Military service is voluntary, though conscription may occur in wartime. As of 2024, Serbia is ranked 56 out of 145 countries considered for the annual GFP review.[9]
Serbia's independence and growing influence threatened neighboring Austria-Hungary which led to the Bosnian crisis of 1908–09. Consequently, from 1901, all Serbian males between the ages of 21 and 46 became liable for general mobilization.[10] Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in June 1914, Austria-Hungary implicated Serbians and declared war on Serbia (July 1914), which marked the beginning of the First World War of 1914–1918. Serbian forces repelled three consecutive invasions by Austria in 1914, securing the first major victories of the war for the Allies, but were eventually overwhelmed by the combined forces of the Central Powers (October–November 1915) and forced to retreat through Albania (1915–1916) to the Greek island of Corfu (1915–1916).
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 President who is the Commander-in-Chief appoints the Chief of the General Staff on the suggestion of the minister of defense.[11] The current Chief of the General Staff is General Milan Mojsilović.
Organization of the Serbian Armed Forces
Service branches
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 as River 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
Command structure of the Serbian Armed Forces is centered around General Staff as the highest command 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).
Army Command (Komanda Kopnene vojske) is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Army. Army Command headquarters is in Niš.
Air Force and Air Defence Command
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 in Zemun.
Training Command
The Training 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 has a wide variety of equipment, mix of older Yugoslav and Soviet products (dating back to the 1980s and even 1970s) and new equipment, either domestically-produced from Serbian defence contractors or acquired from foreign producers (main suppliers being France, China, Russia, and to a lesser extent Germany).
Inventory of Serbian Army includes: 242 tanks (30 Russian T-72 B1MS and 212 Yugoslav-made M-84), 90 self-propelled howitzers (18 domestically-produced Nora B-52 and 72 Soviet-made Gvozdika), 60 Yugoslav-made M-77 Oganj MRLs, 320 Yugoslav-made BVP M-80 infantry fighting vehicles, 37 domestically-produced Lazar armoured personnel carriers, over 100 MRAPs and other armoured vehicles (including 43 domestically-produced Miloš) as well as 18 pieces of domestically-produced PASARS-16 short-range air-defence missile system (armed with total of 50 French Mistral 3 missiles).[13][14]
Serbian Air Force and Air Defense has in operational use the following equipment: 13 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter aircraft (10 of which are modernized to SM standard and armed with R-77 missiles),[15] 13 Yugoslav-made J-22 attack aircraft, 2 Spanish C-295 transport aircraft,[16] 15 Russian Mi-35 attack helicopter (armed with Ataka missiles),[17] 13 Russian Mi-17 utility helicopters, 6 (and 9 more on order) German H145M utility helicopters, 6 Chinese CH-92 combat drones, 4 batteries of Chinese HQ-22 long-range air-defence missile system,[18] one battery (and 2 more on order) of Russian Pantsir medium-range air-defence missile system.
In last several years Serbia has embarked on ambitious programme of equipment modernisation and acquisition. Whenever possible, the Serbian Ministry of Defence favors products that are manufactured in Serbia such as: Lazar armoured personnel carriers, Miloš light armored infantry vehicles, Nora B-52 artillery systems, Lasta 95 training aircraft. Largest procurement of foreign equipment recently included: Chinese HQ-22 air-defence missile system, Airbus H145M utility helicopters, Russian Mi-35 attack helicopters as well as various missile and radar acquisitions (French Ground Master 400 and Ground Master 200 long- and medium-range radar systems, French surface-to-air Mistral for PASARS vehicles; Russian R-77 air-to-air BVR missiles for MiG-29 fighter aircraft, Ataka air-to-surface missiles for Mi-35 attack helicopters and Kornet man-portable anti-tank guided missiles).
Significant acquisitions of military equipment are also planned in the near future. Purchase of 12 new French Rafale multirole fighter aircraft was recently announced with the aim of replacing MiG-29 which will be in service until the end of the 2020s.[19]
The Serbian Armed Forces are composed entirely of professionals and volunteers following the suspension of mandatory military service in 2011.
Active personnel
There are 22,500 active members: 4,200 officers, 6,500 non-commissioned officers, 8,200 active-duty soldiers and 3,500 civilians in volunteer military service.[2] It breaks down as follows:
General Staff (including attached units: special forces brigades, Guard, Signal Brigade, Logistics, etc.): 4,300
Army Command: 13,200
Air Force and Air Defence Command: 3,000
Training Command: 2,300
Reserve force
The reserve force is composed of an active reserve and passive (i.e. war-time) reserve. The active 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. The passive reserve totals about 1,7 million citizens with past military training or experience and is activated only in the events of war.[3]
Traditions
Motto
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.
Armed Forces Day
Serbian Armed Forces Day (Dan Vojske Srbije) is marked on 23 April, the anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising. On that day in 1815, in Takovo, prominent elders met and decided to start the fight for liberation of Serbia from the Turkish authorities, which eventually led to the free and independent Serbia.
Patron Saint
The patron saint (krsna slava) of the Serbian Armed Forces is Saint 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.[20]
Marches
High-stepping in a parade in 2014
The Serbian military was the first to pioneer the high-step as a military step. It is similar to the goose 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 1975 Victory Day Parade, to assert itself as independent from Soviet influence. High-stepping is still used today by Serbian Armed Forces, and is also utilized by the militaries of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
March Music
There are several marches in use in Serbian Armed Forces. The standard one is Parade March (Paradni marš), while the Guard 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 famous March on the Drina (Marš na Drinu). Other frequently used march is Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović March (Marš vojvode Stepe Stepanovića).
Deployments
The Serbian Armed Forces actively take part in numerous multinational peacekeeping missions.[4]
.jpg)
