| Serbian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Bojcка Србије | |
 Emblem of the Serbian Armed Forces | |
| Founded | 6 May 1830; 195 years ago (1830-05-06) |
| Current form | 8 June 2006[1] |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Belgrade, Serbia |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-chief | PresidentAleksandar Vučić |
| Minister of Defence | Bratislav Gašić |
| Chief of the General Staff | GeneralMilan Mojsilović |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years of age |
| Conscription | No |
| Active personnel | 22,500[2] |
| Reserve personnel | 2,000 (active reserve)[3] 600,000 (passive reserve) |
| Deployed personnel | 336[4] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | $2.7 billion(2026)[5] |
| Percent of GDP | 2.5%(2026) |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | Yugoimport SDPR (armored vehicles and artillery systems) Zastava Arms (firearms) Sloboda (large-caliber ammunition) Krušik (large-caliber ammunition) Prvi Partizan (small-caliber ammunition) Milan Blagojević (gunpowder) Utva (trainer aircraft and drones) FAP (light utility vehicles) Zastava Tervo (light utility vehicles) Yumco (combat uniforms, helmets, and ballistic vests) |
| Foreign suppliers |  France China Israel Russia Germany |
| Annual exports | $1.6 billion(2023)[6] |
| Related articles | |
| History | History of the Serbian Army History of the Serbian Air Force |
| Ranks | Military ranks of Serbia |
TheSerbian Armed Forces (Serbian:Војска Србије,romanized: Vojska Srbije) is themilitary ofSerbia.
ThePresident of the Republic acts ascommander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by theGovernment through theMinistry of Defence. The highest operational authority, in-charge of the deployment and preparation of the armed forces in peace and war, is theGeneral Staff.
Military service is voluntary, thoughconscription may occur in wartime.
The Serbian Armed Forces consists of two branches:Serbian Army andSerbian Air Force and Air Defence.
Serbia has a long military tradition dating to early medieval period. The modern Serbian military dates back to theSerbian Revolution which started in 1804 with theFirst Serbian Uprising againstthe Ottoman occupation of Serbia. The victories in the battles ofIvankovac (1805),Mišar (August 1806),Deligrad (December 1806) andBelgrade (November–December 1806), led to the establishment of thePrincipality of Serbia in 1817. The subsequentSecond Serbian Uprising of 1815–1817 led to full independence and recognition of theKingdom of Serbia and weakened theOttoman dominance in theBalkans. In November 1885 theSerbo-Bulgarian War occurred followingBulgarian unification and resulted in a Bulgarian victory. In 1912 theFirst Balkan War (1912–1913) erupted between theOttoman Empire and theBalkan League (Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria). Balkan League victories in theBattle of Kumanovo (October 1912), theBattle of Prilep (November 1912), theBattle of Monastir (November 1912), theBattle of Adrianople (November 1912 to March 1913), and theSiege of Scutari (October 1912 to April 1913) resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which lost most of its remaining Balkan territories per theTreaty of London (May 1913). Shortly after, theSecond Balkan War (June to August, 1913) broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with the division of territory, declared war against its former allies, Serbia and Greece. Following a string of defeats, Bulgaria requested anarmistice and signed the 1913Treaty of Bucharest, formally ending the war.
Serbia's independence and growing influence threatened neighboringAustria-Hungary which led to theBosnian crisis of 1908–09. Consequently, from 1901, all Serbian males between the ages of 21 and 46 became liable for general mobilization.[7] Following theassassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914, Austria-Hungary implicated Serbians anddeclared war on Serbia (July 1914), which marked the beginning of theFirst World War of 1914–1918. Serbian forces repelled three consecutive invasions by Austria in 1914, securing the first major victories of the war for theAllies, but were eventually overwhelmed by the combined forces of theCentral Powers (October–November 1915) and forced toretreat throughAlbania (1915–1916) to theGreek island ofCorfu (1915–1916).
Serbian military activity after World War I took place in the context ofvarious Yugoslav armies until thebreak-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the restoration of Serbia as anindependent state in 2006.
The Serbian Armed Forces are commanded by theGeneral Staff corp of seniorofficers. The general staff is led by theChief of the General Staff. ThePresident of the Republic who is theCommander-in-Chief appoints the Chief of the General Staff on the suggestion of the Minister of Defence.[8] The current Chief of the General Staff isGeneral Milan Mojsilović.
The armed forces consist of the following service branches:
The Serbian Army (Kopnena vojska Srbije -KoV) is the land-based and the largest component of the armed forces consisting of: infantry, armoured, artillery, engineering units as well asRiver Flotilla. It is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana Vojske Srbije -RViPVO) is the aviation and anti-aircraft defence based component of the armed forces consisting of: aviation, anti-aircraft, surveillance and reconnaissance units. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Serbian airspace, and jointly with the Army, to protect territorial integrity.
Command structure of the Serbian Armed Forces is centered around General Staff as the highestcommand authority, and three separate commands: one for each of the branches (Army Command and Air Force and Air Defence Command) and one responsible for training (Training Command).
The Serbian General Staff (Generalštab Vojske Srbije) makes strategic and tactical preparations and procedures for use during peacetime and war. Special forces (63rd Parachute Brigade and72nd Brigade for Special Operations) are under direct command of the Chief of the General Staff. Organizational units of the Armed Forces subordinated to the General Staff are:Guard,Signal Brigade,Central Logistics Base,224th Center for Electronic Action,Technical Testing Center,Peacekeeping Operations Center, as well as the Directorate of Military Police (which includesCriminal Investigative Group andDetachment of the Military Police for Special Operations "Cobras").[9]
Army Command (Komanda Kopnene vojske) is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Army. Army Command headquarters is inNiš.
Air Force and Air Defence Command (Komanda Ratnog vazduhoplovstva i protivvazduhoplovne odbrane) is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Air Force and Air Defence. Its headquarters is inZemun.
TheTraining Command (Komanda za obuku) is responsible for providing basic and specialist training for soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers of Serbian Armed Forces as well the members of foreign armies. It also serves the role of maintaining the reserve regional brigade structure of the Serbian Armed Forces.
The Serbian Armed Forces are composed entirely of professionals and volunteers following the suspension ofmandatory military service in 2011.
There are 22,500 active members: 4,200 officers, 6,500 non-commissioned officers, 8,200active-duty soldiers and 3,500 civilians involunteer military service.[2] It breaks down as follows:
Thereserve force is composed of an active reserve and passive (i.e. war-time) reserve. Theactive reserve forces have 2,000 members and they are generally required to perform 45 days of military service per year.[3] They are assigned to one of four reserve territorial brigades (Banat Brigade, Belgrade Brigade, Timok Brigade, and Rasina Brigade), each having active HQ, command company and logistics company predicted for rapid deployment in case of war. Thepassive reserve totals about 600,000 citizens with past military training or experience and is activated only in the events of war.[3]
The Serbian Armed Forces has a wide variety of equipment, mix of olderYugoslav andSoviet products (dating back to the 1980s, modernized or being in the process of modernization) and new equipment, either domestically-produced from Serbian defence contractors or acquired from foreign producers (main suppliers beingFrance,China,Israel,Russia, and to a lesser extentGermany).
Inventory of Serbian Army includes: 242 tanks (30 Russian-madeT-72 B1MS and 212 Yugoslav-madeM-84), 96 self-propelled howitzers (24 domestically-producedNora B-52 and 72 Soviet-madeGvozdika), Israeli-madePULS multiple rocket launcher systems (armed withPredator Hawk tactical ballistic missiles andEXTRA artillery rockets) and 60 Yugoslav-madeM-77 Oganj multiple rocket launcher systems, 320 Yugoslav-madeBVP M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, 80 domestically-producedLazar armoured personnel carriers, 108 RussianBTR-80 amphibious armoured personnel carriers, some 130 domestically-produced MRAPs (M20 andMiloš) as well as around 30 pieces of domestically-producedPASARS-16 short-range air-defence missile system (armed with FrenchMistral 3 missiles).[10][11]
Serbian Air Force and Air Defense has in operational use the following equipment: 13 Soviet-madeMiG-29 fighter aircraft (10 of which are modernized to SM standard and armed withR-77 missiles),[12] 13 Yugoslav-madeJ-22 attack aircraft, 2 SpanishC-295 transport aircraft,[13] 15 RussianMi-35 attack helicopter (armed withAtaka missiles),[14] 15 GermanH145M utility helicopters (of which ten are armed with HForce weapon system), 5 RussianMi-17 utility helicopters, IsraeliHermes 900 and Chinese CH-95 andCH-92 combat drones, ChineseHQ-22 andHQ-17 medium- and short-range air-defence missile systems (4 and 3 batteries respectively),[15] as well as one battery of RussianPantsir short-range air-defence missile system (2 more on order but delivery postponed due to sanctions on Russia).
In last several years Serbia has embarked on ambitious program of equipment modernization and acquisition. Whenever possible, the Serbian Ministry of Defence favors products that are manufactured in Serbia such as:Lazar 3M infantry fighting vehicles,Lazar 3 armoured personnel carriers,M20 andMiloš MRAPs,Nora B-52 self-propelled howitzers,ALAS guided missiles,Lasta 95 training aircraft,Pegaz combat drones,Gavran 145 andOsica loitering munitions,Vrabac reconnaissance drones, andZastava M19 assault rifles. Largest procurement of foreign equipment included: ChineseHQ-22 andHQ-17 air-defence missile systems; IsraeliPULS multiple rocket launcher systems; AirbusH145M utility helicopters; RussianMi-35 attack helicopters; as well as various missile and radar acquisitions (IsraeliPredator Hawk tactical ballistic missiles andEXTRA artillery rockets for PULS multiple rocket launcher systems; French surface-to-airMistral missiles for PASARS-16 short-range air-defence missile system; RussianR-77 air-to-air missiles for MiG-29 fighter aircraft,Ataka air-to-surface missiles for Mi-35 attack helicopters, andKornet man-portable anti-tank guided missiles; as well as FrenchGround Master 400α andGround Master 200 long- and medium-range radar systems), and drones (IsraeliHermes 900 and Chinese CH-95 andCH-92 combat drones; Israeli SkyStriker loitering munition as well as gamma of Emirati loitering munition - Shadow 25, Shadow 50, and SM2). Also, various Russian electronic warfare systems were acquired:Krasukha, Moskva-1, andRepellent-1.
Significant acquisitions of military equipment are also planned in the near future. Purchase of 12 new FrenchRafale multirole fighter aircraft was announced in 2024 with the aim of replacing MiG-29 which will be in service until the end of the 2020s.[16] In 2025, a $1.6 billion contract was signed with Israeli defence company,Elbit Systems, focusing on advanced command and control systems (including intelligence solutions that encompass all operational levels, from strategic to tactical), electro-optical devices, and night vision.[17]
Motto of the Serbian Armed Forces is "For Freedom and Honour of the Fatherland" (Za slobodu i čast Otadžbine) and is found on uniforms as well as on brigade flags.
Serbian Armed Forces Day (Dan Vojske Srbije) is marked on 23 April, the anniversary of theSecond Serbian Uprising. On that day in 1815, inTakovo, prominent elders met and decided to start the fight for liberation of Serbia from theTurkish authorities, which eventually led to the free and independent Serbia.
The patron saint (krsna slava) of the Serbian Armed Forces isSaint Stefan Visoki. The first celebration was held in 2023; earlier that year, the Holy Council of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church decided that the patron saint of the Serbian Armed Forces should be Saint Stefan Visoki, 15th-century Serbian ruler and saint, remembered as a wise statesman and a successful military leader.[18]
The Serbian military was the first to pioneer the high-step as amilitary step. It is similar to thegoose step, with the difference being that the knee is bent at the top of the arc. It was used by the Royal Yugoslav Army and at the time was called the "male step". The Yugoslav People's Army abandoned it after World War II, being in use for over two decades before being replaced by high-stepping in the 1975Victory Day Parade, to assert itself as independent from Soviet influence. High-stepping is still used today by Serbian Armed Forces.
There are severalmarches in use in Serbian Armed Forces. The standard one is Parade March (Paradni marš), while theGuard uses its own Guard March (Gardijski marš) as standard march music. Also frequently used and the most popular and recognizable by the general public in Serbia is famousMarch on the Drina (Marš na Drinu). Other frequently used march is Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović March (Marš vojvode Stepe Stepanovića).
The Serbian Armed Forces actively take part in numerous multinationalpeacekeeping missions.[4]
| Country | Mission | Number of personnel |
|---|---|---|
 Cyprus | UNFICYP | 1 staff officer, 2 observers, 6 non-commissioned officers and 37 infantry |
 Central African Republic | MINUSCA | 3 staff officers, 2 observers, 68 medical infantry |
| Central African Republic | EUTM RCA | 7 medical infantry |
 DR Congo | MONUC | 2 staff officers, 2 doctors and 4 technicians |
 Lebanon | UNIFIL | 8 staff officers, 5 national support element and 164 infantry |
 Liberia | UNMIL | 1 officer as military observers |
 Mali | EUTM Mali | 3 medical infantry |
| Middle East | UNTSO | 1 officer |
 Somalia | EUTM Somalia | Medical Corps team including 1 staff officer, 1 doctor and 3 medical technicians |
| Somalia | EUNAVFOR | 4 OHQ staff officers, 1 OHQ non-commissioned officer, 2 FHQ staff officers and 12 members of AVPD |
