The armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will still receive American helicopters. After the Council of Ministers did not approve money from the current reserve for the procurement of helicopters, the Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States found a solution. The helicopters will be acquired without the participation of the Council of Ministers, and the full amount will be paid by the USA. The Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zukan Helez says that the money is already in the account and that no one can stop the procurement.
The procurement of American helicopters for the modernization of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been in the process for a long time. The task is simple: for the implementation of the project, 3.6 million marks must be approved from the budget. However, the process was slowed down and contested in the Council of Ministers. The agreed deadline for approving funds from the current reserve was the end of September. The decision was not respected. The deadline has passed, the helicopter is gone. And in the Ministry of Defense, there is a change of plan.
“We should have acquired UH II helicopters, but we want newer BELL 412s, which are used by the armed forces of NATO member states such as Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro. We have not given up on procurement. We are going to purchase, but more modern helicopters. If the public can’t keep track of what UH II and BELL 412 mean, then it’s like Golf 4 and Golf 8 to you,” says Helez.
The relevant minister claims that it is a question of multi-purpose helicopters. Defensive, but also peacetime. And more modern means more expensive. But this time, money is not an obstacle, nor is politics. The Council of Ministers does not decide on this project. The USA has already secured about 80 million marks.
“It is completely irrelevant whether the Council of Ministers will or not, we are going to purchase and it has already been approved by the Ministry of Finance of the United States of America, they will pay. I am glad that it no longer depends on our relations here. It has already been agreed, it will be procured”, says Helez.
The agreement, which seems to definitively solve the problem of helicopter procurement, was preceded by resistance from the RS ministers in the Council of Ministers. From removing an item from the agenda to approving the necessary funds and withdrawing funds. 3.6 million marks are still in reserve.
“Given that all the necessary procedures were not followed, by order of the deputy minister, the entire implementation was stopped due to the above. The funds in the specified amount have not been spent, and their purpose will be determined by the BiH Council of Ministers by a special decision,” said Muhamed Hasanović, Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH
The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina currently have 11 helicopters at their disposal. All are multipurpose, but older models.
“We expect the start of the procurement project of the latest multi-purpose helicopters, which are far better than the previous helicopters,” said Colonel General Senad Mašović, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
By acquiring adequate combat equipment, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be modernized. Until now, they mostly had Russian equipment that they inherited from Yugoslavia. And the modernization process is one of the conditions for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the NATO alliance, Federalna reports.
