EELightening

…Actually I think I’d feel a bit upset if I sold them these lovely little aircraft, just sell them a bunch of second hand F-16 Bangers, something easy to shoot down. Kidding(ish)

Thank you for your constructive comments. I’m sure your knowledge of the political and security environment of the region is unparalleled and would like to thank you for your insightful contribution to this thread.

ananda,

but politically what’s is the chance Serbia get those 4th gen Western stuff ?

Political barriers to the purchase of western equipment are not insurmountable. Indeed, it would be difficult to measure them but my impression is that they are no more robust than political barriers to the purchase of Russian or Chinese kit.

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Anyway, this story has now been killed pretty conclusively:

http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Drustvo/Miletic-Rusi-nisu-nudili-kredit-za-kupovinu-vojne-opreme.sr.html

(the article is in Serbian, again, but google translate is your friend)

PS speaking of friends, Rii, let me take this opportunity to introduce you to wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mig-29#Variants

The best option would be to spend as little money buying as simple a solution as possible and integrating as much local technology as possible. Technology transfer should also be an important factor. As much of the production as possible (including of sub-components etc.) should be carried out in Serbia.

Basically its a balancing act between these two opposing forces:

1. The need to maintain air-space security over the whole territory of the country and possibly over the territories of Montenegro and Macedonia (should that possibility ever become anything remotely resembling a reality) to a level that guarantees local and regional security needs.

2. The (rather desperate) need to prevent money flowing out of the country in large quantities for no returns.

The ideal solution, were it ever to be politically expedient (which it will never be), is some sort of FC-1 version, optimised for all-weather intercept and with secondary recon and ground attack roles re-designed from the inside with the cooperation of local technicians and with as much possible local technology as it is possible to include on an airframe… Not to mention made as compatible with NATO communications standards.

I know, I’m a dreamer.

Unfortunately, what is likely to happen is that some foreign power or other will pressure the government to take a loan for a squadron or two of expensive, flashy, multi-role aircraft which will then suck the military budget dry on maintenance and mid-life upgrades.