Joint Tactical Exercise “Fire Shield 2022” Ends Successfully
Saturday, 9.4.2022 | Training
Joint Live Fire Tactical Exercise “Fire Shield 2022”, executed by over a thousand members of the Army, Air Force and Air Defence, 72nd Special Operations Brigade and 63rd Parachute Brigade, has concluded this evening with a reinforced tactical group performing a defensive operation drill.
The final part of the exercise was attended by Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović and the most responsible commanding officers of the Serbian Armed Forces.
The exercise aimed to enhance the abilities of the Serbian Armed Forces’ commands and some of the units to conduct day and night defensive operations on different types of terrain and in various weather conditions. Successfully executed, it showcased determination, skill, fire capabilities and interoperability of SAF units in response to challenges, risks and threats to the security of our country.
Upon conclusion of the exercise, Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić made an address to express satisfaction at the shown capabilities stressing that it was apparent that hardly anyone would be willing to take our enemy’s side.
- That sort of fire capability that we have demonstrated this evening is only a part, not even close to what we have in its entirety. It simply would not be easy for anyone to counter such fire capabilities – President Vučić emphasized.
- I wish to congratulate all the participants; the exercise was a success, but also a risk because of live firing coming above the heads of our soldiers. The soldiers will keep up the good work since we will be having complex firing activities tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. What is important is the fact that we could see how much has been changed, and the night conditions are the ones to make a difference between serious armed forces and those less successful – claimed Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces.
President Vučić also announced new investments in the Serbian Armed Forces.
- On Tuesday or Wednesday, we will be presenting the most powerful weapon in Serbia’s possession, something that raises our combat capabilities dramatically. We are negotiating acquisition of 12 new “Rafale” aircraft from France. I have been talking about that for almost a year. We are also having talks with another country on purchasing 12 used aircraft of this type. There is a third possibility as well, the so-called combined fighter bomber aircraft. It is about three other countries, some others are also involved, there is a lot of competition – stated President Vučić adding that he received assurances from Turkish President Erdogan that we would be in a position to purchase the unmanned aerial vehicles “Bayraktar“ without waiting our turn.
The Commander-in-Chief has estimated that the Serbian Armed Forces are taking the biggest steps forward in the entire Balkan region and concluded that the Serbian Armed Forces are many times stronger than ever, which is a deterring factor to any threat to peace and stability of the citizens of Serbia.
There were airplanes, helicopters, air defence systems, tanks, armored fighting vehicles, artillery systems and weapons showcased at Exercise „Fire Shield 2022“, and that was the first time that the public could see the „Kornet“ anti-tank missile system in operation. The combat capabilities of new domestically-produced materiel were also shown.
