Serbia displayed two Chinese-made air defense (AD) systems at the “Power of Unity” military parade held in its capital city on September 20, showcasing the robust ties between the two nations.
The military parade was held in Belgrade to commemorate the Day of Serbian Unity, Freedom, and the National Flag.
Described as the largest spectacle of Serbian military power in history, the parade featured the participation of 10,000 military personnel, 2,500 pieces of military equipment, including over 600 vehicles, 70 aircraft, and 20 naval vessels.
The parade was reviewed by President Aleksandar Vučić. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić and General Milan Mojsilović, Chief of the General Staff.
President Vučić emphasized that the parade was not intended for political gain, but rather to demonstrate Serbia’s military strength as a deterrent against potential aggressors.
“No one in the world can overrun Serbia today,” he emphasized. The President has been vocal about NATO’s bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the need to strengthen the armed forces of the country so that history never repeats itself.
Moreover, it is surrounded by NATO countries, most of which support Kosovo’s independence, which Serbia claims as its own
The high-stakes parade featured locally developed weapon systems, including the Sumadija/Vila heavy rocket system and the M-84AS3 main battle tank, equipped with active protection and anti-drone systems.
The parade also displayed state-of-the-art weaponry and military equipment acquired from foreign partners. It showcased the diversity of arms in the Serbian military, including Israeli PULS long-range rocket launchers, Hermes 900 attack UAVs, Russian Krasukha-2 electronic warfare systems, and French Rafale fighter jets that had been recently ordered, as well as UAE-supplied one-way attack drones, among other items.
More importantly, though, the parade showcased, for the first time, anti-aircraft systems acquired from China: the FK-3, an export variant of China’s HQ-22 medium-to-long-range system, and the HQ-17AE short-range air defense system.
On-site, more than 47,000 people witnessed the military parade that day, and many of them said things like, “I can’t put it into words.”, “China and Serbia are brotherly nations with an ironclad friendship,” as reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The Chinese-made HQ-22 surface-to-air missile system and the HQ-17 air defense missile system made an appearance at Serbia’s military parade on Saturday. Over 47,000 people watched the military parade on-site that day, CCTV News reported. pic.twitter.com/zO3ceGPBwV
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 21, 2025
Like other Eastern European or Balkan countries, Serbia’s military is built on Soviet technology, based on years of political and cultural ties with Moscow. However, Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine has pushed Serbia closer to China. Currently, Serbia is the only European country using Chinese weapons, notably drones and air defense systems.
When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Belgrade in May of last year to meet with his Serbian counterpart, he said that the two nations were “opening a new chapter” in their bilateral relations. He told Vucic that Beijing was prepared to maintain the “ironclad friendship” between the two nations, setting a tone for the future of their ties.
China’s AD Sit In Europe
In 2019, Belgrade purchased China’s FK-3 surface-to-air defense system, an export version of the HQ-22 missile system, which is comparable to the Russian S-300.
Notably, the United States cautioned Belgrade in 2020 against purchasing the export version of the HQ-22 anti-aircraft systems, stating that if Serbia wished to join the European Union, it must bring its military hardware into compliance with Western norms. However, Serbia paid little heed to those warnings.
The system was delivered by China in 2022 by six Y-20 cargo aircraft. President Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia has regularly described the system as a “powerful deterrent” against potential attackers, referring to NATO’s bombardment of Serbia.
Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), it is designed to counter a variety of aerial threats, including fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and tactical air-to-surface missiles. Serbia inducted the FK-3 into the 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade, which is the same unit that shot to fame in 1999 after it shot down the US F-117A stealth fighter using a second-generation S-125 missile during NATO’s bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The Siberian politicians, as well as the military, have heaped praises on the FK-3 since its induction into the military.
In late 2024, the FK-3 was featured on Serbia’s Defense Ministry website, which described it as a “milestone in air defense systems.”
The Serbian Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that the Republic of Serbia’s airspace management and protection system has been greatly enhanced by equipping the Air Force and Air Defense with the modern FK-3 air defense missile system.
“It is a great honor to be the commander of an air defense missile battery and to work on the most powerful air defense missile system that our country has,” stated Missile Battery Commander Captain 1st Class Stefan Manić. He referred to it as a milestone, noting that it has an “exceptional anti-jamming system and capability to prevent missiles designed to destroy tracking radars.”
Meanwhile, the HQ-17 is a Chinese short-range air defense (SHORAD) missile system, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC). It is a reverse-engineered derivative of the Russian Tor-M1 system, designed to provide all-weather, low- to medium-altitude air defense for mechanized units like tank battalions and to protect critical military and civilian infrastructure from low-flying threats, including aircraft, helicopters, UAVs, cruise missiles, and tactical air-to-ground missiles.
The HQ-17AE, the export variant of the system, was acquired by Serbia as part of a broader defense cooperation with China, initiated around 2019.
It was first spotted in Serbia in June 2024 at a military parade in Kruševac, Serbia, in honor of St. Vitus Day, the country’s largest religious holiday. Serbian personnel underwent rigorous training in China to operate and maintain the HQ-17AE, ensuring independent operational capability.
The HQ-17AE addresses a critical gap in Serbia’s air defense, replacing outdated Soviet-era systems, such as the SA-3 and SA-6, which are now obsolete and ill-equipped for modern warfare. Its ability to counter small drones, cruise missiles, and low-cost aerial threats aligns with Serbia’s need to defend against asymmetric and conventional threats.
Paired with the FK-3, the HQ-17AE provides Serbia with a robust, layered air defense system, strengthening its deterrence posture amid regional tensions with NATO-aligned neighbors.
The Commander of the 2nd Battalion for Air Defense from the 250th Air Defense Missile Brigade, LTC Dalibor Aleksic earlier was quoted saying that the unit is happy with the FK-3 and HQ-17AE air defense systems’ combat capabilities, performance, dependability, and ease of use and maintenance, according to Aleksic, who stressed that his experiences as a “user” of these two types of air defense missile weapon systems are very positive so far.
“Equipping the Serbian Armed Forces with the FK-3 and HQ-17AE air defense systems primarily improved the efficiency of the organization of the air warning system, which has proven to be one of the decisive factors for achieving success in modern conflicts. It also improved the capability to protect our forces and all important facilities in the territory against all types of air attack weapons, over a wide range of distances and heights, with operations carried out both statically and while in motion,” Aleksic was quoted as saying.
These acquisitions and the display demonstrate that the relationship between Serbia and China is growing stronger. This is because, unlike the West, China supports Serbia’s stance on Kosovo, opposing its unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and advocating for Serbia’s territorial integrity in the UN Security Council.
Beijing has been able to gain more favor with the Serbians by using its veto power to prevent Kosovo’s recognition. Similarly, Serbia endorses the “One China” policy and supports Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, which has unarguably brought the two sides together.
And while Serbia has shown a willingness to work with NATO and the United States as an attempt to balance its ties, the display of Chinese equipment shows that the country is committed to protecting its sovereignty.
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