Serbia becomes first European country with Chinese hypersonic missiles

Belgrade, Mar 13 (EFE).- Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed that Serbia has purchased Chinese CM-400AKG hypersonic missile systems, making it the first country in Europe to acquire the air-to-ground weapon.

“They are expensive and effective. We received a small discount,” Vučić said in an interview late Thursday with the state broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia.

During the interview, Vučić also claimed that Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo had formed an alliance that could attack Serbia “at some point in the future,” though he provided no evidence to support the claim.

The nationalist leader, who has dominated Serbian politics since 2012, linked the purchase of the missiles to what he described as potential threats from neighboring countries.

“They will wait for a major conflict between Europeans and Russians to erupt, and for the conflict in the Middle East to worsen even more,” he said.

Vučić added that Serbia has no plans to attack NATO members, such as Croatia and Albania, but suggested that his country’s neighbors might wait for a “favorable moment” of global instability to strike.

“Serbia is strong enough to preserve its sovereignty, its territorial integrity, and the freedom and security of its citizens,” he said, adding that the Serbian military is the strongest among the armed forces of the former Yugoslavia.

According to the president, the Serbian Armed Forces have already integrated the Chinese missiles into Russian-made Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets.

“We have a significant number of these missiles and we will have even more,” he said of the weapon, which has a reported range of about 400 kilometers.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković responded to the purchase by warning that it could threaten regional stability and said he would raise the issue with NATO allies.

In response, Vučić said that “Zagreb will not decide what Serbia will have.”

Croatia, Albania, and Kosovo, once a Serbian province, signed a declaration of cooperation on defense and security in March 2025, a move Serbia considers a threat to its security.

Vučić also said Serbia, a candidate for membership in the European Union since 2008, will continue to strengthen military cooperation with China.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, between 2020 and 2024 Serbia imported most of its weapons from China (57%), followed by Russia (20%) and France (7.4%). EFE bd-as-sk