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NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) partner Serbia has purchased Chinese CM-400AKG air-to-surface ballistic missiles for its air force, the country’s president said, days after the first images of the missile mounted on a Serbian MiG-29 fighter jet were leaked online.
President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed the purchase of the Chinese missiles in a live broadcast on Serbian state-run RTS TV on Thursday and said the country’s air force had adapted its Soviet-built MiG-29 fighter jets to carry the CM-400AKG.
Notably, Serbia is the first country in Europe to operate the Chinese missile, highlighting its growing strategic ties with China. Serbia is also trying to balance its partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its aspirations to join the European Union with its historical and political ties with Russia.
Reuters reported that EU and NATO member Croatia criticized Serbia’s purchase of missiles from China, calling it a threat to regional stability, an attempt to shift the military balance, and a sign of a growing arms race in southern Europe.
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The CM-400AKG is a missile developed by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), one of China’s major state-owned missile and defense technology manufacturers. The missile is launched from a fighter jet and has a range of up to 400 kilometers (248 mi) and can carry a 150 kg (330 lb) blast warhead or a 200 kg (440 lb) penetrator warhead.
Reuters’s reporting contributed to this article.
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