Serbia officially signed a contract today to purchase 12 Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter jets, marking the conclusion of a two-year procurement effort for the French-made aircraft.
The deal was finalized during a meeting in Belgrade between French President Emmanuel Macron and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Also present were Éric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, and Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić.
Vučić announced that Serbia will receive nine single-seat Rafales and three two-seaters, with deliveries expected by 2029, at a cost of €2.7 billion ($2.99 billion).
“On behalf of Dassault Aviation and its partners, I would like to thank the Serbian authorities for the confidence they have placed in us by choosing the Rafale, and assure them of our total commitment to making its integration into the Serbian Armed Forces a success,” Trappier stated in a company release.
The acquisition of aircraft from a NATO nation signifies a notable shift for Serbia, moving away from its Soviet-era fighter jets, including the MiG-21 and MiG-29 platforms.
The Serbian Armed Forces currently utilize a variety of other Russian and Chinese equipment, such as the Pantsir S-1, S-125M, and FK-3 Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, as per their official website. Additionally, Serbia operates a fleet of six Chinese CH-92A tactical armed drones, which were delivered in 2020 alongside a deal for 18 missiles from Beijing.
The sale of the Rafales represents a significant victory in a fiercely competitive market for fourth-generation fighter jets. With this deal, Serbia joins the ranks of Croatia, Egypt, Greece, India, Indonesia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates as importers of the French fighter jet.
