Serbia and France have reached agreement on Belgrade buying 12 French-made Rafale fighter jets, President Aleksandar Vucic said, a move that will lead to a substantial modernization of the Western Balkan state's air force.
Vucic, on the second and final day of a visit to France on April 9, made the announcement in Paris after talks with President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials, including representatives of Dassault Aviation, the company that manufactures the Rafale.
France has yet to confirm the deal that would beef up Serbia's air force, currently a collection of old Soviet-made MiG 29s and Yugoslav-manufactured aircraft.
It would also mark a departure from its traditional arms supplier, Russia, with which Belgrade has maintained warm relations while refusing to join international sanctions following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, despite being a candidate to European Union membership.
"The signing of the contract can be expected in approximately two months, in the presence of the president of France," Vucic told Serbian media, adding that Macron would visit Serbia "in the next several months."
Vucic said the deal was "is incredibly significant" for Serbia, adding that it would also open up "some other chapters, some other opportunities for Serbia."
Vucic did not say how much Belgrade would pay for the aircraft. But in February 2023, Vucic said that the purchase of the Rafales would represent Serbia's largest military purchase, "amounting to 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion)."
Serbia has stepped up defense cooperation with France in recent years.
Serbia bought military helicopters from French company Airbus worth 105 million euros ($108 million), two C-295 transport planes valued at 66 million euros ($71.5 million), and spent another 15 million euros for equipment and retraining of pilots
Belgrade has also acquired 18 French antiaircraft Mistral systems with 50 missiles for a price yet unknown.
According to data from the Stockholm International Research Institute, Serbia leads the Western Balkans in military spending. From 2018 to 2022, it spent more than $1.4 billion.
Vucic has announced on several occasions that the military spending will continue, for which close to 740 million euros will be allocated this year.
Critics have warned the West against arming Serbia, which has increasingly tense relations with its former province of Kosovo, whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade has refused to recognize.
Vucic has recently made veiled threats of a possible military intervention in Kosovo, which has a sizeable ethnic Serb minority in the north.
On April 8, Vucic met with representatives of the French energy company Electricite de France (EDF). The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding that establishes a framework for potential cooperation in the fields of energy transition and low-carbon technology.
Vucic said the development of hydro and nuclear power in Serbia would enhance its energy security while also helping it meet carbon emission targets. He said nuclear energy would help meet a rising demand for electricity driven by the electrification of transport and artificial intelligence.
He said he hoped Serbia would have nuclear power by 2035, noting it takes a few years to carry out a feasibility study and about seven years to build a plant.
Following the 1986 catastrophe in Chernobyl, Serbia banned the development of nuclear power. Vucic said last month at a conference in Brussels that he would seek to change the legislation.
France is one of the world leaders in civilian nuclear development. Nuclear plants account for more than 60 percent of its electricity generation.