Serbia secures Rafale jets: Strategic shift away from Russia

After many months of negotiations, Serbia and France have agreed to purchase Rafale fighter jets. Acquiring these aircraft, whose capabilities we recall, will be another critical step for Serbia in distancing itself from Russia, with which it had been militarily associated for years.

According to "La Tribune," the French authorities and Dassault Aviation (the manufacturer of Rafale fighters) have concluded negotiations with Serbia that lasted about two years. They concerned the sale of 12 Rafale fighters. The French media expect an official announcement of the agreement during Emmanuel Macron's visit to Belgrade (29-30 August).

Rafale is the most advanced aircraft of the French Air Force. This twin-engine, multi-role fighter features a design based on a delta wing with canard foreplanes. It has excellent manoeuvrability at both low and high speeds. Rafale's maximum speed is 1.8 Mach, or about 2,130 km/h. The maximum altitude at which it can operate is up to 16,800 metres.

The standard equipment of this fighter includes a 30 mm onboard cannon with a firing rate of up to 2,500 rounds per minute and 14 pylons for carrying additional weapons. It is designed to be compatible with various missiles and bombs. Rafale can carry long-range air-to-air missiles such as the Meteor, short/medium-range air-to-air missiles like MICA, anti-ship missiles AM 39 Exocet, as well as Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG cruise missiles and ASMP-A guided bombs with a thermonuclear warhead.

The long-lasting negotiations were partly driven by the authorities' position in Paris, demanding Belgrade to normalise relations with Kosovo. At the same time, the contract is seen as very convenient for Dassault Aviation. The company was looking for a minor contract (12-18 fighters) to fill its production schedule (it is already fulfilling orders for the United Arab Emirates, France, and Indonesia).

"All lights are green for the Rafale from Dassault Aviation to land in Serbia. Technically speaking, according to our sources, the negotiations were concluded at the beginning of the summer, but this contract also has a very geopolitical dimension (regular tensions between Serbia and Kosovo)," reports "La Tribune."

Serbia boasts one of the largest armies in the Balkans, but in terms of aviation, it still relies on Soviet-era aircraft delivered by Russia. It has at its disposal MiG-29 fighters and Mi-35 helicopters. However, signs of looking towards the West appeared as early as September 2023. Serbia then received its first C-295 military transport aircraft from Airbus. These types of machines began to replace the Soviet-era An-26.