Serbia shows air defence upgrades

Serbia used the 50th anniversary of its Armed Forces' 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade on 23 November 2012 to publicise locally-developed upgrades of Soviet-era air defence systems.

Created as the 250th Air Defence Missile Regiment (250.rbr PVO) in what was then Yugoslavia on 24 November 1962, the unit was originally armed with then newly-acquired SA-75MK Dvina-MK (SA-2 'Guideline') systems. In 1980 it was enlarged to receive four S-125M Neva-M (SA-3 'Goa') air defence missile systems, and was redesignated as the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade (250.rbr PVO).

In 2004 the unit inherited the equipment and personnel from the disbanded 450th Air Defence Missile Regiment (450.rp PVO) from Kraljevo, and the 60th Self-Propelled Air Defence Missile Regiment (60.srp PVO) from Podgoritsa. Finally, in 2007 it gained most of the equipment and personnel from all other Serbian air defence missile units (230.srp PVO from Nis, 240.srp PVO from Novi Sad, and 310.srp PVO from Kragujevac). It became responsible for the air defence of all Serbian territory, and was formally designated as the 250th Missile Brigade for Air Defence Operations (250.rbr PVD).