Serbia to buy 12 Rafale fighter jets in nod to European industry

PARIS — Serbia agreed to buy 12 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation to replace its MiG-29 fleet, in a deal which French President Emmanuel Macron called a strategic change for the Balkan country that maintains ties with Russia and China.

The contract for nine single-seater Rafales and three two-seaters is worth €2.7 billion (US$3 billion), according to French media, citing Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. The purchase price includes an auxiliary logistics package, spare engines and parts, Vucic said at a press conference, Reuters reported.

Macron hailed Serbia’s choice of Rafale as positive for Europe, seeking to stave off criticism over France selling a highly capable fighter to a non-NATO member and Russia ally that doesn’t recognize the independence of neighboring Kosovo. The country has typically relied on Russia and more recently China for much of its military equipment.

“It’s great news because it’s a change, and in so doing, it contributes to peace in Europe,” Macron said. “Serbia has other partners, a history of these partnerships, but it’s an opening, a strategic change, despite a lot of pressure. It’s real strategic courage and an opportunity for Europe.”

Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier and Serbian Minister of Defence Bratislav Gasic signed the contract for the Rafale sale in Belgrade in the presence of Macron and Vucic, the company said in an emailed statement Thursday night. The contract “testifies to the determination of both presidents to make this partnership a success,” the company said.

Serbia has been looking at Europe-based suppliers to replace some of its ageing flying equipment, taking delivery of two Airbus C295 transport aircraft in September last year.

Croatia and Greece operate the Rafale, and Macron said Serbia joining the club is “a tremendous opportunity” for regional integration.

Macron said Dassault Aviation typically takes all precautions to protect French intellectual property and know-how, calling for confidence in the firm and the French defense ministry to “have done everything to the highest standards, just as we have done in all the countries where similar contracts have been signed.”

Serbia is buying the planes in the F3 configuration with delivery by 2029, and the purchase price doesn’t include armaments such as missiles and bombs, French newspaper La Tribune reported, without saying where it got the information. Vucic said the jets will be delivered with MBDA’s Mica medium-range, air-to-air missile rather than the more sophisticated long-range Meteor, according to Reuters.

France in December ordered an additional 42 Rafale jets in a deal worth more than €5 billion, while Indonesia in January placed an order for 18 of the aircraft as the final tranche of a 2022 deal.

Dassault Aviation’s flurry of Rafale orders could challenge the company’s target to start deliveries three years from contract signature, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in January . The company said in July the production ramp-up of the Rafale continues to be impacted by supply-chain disruptions in the aerospace industry.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——塞尔维亚同意从法国达索航空公司购买 12 架阵风战斗机，以取代其米格-29 机队。法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙称这笔交易对这个与俄罗斯和中国保持联系的巴尔干国家来说是一项战略转变。

据法国媒体援引塞尔维亚总统亚历山大·武契奇的话报道，塞尔维亚与法国签订了一份价值27亿欧元（约合30亿美元）的合同，采购9架单座“阵风”战斗机和3架双座“阵风”战斗机。路透社援引武契奇在新闻发布会上的话称，采购价格包括辅助后勤保障包、备用发动机和零部件。

马克龙称赞塞尔维亚选择“阵风”战斗机对欧洲有利，试图平息外界对法国向一个非北约成员国、俄罗斯盟友、且不承认邻国科索沃独立的国家出售高性能战斗机的批评。塞尔维亚历来依赖俄罗斯，近年来也依赖中国，为其提供大部分军事装备。

马克龙表示：“这是个好消息，因为它代表着一种改变，而这种改变有助于欧洲的和平。塞尔维亚还有其他伙伴，也拥有过往的合作历史，但这仍然是一个契机，一次战略上的转变，尽管面临诸多压力。这展现了真正的战略勇气，也是欧洲的一次机遇。”

达索航空公司首席执行官埃里克·特拉皮耶和塞尔维亚国防部长布拉迪斯拉夫·加西奇在贝尔格莱德签署了阵风战斗机出售合同，法国总统马克龙和塞尔维亚总统武契奇出席了签字仪式。该公司周四晚间在一份电子邮件声明中表示，该合同“体现了两国总统致力于使此次合作取得成功的决心”。

塞尔维亚一直在寻找欧洲供应商来替换其一些老旧的飞行设备，并于去年 9 月接收了两架空客 C295 运输机。

克罗地亚和希腊都装备了阵风战斗机，马克龙表示，塞尔维亚加入阵风战斗机行列是区域一体化的“巨大机遇”。

马克龙表示，达索航空公司通常会采取一切预防措施来保护法国的知识产权和技术诀窍，并呼吁人们对该公司和法国国防部抱有信心，相信他们“已经按照最高标准完成了所有工作，就像我们在所有签署类似合同的国家所做的那样”。

据法国《论坛报》报道，塞尔维亚将购买F3型战机，预计2029年交付，但采购价格不包含导弹和炸弹等武器装备。该报并未透露消息来源。路透社报道称，武契奇表示，这些战机将配备MBDA公司的“米卡”（Mica）中程空空导弹，而非更先进的远程“流星”（Meteor）导弹。

法国在 12 月份追加订购了 42 架阵风战斗机，交易额超过 50 亿欧元；而印度尼西亚在 1 月份订购了 18 架该型飞机，作为 2022 年交易的最后一批。

国际战略研究所1月份表示，达索航空公司的大量“阵风”战斗机订单可能会影响该公司在合同签署三年内开始交付的目标。该公司7月份表示，“阵风”战斗机的产能提升仍然受到航空航天业供应链中断的影响。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。