The Serbian Armed Forces utilize a significant amount of equipment and weaponry produced in the Soviet Union and Russia. This includes not only 14 MiG-29 aircraft and 30 T-72 tanks but also, for example, six "Pantsir" systems received directly from Russia.
However, to maintain this equipment in operational condition, Serbia has had to seek alternative sources for spare parts, as it can no longer rely on Russia, especially for weapon supplies. This was essentially stated by the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilovic, in an interview with the Serbian publication "Večernje Novosti."
More specifically, the statement from the head of the Serbian General Staff regarding this situation was as follows: "As for the supply of weapons from the Russian Federation, it is practically impossible at this moment. We are trying through diplomatic channels to find a way to overcome the current situation."
"We have terminated some contracts and postponed others in the hope that the situation in interstate relations on a global scale will normalize, allowing us to implement the agreements."
At the same time, General Milan Mojsilovic emphasized another point – since a significant number of countries worldwide still use Soviet-era weaponry, Serbia has found a way to establish supply chains for the necessary components of military equipment in the interest of its army.
If we return to the issue of the amount of Soviet or Russian-made weaponry currently in service with the Serbian army, the figures may turn out to be significantly higher than any expectations, especially considering that the Serbs are making a maximum effort to rely on their own defense industry products.
For instance, according to The Military Balance 2024, the Serbian Ground Forces rely on 76 BRDM-2 armored reconnaissance vehicles, 12 BTR-50 armored personnel carriers, and 32 MT-LB armored vehicles, along with an unspecified number of Russian-made anti-tank systems "Kornet-EM" and "Fagot."
Regarding artillery, the situation is similarly interesting: in addition to 18 wheeled self-propelled howitzers of 155 mm caliber NORA and 36 towed 152 mm howitzers M084 NORA-A of domestic production, Serbia still uses 67 self-propelled howitzers 2S1 "Gvozdika," 78 D-30 howitzers, and 18 130 mm M-46 guns. The Serbian Ground Forces' air defense includes 77 launchers of the "Kub" system and five "Strela-10M" systems.
As for aircraft of Soviet/Russian origin – besides the aforementioned 14 MiG-29s, Serbia also has four An-26s, six Mi-17s, and eight Mi-8s, as well as four Mi-35 helicopters (acquired from Cyprus). For air defense systems, the picture is as follows: in addition to the six "Pantsirs" mentioned earlier, Serbia has nine launchers of the "Kub" air defense missile system and six S-125M "Neva-M" systems from Soviet/Russian production.