site.btaMilitary Aircraft Will Fly over Belgrade Preparing for a Military Parade on Sept. 20

Aircraft of the Serbian Armed Forces will be flying over the Belgrade area September 5-20 in preparation for the military parade, The Power of Unity, the Ministry of Defence announced on Friday, cited by Serbian news media.  

The parade will be held on September 20 on the occasion of the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom, and the National Flag, which is marked five days earlier. During this stage of preparation, units are conducting joint training at military airfields and academies in and around Belgrade, the statement said. 

“Aviation enthusiasts will have the opportunity to enjoy flights of nearly all types of aircraft and helicopters in service with the Air Force and Air Defence,” the ministry reported. 

On September 20, the military will parade French-, Israeli-, Chinese- and Russian-made high-tech weapons. With the start of the war in Ukraine, Serbia stopped buying weapons from Russia but did not impose sanctions on Russia and continues to refuse to align its foreign policy with the EU, despite its candidate status for membership. 

Serbian troops participated in a joint military exercise in China at the end of July this year, and during his visit to Beijing on Thursday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced that he is considering the purchase of more weapons from China as a “deterrent against any potential aggressor from the neighbourhood”.   

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Serbia financed its military sector the most over the past five years in the Western Balkans. In 2024, Serbia allocated USD 2.2 bln to its military, amounting to 2.6% of the country’s GDP, the Serbian service of Radio Free Europe reported.