The Ministry of Defence of Serbia sold 282 T-55 tanks to Pakistan Army, which were from the arsenal marked as an obsolete equipment, Serbian Daily ‘Blic’ reported.
The deal was agreed at the Arms Fair in Belgrade, and the contract of purchase, worth tens of millions of dollars, will be signed next week. A source from the Army told the daily that this contract is very important for the Serbian Army.
“The tanks, which had to be sold as obsolete equipment, will be modernized and sold to Pakistanis. Modernization will increase T-55 value many times. The deal was made in great secrecy because it is a contract worth tens of millions of dollars. An agreement in principle was reached in person with Pakistani Minister of Defense Industry,” said the source.
‘Blic’ findings were indirectly confirmed by the Chief of the Defence Technology in the Ministry of Defence, Major General Bojan Zrnic.
“It is true that there was an agreement in principle for the sale of 282 tanks from the arsenal of retired and obsolete military equipment, but I do not want to talk about with which country and the army this deal was made. It would not be appropriate because the contract has not been signed. What can I say is that the offer is extremely favorable for the Army of Serbia as the tanks will not be sold in its current state, they will be modernized first. This task will be entrusted to our defense industry,” says General Zrnic.
He added that the money from the deal will go into the budget for new weapons.