Serbia possesses Chinese supersonic cruise missiles

On the evening of March 12, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic acknowledged that his country possesses Chinese supersonic air-to-ground cruise missiles. Judging from photos published, the missiles are likely to be Chinese-produced CM-400AKGs mounted on Russian MiG-29s. In his speech on Serbian national television, the President only deepened the uncertainty among other states. “We have things that we don’t show. We have a significant number of them, and we will have more.” He refused to provide any more details.

The information about the new missiles was met with a response from other states in the region. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that he would warn NATO about “such weaponry, which is new in the arsenal of the Serbian army.” The Serbian side tried to calm down its neighbours. President Vucic emphasised that Belgrade has good relations with the West and “will do everything” to maintain them that way. “Everything we do is aimed at defending our country,” he added.

Serbia is a candidate for EU membership and is one of the few countries in the Western Balkans that is not a member of NATO. It has heavily invested in its defence sector. The latest known purchase was the acquisition of twelve units of French-made Rafale fighter jets, the order of which cost around €2.7 billion. Serbia also maintains close ties with Russia. While the country seems to be the biggest supporter of Russia in the region, it remains unlikely that it will try to stir up a conflict in the near future.