02.08.2020.

Minister Vulin: The process of modernization, training and equipping of the Serbian Armed Forces continues

The Minister of Defence, Aleksandar Vulin, attended the second part of the training of the “Lazar-3” armoured combat vehicle section, with live firing from the newly introduced 6.5/7.62 mm automatic modular rifle manufactured by “Zastava oružje”, at the Arms and Military Equipment Testing Centre “Nikinci”.

According to Minister Vulin, the process of modernization and introduction of new armamentinto the Serbian Armed Forces is continuous.

- The 7.62 and 6.5 mmmodular rifle is something that not even much larger, richer and more developed armed forces have. The modular rifle has become a part of our armament, members of the 41st Infantry Battalion are already training with it, using it as their primary weapon and showing that our designers have done an exceptional job – said the Minister of Defence and pointed out that “we will continue to equip our armed forces and we will replace what even richer armed forces cannot replace so easily, and that is - small arms.

- In addition to that, we have seen how the infantry armoured combat vehicle “Miloš” 4x4 is used. It will be a great reinforcement for the members of our special units and it shows that our designers can keep up with all their counterparts. Although some other armed forces are much richer and more developed than us, they cannot say that we are lagging far behind them. The process of modernization, training and equipping of the Serbian Armed Forces continues, and it will continue every single day. We are a neutral country. By decision of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia will not side with any bloc, but in order for that to be possible and in order for us to be able to make decisions independently, we must have armed forces equipped like this – emphasized Minister Vulin.

The Assistant Minister for Material Resources, Nenad Miloradović, PhD, pointed out that in the previous period, the priority in capability enhancement of the Army was to enhance the capability of artillery, but also infantry, with two main directions – soldier protection enhancement through the use of the new generation of protective equipment for soldiers, protected mobility enhancement, i.e. adequate armoured combat vehicles that can withstand the challenges of modern battlefield and safely transport infantry to battle, such as “Lazar” and the enhancement of soldier lethality that is achieved by the use of new small arms system which includes the new rifle and eight new types of small arms, new ammunition system and a new set of optical and optoelectronic sighting devices.

- All this together should significantly enhance lethality of our infantry soldiers by 30 to 50 percent, i.e. increase the front belt of barrage fire and single firehit probability with undiminished efficiency in burst fire. The basis of all that is the new 6.5 mm bullet that was introduced into the armament after extensive testing in the previous years and the new, modular M19 6.5/7.62 mm rifle which was recently introduced into the armament, and whose effectiveness you could see today during the training of members of the 41st Infantry Battalion – emphasized Miloradović, adding that it is equipped with complex sighting systems – daytime and reflex sight which is a part of the standardrifle set, as well as the thermal imaging sight that will be carried by a certain number of members of each infantry section, and which significantly enhances that section’s efficiency in night operations.

He announced that it is expected that the remaining part of this new generation of small arms will be introduced into the armament of our armed forces by the end of summer and that all infantry battalions of the Serbian Armed Forces will be equipped with it soon.

As Second Lieutenant Nebojša Cvetković, the platoon commander in the 41stInfantry Battalion of the Fourth Army Brigade pointed out during the training and shooting practice at the Nikinci training ground, it can be said that the rifle is reliable, very precise and ergonomic.

- I would especially like to single out the fact that this rifle is modular, which means that depending on the task and the need, it can be used as 7.62 mm calibre, as well as 6.5 mm which proved to be exceptional according to certain parameters – pointed out Second Lieutenant Cvetković.

A member of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade pointed out that the members of this unit have started training on the armoured combat vehicle “Miloš” at the training groundin Nikinci.

- Our first observations are that the vehicle is very reliable, comfortable, it is characterized by high mobility and it allows us to easily exit the vehicle and adopt battle formation – he emphasized adding that the arrival of “Miloš” in that unit will significantly enhancetheir combat capabilities and the performance of tasks will be made easier.

After successfully completed final testing, new sets of protective ballistic equipment T-18 as well as the demonstrative work of the “Miloš” armoured vehicle were shown at the proving ground in Nikinci.

The subject of training in Nikinci is –the section of awheeled armoured combat vehicle “Lazar 3” on the attack, with modular automatic rifle live firing at 100, 200, 300 and 500 m, stationary or on the move, from a vehicle and outside the vehicle as well as shooting at side targets from the vehicle’s firing ports while moving.

The training was also attended by the Head of the Development and Equipping Department, Brigadier General Milan Popović.