28.01.2021.
Minister Stefanović: Strong armed forces are a guarantor of Serbia’s stability and security
At today’s briefing given to the President and Supreme Commander about the results of the analysis of the Serbian Armed Forces’ state and operational and functional capabilities in 2020, there was also talk about the situation in the domestic industry and the intentions regarding the procurement of equipment, weapons and technical means for the military, Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, emphasized at the National Assembly session.
Responding to MP Aleksandar Marković’s questions, Stefanović said that strong armed forces perhaps did not suit some people in the country and the region because they would hinder them from achieving their goals.
- A strong military means strong Serbia. This is a prerequisite. In order for us to have investments and economy, in order for us to have strong agricultural industry, the country must be stable and safe.When investors come to this country, they must be certain that it will be a safe country, that it is moving forward, that economic growth is being achieved and that it can guarantee that it will continue doing so in the future - said Stefanović.Speaking about the procurement of equipment for the military, Minister Stefanović said that our general intention was to buy primarily domestically manufactured products. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, we do not want to depend too much on foreign producers, neither Eastern nor Western, and secondly, we want to develop our industrial capacity so that it has a dynamic, strong and fast production, capable of producing enough equipment for the needs of our military, police and security services.
Minister Stefanović referred to the importance of domestic production singling out the "Miloš 4x4" and "Lazar 8 × 8" armoured vehicles and Zastava Tervo vehicles, which will serve as armour for our infantry.
The Minister of Defence also stressed the importance of the Military Technical Institute, which was the most important factor in the development of the armed forces today. He also noted that in 2005, that institution had suffered a major blow when the engineers had been fired overnight and the staff decimated.
- More than 30 new pieces of equipment are being developed at MTI today. I want to thank the people who have stayed there for patriotic reasons, to work for their country. A researcher at the Military Technical Institute, an engineer, has a starting salary of about 68,000 dinars, and these people are expected to work on the most complex systems. These people have better conditions today and we will do our best to provide them with much better conditions, because we want to keep the engineers who are developing our armed forces. President Vučić was able to help us increase salaries significantly this year by almost 9.6 percent for senior officers and 17.8 percent for soldiers and other staff, and we will try to increase these researchers’ salaries as well - said Minister Stefanović.
Today, the armed forces are developing Noras and an additional procurement of "Miloš" vehicles is expected, as well as the modernization of MiG-29 and Eagle aircraft, announced Minister Stefanović. In addition to the recently purchased modern aircraft and helicopters, he added, we will invest in equipping soldiers with uniforms, boots, rifles, everything that our armed forces can afford, and that is in compliance with world standards.
