The Serbian defense ministry has showcased its six Chinese-built CH-92A unmanned aerial vehicles at the Pukovnik-pilot Milenko Pavlović airbase in Batajnica.
The armed UAVs were put on display on July 4, a little over three months after they first arrived in Serbia.
Part of the Rainbow series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the CH-92A can target positions from a distance of 9 kilometers, and provide surveillance in a radius of 250 kilometers. The fixed-wing UAV is mainly intended for reconnaissance and surveillance missions and has a maximum altitude of 5,000 kilometers.
Attending the display, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said the delivery of the first six systems was part of a transfer of technology agreement with China which will allow the country to gain a foothold in the development of UAV technology.
The CH-92As is intended to operate together with the smaller, indigenous UAV Pegaz, which Serbia is still developing.
“We are learning and incorporating new technologies which we did not have the chance to fully develop on our own,” the president said. “We currently have 18 rockets, and will buy more of them.”
Serbia is the first state in the Western Balkans to acquire an armed UAV capability.
