27.04.2010.

Air Force and Air Defence Command Operations Centre opened

Minister of Defence Dragan Šutanovac and Danish Ambassador in Belgrade Mette Kjuel Nielsen attended the opening of the Operations Centre of AF&AD Command in Zemun today; the centre was equipped thanks to the donation of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Opening of the Operations Centre was attended by the Serbian Armed Forces Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Miloje Miletic, Air Force Commander Brigadier General Ranko Živak, as well as the Danish Defence Command delegation headed by Major General Kurt Mosgard.

Thanking on behalf of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Government for the donation of the Danish Ministry of Defence worth 650,000 euros, Minister Šutanovac emphasized that the equipment for the Operations Centre was very important, because it would have both military and civilian use.

- On our way to the European Union we need safe skies, and all those who are in a situation where they need assistance can be sure that the Serbian Armed Forces, along with other civil services, will be able to provide it in the shortest and the best way. The Operations Centre will allow acquisition of off-route aircraft in a very short time and rescue people in life-threatening condition transporting them to military and civilian hospitals. Thus we ensure safe skies at the level of those countries that have developed similar systems long ago – said Minister of Defence.

Minister Šutanovac underlined that this is only one of the series of donations to our country and the Ministry of Defence received from the Kingdom of Denmark.

- With great pleasure I wish to repeat the words of the Danish Ambassador on the occasion of the delivery of the last donation – the fuel transportation tanks for Batajnica airport. She pointed out then that the main cooperation between the two countries was in the field of defence, which makes us very proud. We are grateful to our colleagues for recognising the Serbian Armed Forces as a partner who can give assistance and share experiences – Šutanovac said.

The Defence Minister recalled that a great number of officers of the Kingdom of Denmark come to Serbia, and that many of our officers go to that country, thus building a long-lasting friendship. To this end, he said, the donation for the Operations Centre has not only a financial, but even more a humane value since it is intended for those who need such assistance the most.

- The Kingdom of Denmark so far handed over to the Ministry of Defence many million euros through various forms of assistance. I wish to extend the warmest thanks to the Ambassador and her State for recognising our military and the Ministry as a loyal partner with whom they want to build the strongest relationships.

Šutanovac said that, considering the notable participation of Denmark in the air show in Batajnica last year, our aircraft will also take part in the air show in Denmark, scheduled for June this year; the good relations, according to him, would thus be further strengthened.

Head of Delegation of the Danish Defence Command Major General Kurt Mosgard underscored that Denmark is honoured that Serbia chose to cooperate with his country in several areas of the defence sector.

- We hope that this centre will enable faster response in crisis situations. We cooperate with many countries, but we are impressed by the speed and professionalism with which your officers implemented this project. We cooperate with the Serbian Ministry of Defence in the field of language learning, civil-military cooperation, in the Air Force and all the areas of training. We are striving to improve our cooperation as much as possible, and we wish to cooperate with the Serbian defence system over the long term.

Responding to the journalists’ questions, the Serbian Defence Minister said that he expected this year to be a year of new achievements of our defence industry.

- It was announced that during the spring already we can expect the signing of the first billion dollars from the export of the defence industry products during the term of this Government. In Kuwait, we talked about several projects in the field of defence, as well as about the export of our weapons and military equipment. These are impressive contracts, due to which our defence industry will become the largest exporter of weapons and military equipment from Ankara to Vienna – Šutanovac said, adding that he expects that Serbia will be a system integrator of the defence industry across the region, because these contracts will include also the products of the major countries which have modern technologies.

He pointed out that the projects discussed with the Kuwaiti partners include cooperation with former Yugoslav republics, which will be a strong incentive for these countries, too.

- Serbia as a system integrator will be recognized as a country that can represent the interests of the whole region. I wish to emphasize that we talked also about education and the exchange visits of officers, as well as the possibility of cooperation in the field of military health care. I am convinced that this is the most important part of the strategic cooperation, which is being realized thanks to our experience in these areas.

The Minister pointed out also that a part of the revenues made by these contracts will be intended for modernization of our defence industry and the adoption of new technologies. He expressed his pleasure that the Ministry of Defence completed several projects which have been at the testing stage for several years. This is about the unmanned air vehicle which will soon be ready for presentation, as well as the “bumblebee project”, a type of weapon produced in the region only in Serbia.

Prior to the opening of the Operations Centre, the organization of the Serbian Armed Forces AF&AD and the achievements in the cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark so far were presented, which, in addition to Minister Šutanovac and the guests from Denmark, was attended by State Secretary Zoran Jefti? and Igor Jovi?i? and Nebojša Star?evi?, Director of the Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia.