Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić admitted on the 12th of March that the country’s Air Force had recently purchased Chinese CM-400AKG air-to-ground missiles, Reuters reports.

Serbia is trying to balance cooperation with NATO and its bid to join the European Union with centuries-old religious, ethnic and political proximity to Russia and strategic ties with China, which has made major investments in Serbia.

Vučić said on state-run RTS TV on the evening of the 12th of March that Serbia has a significant number of CM-400AKG missiles and plans to buy more. Just a few days earlier, photos were leaked online showing Chinese missiles mounted on a Serbian aircraft. Vučić said the Serbian Air Force had adapted Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters to carry the missiles.

Serbia’s neighbor Croatia, an EU and NATO member, has criticized the purchase of the missiles

as a threat to regional stability, calling the purchase an attempt to change the military balance and a sign of an arms race in the Balkans.

The Chinese-made CM-400AKG is a supersonic missile capable of hitting targets at a distance of 400 kilometers. The missiles were first used in combat in 2025, during the India-Pakistan conflict. Vučić declined to say how much the missiles cost, adding only that Serbia received a small discount.

Serbia has allocated about 2.6% of GDP to military spending this year. Serbia’s latest military purchases include the FK-3 air defense system (similar to the American Patriot) and CH-92 combat drones from China, as well as 12 new Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault, and helicopters and cargo planes from Airbus.

Read also: Croatia reinstates compulsory military service; first hundreds begin training

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