Emmanuel Macron with Aleksandar Vucic at the joint press conference (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia will acquire 12 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation for 2.7 billion euros, President Aleksandar Vucic announced today.
After his meeting in Belgrade with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, the Serbian president announced that Belgrade would pay two installments of 420 million euros in 2024 and 2025 for the aircraft, without specifying when it would receive the first Rafales. But he said the Rafales would be delivered equipped with medium-range MICA missiles made by France’s MBDA, rather than the advanced Meteors which have a longer range.
The agreement was welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking of a “change of strategic importance” when asked about Belgrade’s friendly ties with Moscow.
Serbia reduced its military cooperation with Russia after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Although it condemned Russia’s attack on its neighbor, it did not impose sanctions on Moscow as other Western countries have done.
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