Serbia acquires new multirole armoured combat vehicles

A modern multirole armoured combat vehicles, called the Lazer 3,
appears to have entered service with the Serbian Armed Forces.

On 20 December, the Serbian Ministry of Defence released footage, saying: ” the Lazar 3 vehicle was introduced recently to the Serbian Armed Forces”.

“The Lazar 3 has trained crews which can operate it and pass their knowledge on to others. This is the first time in 30 years that we have produced modern equipment like this using our own know-how and money,” the Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin said during his visit to the Nikinci training grounds on Thursday.

He added that no one can take away the VS ability to equipment and arm itself and grow stronger.  

“Equipment is just one segment in the process of raising the operational capabilities of the military. The most important segment is the use of the combat vehicle and that has been completed and we now have VS personnel who can operate the vehicle,” Chief of Staff, Lt. Colonel General Milan Mojsilovic said.

The Lazar 3 is a multirole armoured combat vehicle designed for various applications and missions and developed by the Yugoimport  company.

The baseline vehicle has all-round ballistic protection to STANAG 4569 Level 3, while over the frontal arc this is increased to Level 3+. Mine protection is to STANAG 4569 Level 3a and 3b. 

The number of the crew depends on the type of a mission and the weapons used in the vehicle. When the vehicle is equipped with the remote control weapon station (RCWS), the vehicle should be manned with 12 troops (commander, driver, gunner + 9 soldiers), while the version with a turret would be manned with one soldier less.