Serbia is Completing Its Multi-Layered Chinese Air Defence Network: Procurement of HQ-9 Long Range Missile Systems Confirmed

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on June 28 announced plans to procure the Chinese HQ-9 long range surface-to-air missile systems, marking a significant milestone in the modernisation of the country’s air defence capabilities and another major step in the strengthening of defence ties with China. The HQ-9 is China's premier multirole long range surface-to-air missile system, broadly comparable in role to the Russian S-400, and if procured would in many respects represent the most capable system fielded in Europe. In Chinese service it sits below the higher altitude HQ-19 and HQ-29 which are more specialised in strategic ballistic missile defence, providing complementary capabilities as part of a multi-layered network.

In April multiple Serbian sources reported that the Defence Ministry was planning to procure new air defence equipment from China, with President Aleksandar Vucic having at the time announced the imminent signing of new contracts to strengthen the country’s air defence network. The Chinese HQ-22 medium range surface-to-air missile system currently forms the backbone of the country’s air defence network, and began deliveries in April 2022. Alongside the HQ-22, Serbia also fields Chinese HQ-17A point defence systems, Russian Pantsir-S air defence combat vehicles, and modernised variants of the Soviet S-125 - a medium range system that lacks mobility. The procurement of the HQ-9B was highlighted as a significant possibility at the time to provide a higher tier capability and the country’s first genuinely long range anti-aircraft and anti-missile system. 

The Serbian Defence Ministry has notably considered procuring advanced long range air defence systems in the past, namely the Russian S-300PMU-2 and S-400 systems. A Russian Aerospace Forces S-400 battalion deployed to the country in October 2019 for exercises on Serbian territory, in what was widely considered an effort to familiarise local forces with its capabilities. Western pressure including threats of economic sanctions were primary factors preventing Serbia from proceeding with a purchase, despite Russian offers of highly flexible payment terms. The procurement of the HQ-9B would allow a similar capability to belatedly be realised, and at a much lower political cost than procuring the S-400 as NATO members lack a sanctions mechanism targeting Chinese arms exports equivalent to those targeting exports by Russia. 

Serbia has continued to increase defence procurements from China, with images in March showing a Serbian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft flying with two Chinese-supplied CM-400AKG ballistic missiles. The missile’s speed, which can exceed Mach 6, makes Serbian MiG-29s the first fighters in Europe with hypersonic strike capabilities, and makes the previously obsolete fighter highly viable for strike roles. The possibility of Serbia procuring Chinese fighter aircraft such as the JF-17 Block 3 or J-10C has also been assessed by multiple analysts to be likely to eventually replace its MiG-29s. Chinese equipment is not only in many cases much more capable and cost effective than that offered by Russia or NATO members, but is also more favourable for political reasons, avoiding provoking European Union members or the U.S. by furthering defence ties with Russia, while preserving a degree of autonomy which Western weaponry does not allow for. 

The HQ-9 is thought to have more advanced electronics and sensors than Russian systems such as the S-400, reflecting China’s industrial leadership in these areas. Despite its strategic role, it remains highly mobile, with launchers, radars, command vehicles, and support equipment all being mounted on trucks, allowing for relocation after firing to reduce vulnerability to counterattacks. This is particularly critical for Serbia as it faces the potential threat of hostilities with NATO members with vast reconnaissance-strike complexes, against which mobility and concealment are vital to provide an asymmetrical defence. Ongoing tensions over the Kosovo region, which the large majority of NATO members have recognised as an independent country and provided support for, are among multiple factors that have resulted in high tensions, with Serbia still affected by the historical memory of intensive NATO bombardment over the issue of Kosovo’s secession in 1999.