them had a flight over the Croatian capital Zagreb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11NU6sqUipU

The game has started.

[Versus]

Wow, it happened. Yesterday, Serbia is started to define requirements for the MiG-29's replacements. Its shopping time.

[Versus]

They got the biggest budget in the past 30 years. Talks about acquiring M 346 are in the air, aside from other things.