Serbia is very concerned that Kosovo is arming itself. Moreover, it sees as a threat to itself the fact that the latter has reportedly invested 430 million euros in equipment and armaments.
The recent shipments that arrived in Pristina, from Turkey but also other countries, according to the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs of the Serbian Parliament, Milovan Drecun, “show an intensified militarization of the provisional institutions of Pristina, and that they carry serious security risks.
The same person said in an interview for RTS that since the beginning of the final phase of the transformation of the Kosovo Security Force, “the equipment and training of this formation has been intensified, which, according to him, is in contradiction with Resolution 1244.”
According to Drecun, 430 million euros have been invested in the KSF over the last four years, mainly in equipment and armaments.
“It should be noted that the strengthening of the military budget, the creation of bilateral and intelligence agreements, as well as the participation of members of these units in international military exercises are noticeable,” he said, KosovaPress reports.
On January 6, Kosovo received the next shipment of OMTAS anti-tank missile systems, contracted with Turkish state-owned manufacturer Roketsan in December 2023.
The news was announced by Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci, who said that OMTAS (Orta Menzilli Tanksavar Silah) is a modern medium-range anti-tank missile system, developed to neutralize modern armored vehicles, including tanks with reactive protection, as well as military defensive fortifications.
“Increasing the variety and quantity of anti-tank missile systems for our army aims to cover different operating distances, terrains and threat scenarios, increasing operational flexibility,” he wrote on Facebook.
The characteristics of these missiles are as follows:
Diameter: 160 mm
Length: 1.8 m
Weight: 35 kg (Projectile and launch tube), while 36 kg (launch tripod system)
Distance: 200–4,000 m
Seeker: Infrared image seeker, uncooled type.
Warhead: Dual high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), effective against reactive armor.
Attack methods: Direct attack/attack from above
Usage modes: Shoot-and-forget / shoot-and-improve
Observation unit: TV/thermal camera