Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the press that he is negotiating with Dassault Aviation the acquisition of 12 new Rafale fighters for 3 billion euros.

President Aleksandar Vučić traveled to Abu Dhabi, to visit the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2023) to provide support to his country’s defense industry, represented at the fair by Yugoimport-SDPR and to establish defense agreements with countries in the region.

While visiting various stands at IDEX 2023, Serbian journalists asked the president about plans to modernize his Armed Forces.

Vučić referred to the deterioration of the overall security situation in Europe in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian war and how his government is working to modernize and increase the capabilities of its Armed Forces, as a general arms race began to brew in Europe and possessing a strong Army, may in the future be of vital importance for the survival of the state.

«We are at two percent (of GDP dedicated to Defense), and as things are going we will raise it to three. Whoever does not have a serious army will be attacked, the State will increase its capacity,» the president commented.

The replacement of the MiG-29

The lion’s share of the future Serbian Defense budget will be to finance the purchase of 12 Dassault Rafale omnirole fighter jets, for about 3 billion euros. This move to France came in the face of the impossibility of modernizing its Russian MiG-29 fighters (or buying new ones) due to sanctions imposed by the West following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Unlike neighboring Croatia, which will also modernize its Air Force with second-hand French fighters from French Air and Space Force stocks, the Serbian Rafale would be brand new, perhaps in the F4 variant.

According to President Vučić, the addition of the Dassault Rafale would significantly increase the deterrent capability of his Air Force, as it would allow it to launch preemptive strikes at long range.