Serbian Armed Forces
Bojcka Србије
The highest authority in the Armed Forces as well as in the defense system of the country, in-charge of the deployment and preparation of the Armed Forces in peace and war, is the General Staff. The President of the Republic acts as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The Serbian Armed Forces are a professional- and volunteer-based military. Serbia exercises civilian control of the military through the Ministry of Defence. The Serbian Armed Forces are commanded by the General Staff corp of senior officers. The general staff is led by the Chief of the General Staff. The chief of the general staff is appointed by the President who is the Commander-in-Chief.
The armed forces consist of the following service branches:
The Serbian Army (including a River Flotilla on the Danube) is the land-based component of the armed forces consisting of: infantry, armoured, artillery, engineering, and special forces units.
The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence is the aviation and anti-aircraft defence based component of the armed forces consisting of: aviation, anti-aircraft, surveillance and reconnaissance units.
The Serbian Training Command was established on 23 April 2007, by merging parts of Operation Forces, Land Force and Air Force units. The Training Command is primary responsible for providing soldiers, non-commissioned officer and officers of SAF, as well the members of foreign armies basic and military specialist training.
The Serbian Guard is an honor guard unit of the Armed Forces of Serbia. The Guard is directly subordinated to the Chief of General Staff Office and performs duty of ceremonial guard during peacetime as well as strategic combat duties during wartime.
Serbian
Air Force
Serbian
Army
Air Force and Air Defence
Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздухопловна одбрана
The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, is the air force of Serbia and service branch of the Serbian Armed Forces. Established on 24 December 1912 in the city of Niš, it was absorbed into the various Yugoslav Air Forces between 1918 and 2006.
Serbia, as the largest succeeding nation of Yugoslavia, took possession of the entire Yugoslav Air Force inventory.
The air force operates from three major air bases, the 204th Batajnica Air Base and 98th Morava Air Base and Constantine the Great Air Base.
The Serbian air force operates a variety of Soviet surface-to-air missile systems. Many are long-range with a moderate amount of short-range weapons assigned to infantry units.
The Serbian Air Force roundel was officially adopted in 2006. The roundel is an adapted version of the former Royal Yugoslav Air Force roundel which ceased to exist in 1943. It is composed of blue trim on the outside rim followed inward by the Serbian national colors red, blue and white, with a white cross in the center with blue trim. The low visibility version is the same design only replacing the traditional roundel colors of red, blue, and white with grey color variations of light and dark for contrast; these roundels have most recently been placed on refurbished MiG-29s. Most other aircraft continue to use the standard colored roundel.
Equipment
Serbian Army
Копнена војска
The Serbian Army is the land-based component of the Serbian Armed Forces, responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia from foreign hostiles; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Originally established in 1838, the Serbian army was incorporated into the newly established state of Yugoslavia in 1918. The current Serbian army has been active since 2006 when Serbia restored its independence. The Serbian Army is the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. There are approximately 17,850 active members and an additional 50,000 in reserves. The army is composed entirely of professionals and volunteers following the suspension of mandatory military service on January 1, 2011. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th army brigades are tasked with securing the 5 km (2.5 mi) wide Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) along the administrative line between Central Serbia and the disputed territory of Kosovo. The Ground Safety Zone extends 384 kilometers long and covers a total area of about 1,920 square kilometers. There are over 20 camps and security checkpoints in the zone.
There are plans to increase the Serbian army's involvement in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations abroad. Following the 2006 reorganization, the Serbian Army consists of six primary brigades. The four army brigades are larger than a conventional modern brigade, their size is more akin to a division. Each army brigade consists of ten battalions: one command battalion, one armored battalion, two mechanized battalions, two infantry battalions, one self-propelled artillery battalion, one self-propelled multiple rocket launcher Artillery Battalion, one air defense battalion, one engineering battalion, and one logistic battalion.
