The Serbian Armed Forces ( sr, Војска Србије, Vojska Srbije) is the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...

. The

President of Serbia The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The cu ...

acts as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, while administration and defence policy is carried out by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

through the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

. The highest operational authority, in-charge of the deployment and preparation of the armed forces in peace and war, is the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

Military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

is voluntary, though

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...

may occur in wartime. As of 2022,

is ranked 61 of 140 out of the countries considered for the annual GFP review. The Serbian Armed Forces consists of two branches:

Serbian Army The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. History Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...

and

Serbian Air Force and Air Defence The Serbian Air Force and Air Defence ( sr-Cyrl, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздухопловна одбрана Војске Србије, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazduhoplovna odbrana Vojske Srbije, Wa ...

History

Serbia has a long military tradition dating to early medieval period. The modern Serbian military dates back to the

Serbian Revolution The Serbian Revolution ( sr, Српска револуција / ''Srpska revolucija'') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman prov ...

which started in 1804 with the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...

against the Ottoman occupation of Serbia. The victories in the battles of Ivankovac (1805), Mišar (August 1806), Deligrad (December 1806) and

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

(November–December 1806), led to the establishment of the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

in 1817. The subsequent Second Serbian Uprising of 1815–1817 led to full independence and recognition of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Prin ...

and weakened the Ottoman dominance in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. In November 1885 the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Ser ...

occurred following

Bulgarian unification The Unification of Bulgaria ( bg, Съединение на България, ''Saedinenie na Balgariya'') was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated ...

and resulted in a Bulgarian victory. In 1912 the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

(1912–1913) erupted between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

and the

Balkan League The League of the Balkans was a quadruple alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Eastern Orthodox kingdoms of Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which a ...

(Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria). Balkan League victories in the

Battle of Kumanovo The Battle of Kumanovo ( sr, / , tr, Kumanova Muharebesi), on 23–24 October 1912, was a major battle of the First Balkan War. It was an important Serbian victory over the Ottoman army in the Kosovo Vilayet, shortly after the outbreak of ...

(October 1912), the

Battle of Prilep The Battle of Prilep in the First Balkan War took place on 3-5 November 1912 when the Serbian army encountered Ottoman troops near the town of Prilep, in today's North Macedonia. The clash lasted for three days. Eventually the Ottoman army w ...

(November 1912), the

Battle of Monastir The Battle of Monastir took place near the town of Bitola, Macedonia (then known as Monastir) during the First Balkan War, between Serbian and Ottoman forces from 16 to 19 November 1912. It resulted in a Serbian victory after heavy fighting ...

(November 1912), the

Battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic A ...

(November 1912 to March 1913), and the Siege of Scutari (October 1912 to April 1913) resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which lost most of its remaining Balkan territories per the Treaty of London (May 1913). Shortly after, the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies ...

(June to August, 1913) broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with the division of territory, declared war against its former allies, Serbia and Greece. Following a string of defeats, Bulgaria requested an

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

and signed the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest, formally ending the war. Serbia's independence and growing influence threatened neighboring

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

which led to the Bosnian crisis of 1908–09. Consequently, from 1901, all Serbian males between the ages of 21 to 46 became liable for general mobilization. Following the

assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated on 28 June 1914 by Bosnian Serb student Gavrilo Princip. They were shot at close range wh ...

in June 1914, Austria-Hungary implicated Serbians and

declared war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, ...

on Serbia (July 1914), which marked the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

of 1914–1918. Serbian forces repelled three consecutive invasions by Austria in 1914, securing the first major victories of the war for the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, but were eventually overwhelmed by the combined forces of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...

(October–November 1915) and forced to retreat through

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

(1915–1916) to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

island of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

(1915–1916). Serbian military activity after World War I took place in the context of various Yugoslav armies until the break-up of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

in the 1990s and the restoration of Serbia as an independent state in 2006.

Organisation

The Serbian Armed Forces are commanded by the

corp of senior

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fr ...

. The general staff is led by the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

. The chief of the general staff is appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

who is the Commander-in-Chief. The current Chief of the General Staff is

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Milan Mojsilović. VSOrganziation

Service branches

The armed forces consist of the following service branches: * Kov vs

Serbian Army

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.

Serbian Air Force and Air Defence

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).

General Staff

The Serbian General Staff (''Generalštab Vojske Srbije'') makes strategic and tactical preparations and procedures for use during peacetime and war. Special forces (

63rd Parachute Brigade The 63rd Parachute Brigade ( sr, 63. падобранска бригада, 63. padobranska brigada) is an airborne and special reconnaissance unit, one of two special forces brigades (other being 72nd Brigade for Special Operations) of the Ser ...

and

72nd Brigade for Special Operations 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

) are under direct command of the Chief of the General Staff. Organizational units of the Armed Forces subordinated to the General Staff are:

Guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

, Signal Brigade,

Central Logistics Base The Central Logistics Base ( sr, Централна логистичка база, Centralna logistička baza) is the main central logistics unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. It is under the direct command of the General Staff. History The 608th ...

, 224th Center for Electronic Action,

Technical Testing Center Technical Testing Center ( sr, Технички опитни центар, Tehnički opitni centar) is acceptance testing facility that provides testing of new and existing military aircraft, military vehicles, military equipment, battle systems, ...

Peacekeeping Operations Center Peacekeeping Operations Center ( sr, Центар за мировне операције, Centar za mirovne operacije) is a unit of the Joint Operations Command within the Serbian General Staff. It is the major authority for training, selectio ...

, as well as the Directorate of Military Police (which includes Criminal Investigative Group and Detachment of the Military Police for Special Operations "Cobras").

Army Command

Army Command (''Komanda Kopnene vojske'') is responsible for unitary, administrative and operational control of the Army. Army Command headquarters is in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, whi ...

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 Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

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.

Equipment

The Serbian Armed Forces has a wide variety of equipment, mix of older Yugoslav and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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 Russia, France, China, and to a lesser extent Germany). Inventory of Serbian Army includes: 232 tanks (30 Russian T-72 B1MS and 212 Yugoslav-made

M-84 The M-84 is a Yugoslav main battle tank, a variant of the Soviet T-72. The M-84 is still in service in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kuwait. Development and production Development The M-84 is based on the Soviet T-72M (expo ...

), 90 self-propelled howitzers (18 domestically-produced

Nora B-52 The Nora B-52 is a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer developed by Military Technical Institute and manufactured by Yugoimport SDPR in Velika Plana, Serbia. History The first self-propelled Nora B (developed on the basis of Nora C) was designed ...

and 72 Soviet-made Gvozdika), 60 Yugoslav-made

M-77 Oganj The M-77 Oganj is a 128mm Self-propelled artillery, self-propelled multiple rocket launcher developed in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. NATO designation is the YMRL-32. Development Development started in 1968. Pro ...

MRLs, 320 Yugoslav-made

BVP M-80 The BVP M-80, is a tracked Yugoslavian-made infantry fighting vehicle, produced from the 1980s until the country's collapse in the 1990s. Development Early research and development of the M-80 began in 1969, with testing of the first completed pr ...

infantry fighting vehicles, 36 domestically-produced Lazar armoured personnel carriers, over 100 MRAPs and other armoured vehicles (including 30 domestically-produced Miloš) as well as 18 pieces of domestically-produced

PASARS-16 PASARS-16 (Serbian: ПАСАРС-16) is a Serbian mobile hybrid short range air defence system intended for the protection of infantry, armoured mechanized and artillery-missile units from low flying aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial veh ...

short-range air-defence missile system (armed with total of 50 French Mistral 3 missiles). Serbian Air Force and Air Defense has in operational use the following equipment: 14 Soviet-made

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (russian: Микоян МиГ-29; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the Mi ...

fighter aircraft (11 of which are modernized to SM standard and armed with

R-77 The Vympel NPO R-77 missile (NATO reporting name: AA-12 Adder) is a Russian active radar homing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. It is also known by its export designation RVV-AE. It is the Russian counterpart to the American AIM-120 AMRA ...

missiles), 12 Yugoslav-made J-22 attack aircraft, 1 Soviet-made

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...

transport aircraft, 4 (and 4 more on order) Russian

Mi-35 The Soviet and later Russian Mil Mi-24 helicopter has been produced in many variants, as described below. History In 1966, Soviet aircraft designer Mikhail Mil created a mock-up design of a new helicopter (derived from the Mil Mi-8) which was ...

attack helicopter (armed with Ataka missiles), 13 Russian

Mi-17 The Mil Mi-17 (NATO reporting name: Hip) is a Soviet-designed Russian military helicopter family introduced in 1975 (Mi-8M), continuing in production at two factories, in Kazan and Ulan-Ude. It is known as the Mi-8M series in Russian service. ...

utility helicopters, 5 (and 10 more on order) German H145M utility helicopters, 6 Chinese CH-92 combat drones, 4 batteries of Chinese

HQ-22 The HQ-22 () is a medium- to long-range semi-active radar homing/ radio-command guidance air defence system developed and manufactured in China. Development The HQ-22 air defence system was developed as the second generation of the HQ-12 missi ...

long-range air-defence missile system, 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,

artillery systems,

Lasta 95 The Utva Lasta 95 is a light military trainer aircraft produced by Utva Aviation Industry, subsidiary of Yugoimport SDPR. It is a tandem two-seater low-wing trainer with a metal airframe. The aircraft is capable of basic training functions includin ...

training aircraft. Largest procurement of foreign equipment recently included: Chinese

air-defence missile system, Airbus H145M utility helicopters, Russian

attack helicopters as well as various missile acquisitions (French surface-to-air Mistral for PASARS vehicles; Russian

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 An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder- ...

). Significant acquisitions of military equipment are also planned in the near future: 2 Airbus

C-295 The CASA C-295 (now Airbus C295) is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA. Work on what would become the C-295 was started during the 1990s as a derivative of ...

transport aircraft (due to be delivered by the end of 2023), French

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...

long-range

Ground Master 400 The Ground Master 400 is a mobile radar system manufactured by Thales-Raytheon Systems, then Thales Group. GM400 is a fully digital active electronically scanned array long-range air defense 3D radar, offering detection from very high to very lo ...

and short-range

Ground Master 200 The Ground Master 200 (GM200) is a medium range radar manufactured by Thales Group. This radar is part of the Ground Master family (like GM400α, GM60, GM200 MM/A & MM/C). The GM200 operates as an air surveillance gap filler or a sensor for a ...

air defence mobile radar systems (to be delivered in 2022 and 2023) and Russian long-range Krasukha and short-range Repellent Patrol mobile electronic warfare systems. Recently it was also announced the intention of purchase of 12 new French

Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide rang ...

multirole fighter aircraft with the aim of replacing

which will be in service until the end of the 2020s. File:M-84_VS.jpg,

tank File:NORA-B52_M15.jpg,

self-propelled howitzer File:Modernizovani_Ognjevi_-_Odbrana_slobode_2019_Niš_2.jpg,

multiple rocket launcher File:Корнет_-_Контрольная_проверка_курсантов_Учебного_центра_боевого_применения_ракетных_войск_и_артиллерии_07.jpg, Kornet anti-tank guided missile system File:Sloboda_2019_-_defile_06_-_Lazar_3_02.jpg, Lazar armored personnel carrier File:Sloboda_2019_-_defile_08_-_BOV_M16_Miloš_04.jpg, Miloš armored vehicle File:Sloboda_2019_-_defile_14_-_PASARS-16_02.jpg,

anti-aircraft artillery system File:RRF_336_Djerdap.jpg, ''Neštin''-class river minesweeper File:Serbian_mig-29_missiles.jpg,

fighter aircraft File:Antonov_An-26_of_SAF.JPG,

transport aircraft File:Sadejstvo_2020_-_Mi-35M_35104_VS_04.jpg,

attack helicopter File:Serbian_H145_centered.jpg, H145M utility helicopter File:CH-92A_Serbia.jpg, CH-92 combat drone File:08_image_2022_04_30_14_00_00_486_1651320220.jpg,

long-range air-defence missile system File:Streitkräfte-Serbiens_Pantsir-S1.jpg, Pantsir medium-range air-defence missile system File:2P25 VS 2.jpg,

2K12 Kub The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (russian: 2К12 "Куб"; en, cube) (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. "2К12" is ...

medium-range air-defence missile system

Personnel

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 Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

soldiers and 3,500 civilians in volunteer military service. 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 A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

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. 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 600,000 citizens of age 18–49 with past military training or experience and is activated only in the events of war.

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 Takovo ( sr-cyr, Таково) is a village in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac, Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 458 people.Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etni� ...

, 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.

Marches

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 North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

March Music

There are several

marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

in use in Serbian Armed Forces. The standard one is Parade March (''Paradni marš''), while the

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 Drina March ('' 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 Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...