Mojsilovic: All Project 5000-related activities proceeding as planned

BELGRADE - Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) Chief of General Staff Gen Milan Mojsilovic says all activities related to Project 5000, aimed at boosting SAF special forces, are proceeding as planned and that the project has already produced excellent results.

Mojsilovic told the Politika daily the project had raised the capabilities of the special forces to an all-time high.

He said the goal of the project was to train and equip around 5,000 special forces troops that Serbia could rely on in prevention of, and in response to, security threats to the country and its people.

"The implementation of the project will significantly advance SAF capabilities for conducting special operations on land, in the air and on and under water by employing unconventional tactics, methods and equipment, making Serbia one of the few countries with such capabilities," Mojsilovic said.

He explained that, in the first stage of the project, the formations of Level 1 units - the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, the 63rd Paratroopers Brigade and the Cobras, a special-purpose squad of the Military Police - had been expanded and that reconnaissance units of land force brigades had been bolstered significantly.

He said special forces were being equipped with modern weapons and equipment ranging from new firearms, optoelectronic and protective ballistic equipment, anti-tank and UAV systems to new special-purpose vehicles.