Serbia tested Chinese drones and Russian-made jets during a training exercise called the 2020 Cooperation.
About 150 vehicles and about 2,800 troops, including more than 40 aircraft, tanks and armoured personnel carriers, were deployed during the exercise at the Pester training ground.
In addition, the CH-92A drones that Belgrade purchased from China in July 2020 were tested in the exercise. Belgrade had purchased six CH-92A Drones from China, the first country in Europe to have thudded the Chinese-made UAV. Beijing sees Serbia as part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The training, which underlined Serbia's close military ties with Beijing and Moscow, took its place in the foreign press as a “show of military strength”.
Belgrade's defence budget for 2019-2020 has increased by 43% compared to 2018.
211216-N-QI061-1222 NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (December 16, 2021) An MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), sits on the flight line at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Dec. 16, 2021. VUP-19, the Navy’s first Triton squadron, will continue to maintain and operate the aircraft off the East Coast to further develop the concept of operations and refine tactics, techniques, and procedures. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan T. Beard/ Released)