Serbian Army

The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operations on land. It is subordinated to the Serbian Ministry of Defense.

History

Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Principality of Serbia and after Serbia's independence it subsequently grew in size and was renamed the Royal Serbian Army. After the World War I it was incorporated into the newly established Royal Yugoslav Army which was in turn transformed into Yugoslav Ground Forces of the Yugoslav People's Army after the World War II. The Serbian Army in its current form has been active since 2006 when Serbia restored its independence.

Missions

The Serbian Army is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia from foreign hostiles; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The Army i.e. infantry battalions of its 2nd, 3rd and 4th brigades are tasked with securing the 384 kilometers long and 5 km wide Ground Safety Zone along the administrative line between Serbia and Kosovo with over 20 camps and security checkpoints.

Structure

The Serbian Army consists of six brigades, six independent battalions directly attached to the Army Command, as well as the River Flotilla, the Technical Overhauling Institute and Multinational Operations Training Centre. The four primary army brigades are composed of as many as ten battalions, including: one command battalion, one armored battalion, two mechanized battalions, two infantry battalions, one self-propelled artillery battalion, one self-propelled multiple rocket launcher artillery battalion, one air-defence battalion, one engineer battalion and one logistics battalion.

* Army Command
** 3rd Military Police Battalion (Niš)
** 5th Military Police Battalion (Belgrade)
** 246th NBC Battalion (Kruševac)
** 21st Signal Battalion (Niš)
** T–72M Tank Battalion (Niš)
** Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Niš)
* 1st Brigade
**10th Command Battalion (Novi Sad)
**11th Infantry Battalion (Pančevo)
**12th Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (Bačka Topola)
**13th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
**14th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Pančevo)
**15th Tank Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
**16th Mechanized Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
**17th Mechanized Battalion (Bačka Topola)
**18th Engineer Battalion (Novi Sad)
**19th Logistics Battalion (Novi Sad)
**111th Infantry Battalion (Loznica)
* 2nd Brigade
**20th Command Battalion (Kraljevo)
**21st Infantry Battalion ( Raška)
**22nd Infantry Battalion ( Požega)
**23rd Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (Kraljevo)
**24th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Valjevo)
**25th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Kraljevo)
**26th Tank Battalion (Kraljevo)
**27th Mechanized Battalion (Kraljevo)
**28th Mechanized Battalion (Novi Pazar)
**29th Logistics Battalion (Kraljevo)
**210th Engineer Battalion (Kraljevo)
**''211th Mountain Battalion (Priboj, in process of formation)''
* 3rd Brigade
**30th Command Battalion (Niš)
**31st Infantry Battalion (Zaječar)
**32nd Infantry Battalion (Zaječar)
**33rd Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**34th Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**35th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**36th Tank Battalion (Niš)
**37th Mechanized Battalion (Kuršumlija)
**38th Mechanized Battalion (Kuršumlija)
**39th Logistics Battalion (Niš)
**310th Engineer Battalion (Prokuplje)
* 4th Brigade
**40th Command Battalion (Vranje)
**41st Infantry Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
**42nd Infantry Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
**43rd Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion (Vranje)
**44th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Leskovac)
**45th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Vranje)
**46th Tank Battalion (Vranje)
**47th Mechanized Battalion (Vranje)
**48th Mechanized Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
**49th Logistics Battalion (Vranje)
**410th Engineer Battalion (Vranje)


* Mixed Artillery Brigade
** Command Battalion (Niš)
**1st Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**2nd Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**3rd Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**4th Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**Self-propelled Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**Mixed Missile Artillery Battalion (Niš)
**69th Logistics Battalion (Niš)
* River Flotilla
**Command Company (Novi Sad)
**1st River Detachment (Novi Sad)
**2nd River Detachment (Belgrade)
**1st Pontoon Battalion (Šabac)
**2nd Pontoon Battalion (Novi Sad)
**Logistics Company (Novi Sad)
* Multinational Operations Training Centre
* Technical Overhaul Institute "Čačak"

Equipment

The following equipment is in operational use as of 2023:

Armored vehicles

*M-84 main battle tank – 232 (including 12 M-84AS1)
* T-72B1MS main battle tank – 30
*BVP M-80 infantry fighting vehicle – 320
* Lazar armoured personnel carrier – 40 Lazar 3
*BRDM-2 armoured reconnaissance vehicle – 66 (30 BRDM-2MS; 36 BRDM-2)
* BOV KIV armoured reconnaissance vehicle – 20
*Miloš light armoured vehicle – 43
*Humvee light armoured vehicle – 104
* BOV M-86 light armoured vehicle – 51 (used by military police)

Artillery

*Nora B-52 155 mm self-propelled howitzer – 18
*2S1 Gvozdika 122 mm self-propelled howitzer – 72
*Nora M-84 152 mm howitzer – 36
*M-87 Orkan 262 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher – 4
*M-77 Oganj 128 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher – 60
* M-94 Plamen-S 128 mm self-propelled multiple rocket launcher – 18
* M74/M75 120 mm mortar

Anti-armour

* BOV Polo M-83 tank destroyer (armed with 9M14T Malyutka missile)
*9M133 Kornet anti-tank missile system
*9K111 Fagot anti-tank missile system
*9M14 Malyutka anti-tank missile system
*M80 Zolja anti-tank missile launcher
* M79 Osa anti-tank missile launcher

Air-defence

*PASARS-16 short-range surface-to-air missile system (armed with Mistral missiles) – 5 batteries
*9K35 Strela-10 short-range surface-to-air missile system – 1 battery
*9K31 Strela-1 short-range surface-to-air missile system – 9 batteries
* Bofors L/70 anti-aircraft gun – 72
*9K34 Strela-3 MANPADS
*9K32 Strela-2 MANPADS

Vessels

* ''Neštin'' class minesweeper – 4
* Type 20 ''Biscaya'' class river patrol craft – 3
* Type 22 ''441'' class landing crafts – 5
* RPČ 111 patrol vessel – 1
* River patrol boats – 4
* Tanker – 1
* Degaussing vessel – 1
* Command ship – 1
* RIB 720 rigid inflatable boat – 10

Firearms

*Zastava CZ99 pistol
* Zastava M19 assault rifle
* Zastava M21 assault rifle
*Zastava M70 assault rifle
*Zastava M84 machine gun
*Zastava M72 light machine gun
*Zastava M93 anti-material rifle
* Zastava M91 sniper rifle

Ranks

Officers

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Enlisted

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

See also

* Royal Serbian Army
* Royal Yugoslav Army
* Yugoslav Ground Forces
* Ground Forces of Serbia and Montenegro

References

External links

*

Official website of the Ministry of Defence of Serbia

{{Armies in Europe