The Serbian Army (Serbian Cyrillic: Копнена војска Србије, romanizedKopnena vojska Srbije, lit.'Serbian Land Army') is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Serbian Army
Копнена војска Србије
Emblem of the Serbian Army
Founded1830
(current form since 2006)
Country Serbia
TypeArmy
Size13,200 (2021 est.)[1]
Part of Serbian Armed Forces
Command HQNiš, Serbia
Motto(s)For freedom and honour of the Fatherland (Za slobodu i čast Otadžbine)
Anniversaries16 November
EngagementsSerbian Revolution
Serbian-Turkish Wars (1876–1878)
Russo-Turkish War
Serbo-Bulgarian War
Balkan Wars
World War I
Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War
Commanders
Current
commander
Lt. General
Milosav Simović
Army Sergeant MajorWarrant officer 1st class
Mladen Pupovac
Notable
commanders
Vojvoda Radomir Putnik
Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović
Vojvoda Živojin Mišić
Vojvoda Petar Bojović
Insignia
Flag

History edit

Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Principality of Serbia and after Serbia's independence it subsequently grew in size and was renamed the Royal Serbian Army. After the World War I it was incorporated into the newly established Royal Yugoslav Army which was in turn transformed into Yugoslav Ground Forces of the Yugoslav People's Army after the World War II. The Serbian Army in its current form has been active since 2006 when Serbia restored its independence.

Missions edit

The Serbian Army is responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia from foreign hostiles; participating in peacekeeping operations; and providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The Army i.e. infantry battalions of its 2nd, 3rd and 4th brigades are tasked with securing the 384 kilometers long and 5 km wide Ground Safety Zone along the administrative line between Serbia and Kosovo with over 20 camps and security checkpoints.[2]

Structure edit

The Serbian Army consists of six brigades, six independent battalions directly attached to the Army Command, as well as the River Flotilla, the Technical Overhauling Institute and Multinational Operations Training Centre.[3] The four primary army brigades are composed of as many as ten battalions, including: one command battalion, one armored battalion, two mechanized battalions, two infantry battalions, one self-propelled artillery battalion, one self-propelled multiple rocket launcher artillery battalion, one air-defence battalion, one engineer battalion and one logistics battalion.

 
Serbian Army structure
 
 
10th Comm
18th Eng
19th Log
 
11th Inf
14th A-d Art
 
12th S-p Art
17th Mech
 
111st Inf
 
13th MRL Art
15th Tank
17th Mech
 
20th Comm
23rd S-p Art
25th A-d Art
26th Tank
27th Mech
29th Log
210th Eng
 
21st Inf
 
28th Mech
 
24th S-p Art
 
22nd Inf
 
30th Comm
33rd How Art
34th MRL Art
35th A-d Art
36th Tank
39th Log
 
31st Inf
32nd Inf
 
37th Mech
38th Mech
 
310th Log
 
40th Comm
43rd How Art
45th A-d Art
46th Tank
47th Mech
49th Log
410th Eng
 
41st Inf
42nd Inf
48th Mech
 
44th MRL Art
 
Comm
1st H-C Art
2nd H-C Art
3rd Can Art
4th Can Art
S-p C&H Art
Mix Miss Art
69th Log
 
1st Pont
 
Comm
1st River
2nd River
2nd Pont
Log
 
5th MP
 
2nd River
 
3rd MP
21st Sig
T72 Tank
Arm-Rec
 
246th NBC
 
211st Mnt
  Army Command attached unit
  1st Brigade   2nd Brigade   3rd Brigade   4th Brigade
  Mixed Artillery Brigade   River Flotilla
  •   Army Command
    •   3rd Military Police Battalion (Niš)
    •   5th Military Police Battalion (Belgrade)
    •   246th NBC Battalion (Kruševac)
    •   21st Signal Battalion (Niš)
    • T–72M Tank Battalion (Niš)
    • Armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Niš)
  •   1st Brigade
    • 10th Command Battalion (Novi Sad)
    • 11th Infantry Battalion (Pančevo)
    • 12th Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (Bačka Topola)
    • 13th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
    • 14th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Pančevo)
    • 15th Tank Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
    • 16th Mechanized Battalion (Sremska Mitrovica)
    • 17th Mechanized Battalion (Bačka Topola)
    • 18th Engineer Battalion (Novi Sad)
    • 19th Logistics Battalion (Novi Sad)
    • 111th Infantry Battalion (Loznica)
  •   2nd Brigade
    • 20th Command Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 21st Infantry Battalion (Raška)
    • 22nd Infantry Battalion (Požega)
    • 23rd Self-propelled Artillery Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 24th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Valjevo)
    • 25th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 26th Tank Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 27th Mechanized Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 28th Mechanized Battalion (Novi Pazar)
    • 29th Logistics Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 210th Engineer Battalion (Kraljevo)
    • 211th Mountain Battalion (Priboj, in process of formation)[4]
  •   3rd Brigade
    • 30th Command Battalion (Niš)
    • 31st Infantry Battalion (Zaječar)
    • 32nd Infantry Battalion (Zaječar)
    • 33rd Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 34th Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 35th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 36th Tank Battalion (Niš)
    • 37th Mechanized Battalion (Kuršumlija)
    • 38th Mechanized Battalion (Kuršumlija)
    • 39th Logistics Battalion (Niš)
    • 310th Engineer Battalion (Prokuplje)
  •   4th Brigade
    • 40th Command Battalion (Vranje)
    • 41st Infantry Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
    • 42nd Infantry Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
    • 43rd Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion (Vranje)
    • 44th Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher Artillery Battalion (Leskovac)
    • 45th Air-defence Artillery Battalion (Vranje)
    • 46th Tank Battalion (Vranje)
    • 47th Mechanized Battalion (Vranje)
    • 48th Mechanized Battalion (Bujanovac, Army Base "Jug")
    • 49th Logistics Battalion (Vranje)
    • 410th Engineer Battalion (Vranje)
 
Serbian Army soldiers during 2015 Combined Resolve IV exercise at the US Army Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Germany
 
Serbian Army soldiers during 2018 Slavic Brotherhood exercise at the Russian Army Rayevsky Training Center in Russia
  •   Mixed Artillery Brigade
    • Command Battalion (Niš)
    • 1st Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 2nd Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 3rd Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 4th Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • Self-propelled Howitzer-Cannon Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • Mixed Missile Artillery Battalion (Niš)
    • 69th Logistics Battalion (Niš)
  •   River Flotilla
    • Command Company (Novi Sad)
    • 1st River Detachment (Novi Sad)
    • 2nd River Detachment (Belgrade)
    • 1st Pontoon Battalion (Šabac)
    • 2nd Pontoon Battalion (Novi Sad)
    • Logistics Company (Novi Sad)
  •   Multinational Operations Training Centre
  •   Technical Overhaul Institute "Čačak"

Equipment edit

 
M-84 main battle tank
 
Lazar armoured personnel carrier
 
Nora B52 self-propelled howitzer
 
PASARS-16 short-range surface-to-air missile system
 
Vessels of the River Flotilla
 
Zastava M21 assault rifle

The following equipment is in operational use as of 2023:

Armored vehicles edit

Artillery edit

Anti-armour edit

Air-defence edit

Vessels edit

  • Neštin class minesweeper - 4
  • Type 20 Biscaya class river patrol craft - 3
  • Type 22 441 class landing crafts - 5
  • RPČ 111 patrol vessel - 1
  • River patrol boats - 4
  • Tanker - 1
  • Degaussing vessel - 1
  • Command ship - 1
  • RIB 720 rigid inflatable boat - 10

Firearms edit

Ranks edit

Officers edit

The rank insignia of commissioned officers.

Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
  Serbian Army[15]
                     
Генерал
General
Генерал-потпуковник
General-potpukovnik
Генерал-мајор
General-major
Бригадни генерал
Brigadni general
Пуковник
Pukovnik
Потпуковник
Potpukovnik
Мајор
Major
Капетан прве класе
Kapetan prve klase
Капетан
Kapetan
Поручник
Poručnik
Потпоручник
Potporučnik


Rank group General / flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet

Enlisted edit

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
  Serbian Army[15]
                No insignia
Заставник I класе
Zastavnik I klase
Заставник
Zastavnik
Старији Водник I класе
Stariji Vodnik I klase
Старији Водник
Stariji Vodnik
Водник
Vodnik
Млађи водник
Mlađi vodnik
Десетар
Desetar
Разводник
Razvodnik
Војник
Vojnik


Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Brojnost vojski Srbije, Hrvatske, BiH, Crne Gore i Severne Makedonije u 2021". December 28, 2021.
  2. ^ "NATO for suspension of security zone in Kosovo". Blic Online. January 20, 2009. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009.
  3. ^ "The Army | Serbian Armed Forces". www.vs.rs. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "Formira se brdsko-planinski bataljon u Priboju: Posao za nekoliko stotina mladih vojnika". B92.net (in Serbian). March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  5. ^ "Oklopne jedinice Vojske Srbije".
  6. ^ Srna (December 2, 2017). "Srbija od Rusije dobija 30 tenkova". Nezavisne novine (in Serbian). Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "Vojske Balkana imaju 9 vrsta oklopnih osmotočkaša". January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "Vojsci Srbije isporučeno 30 tenkova i oklopnih automobila iz ruske donacije". Radio Slobodna Evropa. May 23, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Armaments – armaments names in this reference are links with detailed explanation read them to clarify technical and other details". Serbian Armed Forces. Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  10. ^ "Стефановић о набавци "корнета": Србија сада има убојито оружје".
  11. ^ "Vojsci Srbije isporučeno 66 Hamvija". July 23, 2023.
  12. ^ "Stefanović o nabavci "korneta": Srbija sada ima ubojito oružje".
  13. ^ "Војска Србије – Наоружање Копнене војске – Противоклопна средства – Противоклопна вођена ракета МАЉУТКА". Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  14. ^ "[PARTNER 2021] Novi i unapređeni PVO sistemi". October 28, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "ЧИНОВИ У ВОЈСЦИ СРБИЈЕ". vs.rs (in Serbian). Serbian Armed Forces. Retrieved June 7, 2021.

External links edit