Any weapon needs to be tested in real combat to verify whether it is advanced or not, and whether it is suitable for modern warfare. Therefore, the Russian-Ukrainian war is tantamount to a "demon mirror", which not only makes many NATO weapons fall from the "altar" to the mortal world, but also completely shatters the "myth" of many Russian weapons.
(Abandoned "Pantsir-S1" on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield)
In particular, Russian anti-aircraft weapons, which in the war can be described as a "catastrophic" performance. Whether it is the famous S-300, or the "Dao'er" series that showed its skills in the Libyan civil war, and the S-400 that is being hyped up, in the face of the Ukrainian army's drones and various cruise missiles, not only can it not be effectively detected in advance, but it is also unable to respond in time to intercept it. Therefore, the Russian army's air defense weapons have been repeatedly seen on the battlefield, and because they were attacked by the Ukrainian army's air strikes, they "lost their lives". Although, it is still impossible to assess whether the Russian army's tactics were inadequate, or whether the performance of its air defense weapons itself was backward, which led to this result.
However, judging from the current battlefield situation, the Russian army would rather endure various air attacks by the Ukrainian army, or use many S-300 missiles as ground strike weapons, which can prove from the side that some Russian-made air defense missiles can no longer adapt to the current combat style. Especially in the face of a large number of "low, small and slow" UAVs as the main weapons on the battlefield, Russian-made air defense weapons have become inadequate.
(Serbian FK-3 and "Pantsir-S1")
The sales of Russian anti-aircraft weapons, which perform poorly on the battlefield, will inevitably be greatly affected as a result. So who will fill the space left by Russian weapons? Is it the American air defense weapons, which are expensive and do not perform well on the battlefield? Or Europe, which has long been stagnant and has not introduced new air defense weapons for many years? Perhaps, these are not the right answers, and China from the Far East may be the best option.
Although, at the end of the 90s of the last century, China's advanced anti-aircraft weapons also needed to be imported from foreign countries, not only the S-300 from Russia, the French "Sea Rattlesnake", but also the Italian "Aspade...... However, less than 20 years have passed, and after absorbing the technology of these advanced foreign missiles, China has developed more advanced air defense missiles through its own efforts, and has established a complete three-layer air defense system of long, medium, and near.
Moreover, because of its late-mover advantage, in the process of developing anti-aircraft missiles, China has already aimed at future wars, especially for the "low, small and slow" target unmanned system.
("Doyle" destroyed on the battlefield)
Therefore, China has begun to export a large number of air defense weapons to countries around the world, and Pakistan has established a complete air defense system with the "Red Flag" series of air defense missiles imported from China. In addition, the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan has also imported FM-90, KS-1A and Red FD-2000 anti-aircraft missiles from China to build its own air defense system. Even Turkey, which belongs to NATO, in the tender for long-range anti-aircraft missile systems, favors the FD-2000 from China the most. Once Turkey procures the FD-2000, China's long-range warning radar will also follow into the Asia Minor peninsula.
Well, the US military aircraft in Italy and Germany will be within the scope of its monitoring. As a result, the United States vigorously opposed Turkey's purchase of Chinese anti-aircraft missiles, which eventually led to the end of the arms purchase. However, the United States can stop NATO's Turkey, but it can't stop Russia's Eastern European brother, and of course, Russia itself can't stop it, so China's air defense weapon system still entered Europe in a grand manner. Serbia, from the Balkans, procured a full range of air defense systems from China.
("Red Flag-17AE" unveiled in the 2019 military parade)
According to the relevant information disclosed so far, Serbia has not only purchased China's FK-3 as the main weapon for long-range air defense, but also introduced China's "Hongqi-17AE". In fact, Serbia originally purchased the "Pantsir-S1" field air defense system from Russia, with a total of three battalions. However, after the delivery of one battalion, the prolonged blockade of the Russian-Serbian air corridor by the West due to the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war prevented the delivery of the other two battalions. As a result, Serbia had to ask China for the same type of product "Hongqi-17AE".
Serbia may not have expected that this "helpless" purchase would reap huge benefits. First of all, the "Hongqi-17AE" carried 16 missiles, while the "Pantsir-S1" had only 12 missiles. Second, the "Hongqi-17AE" adopts an all-solid-state phased array radar, which can adapt to the complex electromagnetic environment of the battlefield, and a single vehicle can guide four missiles to intercept four targets at the same time. The radar systems of the "Pantsir-S1" and "Doyle" are much more backward than them, and their export versions even have only an optoelectronic fire control system installed. Finally, the "Hongqi-17AE" is not only capable of intercepting aircraft and missiles, but also the core of the anti-drone system.
("Hongqi-17AE" can fight a variety of targets such as manned aircraft, missiles and UAVs)
Today, the "Hongqi-17AE" has officially "settled" in Serbia, and seamlessly connected with the FK-3, in the case of the country without purchasing Chinese medium-range air defense missile systems, it has helped it establish a long, medium and near three-layer system, with a combat altitude covering an area of 10 meters to 27,000 meters, and a range of 1.5 kilometers to 150 kilometers. It can be said that Serbia has made a big bargain!