Serbia unveils new equipment

Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) capabilities and equipment were presented to Bahrain Royal Guard commander Major General Nasser bin Hamad al-Khalifa at Batajnica airbase near Belgrade on 6 April.

During the dynamic display, an SAF H145M helicopter armed with the indigenously developed L80-07 rocket pod with seven S-8KOM 80 mm rockets and a GH-78 pod with a M87 single-barrel 12.7 mm machine gun flew for the first time.

The Mali Miloš L (‘L’ for ‘Logistički’ or ‘Logistics’) unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) demonstrated ammunition transport and medical evacuation. Two new versions of the UGV were shown on static display: one with a new open turret carrying a Zastava M87 12.7 mm heavy machine gun and another armed with a Zastava M86 7.62 mm machine gun and two M80 Zolja (Wasp) 64 mm portable one-shot disposable rocket-propelled anti-tank grenades.

Also on display were prototypes of modernised aircraft: a J-22 Orao ground attack aircraft with a new nose with electro-optical sensors; an Mi-17V-5 assault/transport helicopter armed with guided weapons, gun pods, and a cabin-mounted 12.7 mm heavy machine gun; and a Gazelle anti-tank helicopter armed with the Advanced Light Attack System (ALAS) long-range missile, as well as L80-07 and GH-78 pods.

A new weapon pod with two 7.62 mm machine guns was also displayed in front of Serbia’s Utva V-54 Lasta piston-engine training aircraft, the armed turboprop version of which is currently under development.

Also on static display were a new tricycle-type, double tail unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a nose-mounted electro-optical system and Serbia’s Pegaz (Pegasus) UAV that is currently being modernised with Chinese technology with the weapons palettes it should carry once it begins SAF service.