The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been actively promoting the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet to Serbia, hoping that in addition to purchasing Chinese air defense missiles and drones, Serbia would also acquire more weapons. However, on April 9th, Serbian President Vucic announced that Serbia will purchase 12 Rafale fighters from France, with the contract expected to be signed within the next two months.
This decision has dealt a blow to China’s hopes of selling the Thunder jet to Serbia. Just recently on March 26th, Argentina rejected the Thunder jets and opted to purchase used F-16 fighters from Denmark instead.
Serbia’s sources for weapons are quite complex due to historical reasons. In order to maintain good relations with various parties, Serbia has purchased weapons from numerous countries, even more so than India. As the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing campaign just passed, Serbia’s decision to buy French Rafale jets signals its aim to further integrate with the Western world. This procurement has also raised significant questions on how to integrate NATO-standard fighter jets into the Soviet, Chinese, and Russian air defense networks.
Since 2015 until now, multiple countries including India, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates have chosen the Rafale fighter jet. The combined total of Rafale jets purchased by these countries exceeds 300. In comparison, China’s JF-17 Thunder, J-10C, and Russia’s Su-35S have faced a cold reception in the international market.
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Responsible Editor: Wang Xi