The advanced HQ-22 surface-to-air system was delivered last month by 12 Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes, in what is believed to be the largest ever airlift of Chinese weapons to Europe.
Although Serbia officially seeks to join the European Union, it arm itself mostly with Russian and Chinese weapons, notably T-72 tanks, MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-35 attack helicopters, and drones. pilot.
In 2020, US officials warned Belgrade against buying HQ-22 missile systems, and said that if Serbia really wanted to join the European Union and other Western alliances, it should align its military hardware with Western standards.
The Chinese missile system has been widely compared to the US Patriot missile systems and the Russian C-300 surface-to-air missile systems (C-300) although its range is shorter than the more advanced C-300 systems. Serbia is the first operator of Chinese missiles in Europe.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at the end of a weapons display at a military airfield near Belgrade that Chinese missiles, along with other recently delivered military equipment, do not pose a threat to anyone and only serve as a “strong deterrent” against potential attackers.
“We will no longer allow ourselves to be anyone’s punching bag,” Vucic added, apparently referring to the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia for its bloody campaign against Albanian separatists in Kosovo in 1999.
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