Six Rafale jets that Serbian neighbour Croatia took official ownership of from France on 23 February 2024. (Croatian MoD)
Serbian Air Force and Air Defence (Ratno Vazduhoplovstvo i Protivvazduhoplovna Odbrana: RV i PVO) is set to significantly modernise its jet fighter component before the turn of the decade with a deal for 12 newly produced Dassault Aviation Rafale twin-engined multirole jet fighters.
Serbian Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić signed the agreement with Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, Éric Trappier, in Belgrade on 29 August, in the presence of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who was on his first visit to Serbia.
Vučić told reporters that for the first time in its history, Serbia would have Western-made jet fighters. “The contract was signed with a complete logistics package, from spare parts and spare engines to everything else. The total value of the contract is EUR2.7 billion (USD2.9 billion). Twelve brand new planes will be owned by Serbia,” he said, adding that the first two instalments, each worth EUR421 million, will be paid this year and next.
Trappier said the first of the nine single-seat and three twin-seat jets is scheduled for delivery in 2028, followed by the remaining aircraft, “less than two years after that”.
It has not been confirmed whether Serbia's 12 Rafales will all be the F3-R standard, the same as the 12 fielded by neighbouring Croatia. This standard can carry the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), but Vučić said Serbia's Rafales would be delivered with MBDA's MICA air-to-air medium-range missiles, with shorter range than the Meteor.
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