Belgrade says it is profiting from the arms and ammunition race, but is worried about NATO encirclement
Serbia’s military industry has ramped up production of weapons and ammunition to keep up with skyrocketing demand driven by the conflict in Ukraine, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday. Visiting the IDEX weapons fair in UAE, Vucic said the world is preparing for war.
“Everyone needs ammunition. Everyone is buying everything, anything we can make gets sold,” Vucic said. “I don’t know how some of this stuff hasn’t ended up on the battlefields of Ukraine yet.”
Demand for things like rockets for ‘Grad’ multiple launcher systems has gone up by 70%, the Serbian president added, noting that Belgrade is looking to expand some of its ammunition production, since it’s all spoken for.
“Ammunition is selling like hotcakes,” Vucic said.
He claimed Russia uses up 35,000 rounds per day, and Ukraine about 16,000, which adds up over the course of a year. Serbia is trying to hold back at least some of the hardware for its own needs, Vucic said.
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“Our army and our country must come first. At least 30% of everything made in Serbia must stay in Serbia,” he told reporters. “We can only sell what we can spare. Everyone wants to fight, everyone is getting ready for war.”
Worried about its own neighborhood, Belgrade is also importing whatever it can, including a bid for Rafale fighter jets from France. According to Vucic, a contract with the Emirates for kamikaze drones should be signed later this week.
“We are surrounded by NATO countries. Bosnia-Herzegovina is not [a member], but NATO troops are there too, as well as in part of our own territory, in Kosovo,” the Serbian president said.
Asked for comment about the situation in Ukraine, Vucic said he was expecting “great changes on the battlefield” in the next two to three days, which may lead to further Western pressure on Serbia. Vucic has so far resisted US and EU demands to sanction Russia, insisting on Belgrade’s military neutrality in the ongoing conflict.
The IDEX 2023 global defense exhibition, held in Abu Dhabi, is one of the largest arms fairs in the world. This week’s event is attended by 1,350 vendors from 65 countries. In addition to ammunition, Serbia is advertising its ‘Nora’ self-propelled howitzer and armored vehicles ‘Lazar’ and ‘Milos.’
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
