"Lightning Strike 2021" Exercise Showed the Power of the Serbian Armed Forces
Sunday, 27.6.2021 | Training
Final segment of the combined tactical exercise with live fire, "Lightning strike 2021" was conducted today, at the temporary range "Pešter", in the presence of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, PhD Nebojša Stefanović and Chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović.
More than 2,300 members of the Army and the Air Force and Air Defense units, the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, and the 63rd Parachute Brigade showed the determination and firepower of the Serbian Armed Forces to respond to security challenges, risks and threats for the security of the country, interaction of joint forces in the execution of complex fire tasks and crisis response, as well as combat capabilities of the equipment from the development program of the Ministry of Defence.
At the end of the exercise, the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and the President of the Republic expressed satisfaction with the successfully conducted joint tactical exercise on the temporary range "Pešter", the largest in the last few decades.
— I am very proud of the Serbian Armed Forces. I want to congratulate all members of the Armed Forces, the Chief of the General Staff, Mr. Mojsilović, Minister of Defence, Mr. Stefanović, Simović, Žarković, but also all those wonderful, young people who fantastically conducted the exercise — President Vučić pointed out after the exercise.
President of the Republic emphasized that today, for the first time, 11 "Mig 29" aircraft could be seen in our sky, eight of which engaged air-to-ground missiles, while the other three aircraft were completely modernized, with radars with a range of up to 110 kilometers.
— Thus, the fighter aviation of the Republic of Serbia gained special strength, tremendous strength. We have never been even close to this force. You saw nine "Eagles", who all fired guided and unguided missiles for the first time, that is, the "Maverick" missile, after a long time — President Vučić pointed out.
As the president pointed out, four G-4 aircraft could be seen at the exercise, that is, a total of 25 fighters and bombers in the air.
— Until a few years ago, we had four or five, and of much smaller and poorer quality, so that too speaks of increased strength. You saw the latest T-72 tanks, modernized and equipped, and M-84 tanks covered with thermal screens — our tanks — President Vučić emphasized, adding that 11 "Pasars" engaging with 40 mm guns could be seen at the exercise, as well as a battery of "Pancirs" with four pieces of artillery, which with 30-millimeter guns can fire 1,500 bullets per minute.
The President of the Republic pointed out that what must be worked on and enhanced were unmanned aerial vehicles, which had already been procured, adding that new ones will be ordered as well.
— The strength of our military will be drastically changed and greatly increased in the coming nine months and I think this shows the strength of the state. That would not be possible if it weren’t for a greater financial strength of our country — assessed President Vučić.
He expressed special satisfaction that KFOR commander attended today's exercise and thanked him for that, adding that we had to cooperate with KFOR units.
The President paid special thanks to the fighters and heroes from Košare, since almost 240 fighters attended the exercise today, out of which seven came from Montenegro.
— Thank you very much, dear fighters, for your huge heart and thank you for being here with us today. I saw the passion with which they observed what could be seen today. I saw in them both happiness and satisfaction that their military today is much stronger and that they, with their wounds and their dedication, as well as the dedication and the lives of their colleagues, contributed to the fact that today they we have an incomparably stronger military — said President Vučić.
President Vučić pointed out that we would continue investing in our military.
— We are not interested in threatening anyone. We are not interested in conflicts or wars, but we are interested in being able to always defend our country and our people. Nothing is more beautiful than that, nothing is more honorable than that — pointed out President Vučić.
The President paid special attention to modern and extremely well-armed helicopters, and especially to the action of Mi-35 helicopters’ "Ataka" missiles.
— Congratulations to all participants and all members of the Armed Forces, congratulations to General Mojsilović and Minister Stefanović. Thank you, President Dodik, for being with us — said President Vučić, expressing gratitude to the inhabitants of the Pešter plateau for their understanding.
At the end of his address, the Supreme Commander called on the citizens to visit a display of weapons and military equipment of the Serbian Armed Forces tomorrow, 28 June in Kragujevac.
The Serbian Armed Forces conducted an offensive operation on Pešter with the task: destroy the enemy in the direction of the attack, inflict as much possible losses on them, force them to withdraw and take control of the enemy defence area, and in next task, introduce fresh power from the reserve and start chasing the enemy to complete destruction.
The majority of the forces were the Second Army Brigade, reinforced by the BRDM-2M battalion, T-72M Tank Battalion, 155 mm "Nora" B-52 Self-Propelled Howitzer Squadron, infantry company on "Lazar 3" armored vehicles and Special Forces, with the support of fighter and fighter-bomber aviation, helicopters, air defence systems and remotely piloted aircraft.
The President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Ivica Dačić, also attended the exercise, as well as the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, Ministers in the Government of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of the diplomatic and military-diplomatic corps, religious communities, local self-government, and veterans of the Battle of Košare.
