Analyst: It’s Not Arms Procurement That Matters, But Rather Staff, Infrastructure to Match It

Military helicopter (BETAPHOTO/DEFENSE MINISTRY/EV)

Aleksandar Radic, a military analyst, said on Dec. 13 that there’s nothing wrong about the government’s plan to buy new weapons for the Army of Serbia, but that a more balanced approach was required, as it’s unclear if the size of military staff and infrastructure would correspond with a large quantity of arms, especially aircraft weapons.

“It is amazing that something is finally going on, and that new equipment is coming. It’s a revolutionary breakthrough following the dry years that only saw the use of obsolete equipment inherited from earlier generations. Yet there has to be a more balanced approach and a clear political and economic evaluation, which should be open to public debate,” Radic said for BETA.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during a visit to Nis last weekend that Serbia planned to buy almost 30 new and used helicopters from several states, and that in the next five years new weapons worth EUR1.25 billion would be bought from national arms manufacturers alone.

Radic said that tenders are often skipped in arms procurement, even though they offer mechanisms to review different bids, while protecting the state against the economic detriments of corruption.