River Flotilla

River Flotilla is a tactical brigade-sized unit of the Serbian Army, intended for executing combat and non-combat activities, movements and other actions on rivers, canals and lakes, independently and in cooperation with other defence forces of the Republic of Serbia.

River Flotilla
Commander, River Flotilla, Captain (N) Darko Stričić
- 1st River Detachment
- 2nd River Detachment
- 1st Pontoneer Battalion
- 2nd Pontoneer Battalion

All the forces that carry out its tasks on the inland waterways are under the command of the River Flotilla. That enables efficient mission fulfillment, especially while assisting local population in the event of natural and technological disasters. An organization that unifies river, amphibious and pontoon units enables rapid response in rescuing people, material goods and providing assistance in the event of natural disaster and other technical and technological accidents on the inland waterways,

The River Flotilla is a brigade-size unit within the Serbian Army. It comprises the HQ, two river detachment, two pontoon battalions, HQ company and logistic company. The HQ and the majority of the River Flotilla units are located in Novi Sad, and the rest are located in Belgrade and Šabac.

Captain (N) Darko Stričić is the Commander of the River Flotilla.

Tasks of the River Flotilla

River Flotilla is tasked with:

Building and maintaining operational capabilities for accomplishing the tasks from all three SAF missions.
Training the headquarters and subordinate units for accomplishing the assigned tasks.
Control of the inland waterways and securing the maneuver for the Army units across the rivers, canals and lakes.
Search and rescue in rivers, canals and lakes.

Background of the River Flotilla

The River flotilla was reformed as brigade-sized unit on 2 October 2008, when the pontoon units entered into its composition.

The River Flotilla celebrates 19 August as its day, which is also the Day of River Units, to commemorate the day when, in 1915, on the Sava River near Belgrade Čukarica the first Serbian warship "Jadar" was launched. By entering the newly built "Jadar" into the composition of the Belgrade Shipping Command and Defence Forces, the formation of the Serbian River Flotilla officially started.

The River Flotilla members pride themselves on the event which has a special place in the history of the unit – the battle between the crew of the Royal Ship "Drava", commanded by Lieutenant Commander 1st Class Aleksandar Berić, against significantly more powerful enemy in the April War in 1941.