NATO will donate to Montenegro a 3D radar system which is going to be installed on Bjelasica. Ministry of Defense applies earlier for the abandonment of the radar which is worth around €20 million.
“We can confirm the grant of the radar to Montenegrin authorities. This important step is another of our efforts that goes into ensuring defense and protection of the air space of the country, together with the police air forces provided by the ally planes from Greece and Italy”, said to “Pobjeda” an official from the Alliance.
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, Dragutin Dakić, has recently presented the information about the radar.
“The next step in modernization is the provision of radar. Since it’s a pretty big investment, we got it in the form of a donation from NATO. Our duty is to finance it through equipment and arrangement of positioning at an annual level. That way, we’ll cover all the critical spots in order to round up the whole picture of Montenegro. However, considering its configuration and the fact that Montenegro has got many dark angles, we opted for the radar that will most likely be installed on Bjelasica. This way, our air space will be integrated into the NATO system”, said Mr Dakić at the meeting of the Safety Committee held recently.
According to the unofficial knowledge of “Pobjeda”, Montenegro will defray expenses of transport and installation. It could cost around €4 million, considerably less than if it had to cover all the expenses of the radar system by itself.
Commenting on the donation, military analyst, Aleksandar Radić, said that it was very important, especially in financial terms.
“It is necessary to sign a technical agreement which would define the model of the borrowing and if that will be a national borrowing of if NATO agency will make procurement within its possibilities”, pointed out Radić.
Long-term defense plan envisaged the procurement of 3D radar which will enable full operational capacity for generating image of the situation in the air space of Montenegro.
