tovaris
January 14th, 2016, 03:18 PM
Plan to set up a repair centre for Russian-made helicopters in Serbia gets mixed reception, with one analyst dismissing the deal as an attempt to bolster Moscow’s influence over Belgrade. - See more at: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-russia-helicopter-deal-divides-experts-01-13-2016#sthash.VtpUJuj8.dpuf
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/file/show//Images/Images.New/Places/Montenegro/helipokteri,%20vojska.rs.jpg
The Serbian Defence Minister, Bratislav Gasic, and the First Deputy Head of the Russian Service for Military Technical Cooperation, Andrei Markov, signed an agreement on Tuesday to establish a regional centre in Belgrade for the repair and maintenance of Russian-made helicopters.
However, the deal has received a mixed reception in Serbia, with analysts divided as to whether the centre will benefit the country economically or merely amounts to an attempt by Moscow to boost its political influence over Belgrade.
Aleksandar Radic, an expert on military issues, told BIRN he believes the deal is a rare example of a Russia-Serbia military project that could offer solid economic benefits for both sides rather than being solely politically motivated.
“This [agreement] is rational and has a strong economic grounding, unlike some other stories about the purchase of Russian arms,” Radic said.
He added the centre is likely to be housed within the Moma Stanojlovic Overhaul Institute in Batajnica near Belgrade.
Russian-made helicopters are used in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary and also in Balkan countries including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. At the moment, the main centre for repairs and maintenance of Russian-made helicopters is in Ukraine.
However, not everyone agrees that the deal will benefit Serbia economically or that it is free from political motivations.
Jelena Milic, director of the Belgrade Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies, CEAS, told BIRN that she cannot see realistic economic benefits for Serbia and, as such, regards the project is being just the latest attempt by Russia to strengthen its political influence in Serbia.
“There is no market to justify such an investment, this is just another branch of the Russian intelligence service,” Milic said.
Milic added that EU and NATO member states are working on developing their own capacities for overhauling the Russian-made helicopters which are in use.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic announced in October last year that Serbia could become a new regional service centre for Russian-made helicopters, something he welcomed saying it would create jobs in a country facing severe economic difficulties.
“We will ask for more experts and probably hire a lot of people in Serbia,” Vucic said, adding that Serbia is supposed to take over maintenance of helicopters which until now have been repaired in Poland and the Czech Republic.
However, it remains unclear whether countries in the Balkan region will make use of the planned Serbian service centre.
Macedonia’s fleet of military helicopters is comprised mainly of Soviet era and Russian multipurpose MI-8 and MI-17 helicopters, as well as on MI-24 gunships.
A source from the Macedonian Defence Ministry told BIRN on condition of anonymity that Macedonia is “in principle interested in the services of this regional centre… if this proves to be economically more viable than sending helicopters to far off destinations.”
Macedonia has had a number of fatal incidents with helicopters in previous years.
On Tuesday, the Macedonian army held a remembrance ceremony for the 11 soldiers killed in an MI-8 helicopter crash near Skopje eight years ago.
The Macedonian police are also using newer versions of MI-17 helicopters, one of which crashed in July 2014 near the town of Strumica, killing all four people on board.
The official signing of the protocol on establishing the maintenance centre in Belgrade is just the first step for the project, the exact details of the deal are yet to be made public.
“This is just the beginning. We still need to see what the Russians will do and what their share [of the profit] will be,” Radic stressed.
Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-russia-helicopter-deal-divides-experts-01-13-2016
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/file/show//Images/Images.New/Places/Montenegro/helipokteri,%20vojska.rs.jpg
The Serbian Defence Minister, Bratislav Gasic, and the First Deputy Head of the Russian Service for Military Technical Cooperation, Andrei Markov, signed an agreement on Tuesday to establish a regional centre in Belgrade for the repair and maintenance of Russian-made helicopters.
However, the deal has received a mixed reception in Serbia, with analysts divided as to whether the centre will benefit the country economically or merely amounts to an attempt by Moscow to boost its political influence over Belgrade.
Aleksandar Radic, an expert on military issues, told BIRN he believes the deal is a rare example of a Russia-Serbia military project that could offer solid economic benefits for both sides rather than being solely politically motivated.
“This [agreement] is rational and has a strong economic grounding, unlike some other stories about the purchase of Russian arms,” Radic said.
He added the centre is likely to be housed within the Moma Stanojlovic Overhaul Institute in Batajnica near Belgrade.
Russian-made helicopters are used in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary and also in Balkan countries including Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia. At the moment, the main centre for repairs and maintenance of Russian-made helicopters is in Ukraine.
However, not everyone agrees that the deal will benefit Serbia economically or that it is free from political motivations.
Jelena Milic, director of the Belgrade Centre for Euro-Atlantic Studies, CEAS, told BIRN that she cannot see realistic economic benefits for Serbia and, as such, regards the project is being just the latest attempt by Russia to strengthen its political influence in Serbia.
“There is no market to justify such an investment, this is just another branch of the Russian intelligence service,” Milic said.
Milic added that EU and NATO member states are working on developing their own capacities for overhauling the Russian-made helicopters which are in use.
Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic announced in October last year that Serbia could become a new regional service centre for Russian-made helicopters, something he welcomed saying it would create jobs in a country facing severe economic difficulties.
“We will ask for more experts and probably hire a lot of people in Serbia,” Vucic said, adding that Serbia is supposed to take over maintenance of helicopters which until now have been repaired in Poland and the Czech Republic.
However, it remains unclear whether countries in the Balkan region will make use of the planned Serbian service centre.
Macedonia’s fleet of military helicopters is comprised mainly of Soviet era and Russian multipurpose MI-8 and MI-17 helicopters, as well as on MI-24 gunships.
A source from the Macedonian Defence Ministry told BIRN on condition of anonymity that Macedonia is “in principle interested in the services of this regional centre… if this proves to be economically more viable than sending helicopters to far off destinations.”
Macedonia has had a number of fatal incidents with helicopters in previous years.
On Tuesday, the Macedonian army held a remembrance ceremony for the 11 soldiers killed in an MI-8 helicopter crash near Skopje eight years ago.
The Macedonian police are also using newer versions of MI-17 helicopters, one of which crashed in July 2014 near the town of Strumica, killing all four people on board.
The official signing of the protocol on establishing the maintenance centre in Belgrade is just the first step for the project, the exact details of the deal are yet to be made public.
“This is just the beginning. We still need to see what the Russians will do and what their share [of the profit] will be,” Radic stressed.
Source: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/serbia-russia-helicopter-deal-divides-experts-01-13-2016