Military parade ends - Russia's ‘Swifts’ delight people

BELGRADE - A military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from Nazi occupation in WWII was completed in Belgrade on Thursday with a perforamnce of pilots of Russia's famous Strizhy (Swifts) air force team flying Mig 29 planes.

The pilots flying a formation of four and a solo flight on the fifth plane demonstrated superior aerobatics to the great pleasure of the people gathered to see the event at the Palace of Serbia, Kalemegdan park and Usce park in Belgrade.

Serbian Armed Forces (VS) pilots offered a sort of parade in the air flying VS aircraft and helicopters, preparing the people for the show by the Strizhy that was to round off the event.

Despite rain, paratroopers of the VS Special Brigade successfully performed a landing demonstration from several helicopters, touching the ground at the Eternal Flame monument at Usce park while bearing the Russian and Serbian flags.

The parachutists' landing at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers was followed by a parade of the River Flotilla and the Serbian Guard performing a drill routine.

The central part of the event featured a parade of VS soldiers, as well as an exhibition showcasing new weapons and military equipment, such as unmanned aircraft for the use by the VS, currently in a development stage.

The military parade, held in Belgrade for the first time in 29 years, saw the participation of 4,500 members of the VS and featured presentations of more than 300 military vehicle and military equipment items.

Besides motor vehicles and combat vehicles, tanks, artillery weapons and weaponry to support land forces, the exhibition will also showed antitank systems, electronic reconnaissance systems,...