Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Tuesday that the Serbian military is working on a number of upgrades of its equipment and introducing new technology and new capabilities to be able to respond to the most complex combat operations.

A Defense Ministry press release said that Vulin attended test of the upgraded infantry combat vehicle BVP M-80A and target practice at night at the Nikinci weapons test range.  

“We saw that a soldier equipped with thermal vision and image enhancer and a combat vehicle equipped with thermal vision cameras and new cannon is the combat vehicle of the future and equipment which the soldier of the future will carry. This has to become the everyday equipment for our soldiers, these sights, equipment, protection and combat vehicles, because that is the only way we can face the challenges of the 21st century,” the minister is quoted as saying.  

The combat vehicle test was attended by Chief of Staff General Milan Mojsilovic, assistant Minister for Defense Policy Milan Rankovic, Defense Technology Department chief Major General Mladen Vuruna, 2nd Brigade Ground Forces commander Brigadier Zeljko Kuzmanovic, General Staff Planning and Development Department chief Brigadier Milan Popovic, Technical Test Center Director Colonel Slobodan Ilic and Military Technical Institute Director Colonel Bojan Pavkovic, the press release said.