[TD="colspan: 2"]Monday, 06 May 2013[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]
The Macedonian army follows NATO standards and its army size is in accordance with its population - 8,000.
However, the same cannot be said about its equipment. In a report filed by Serbian daily Blic, Macedonia appears not as armed, as for instance Slovenia, which has less people, and less territory than Macedonia and is even a NATO member.
Slovenia, for instance has 24 fighter jets and 54 tanks, while Macedonia has 31 T-72 tanks (not counting BMP2, BTR70 and BTR80) and no fighter jets!
Serbia just announced purchasing of 20 new MIGs from Russia which will significantly boost their air capabilities, bringing their total number of fighter jets to 100.
Blic did report that most countries in the region have outdated equipment that may no longer be in use however it counts in reports as part of their arsenal.
Such may be the case with Romania, which is considered the strongest military force in the region with 73,000 soldiers, 55 fighter jets and 300 tanks.
Several years ago, Macedonia did retire two sukhoi fighter jets and 93 tanks T-55.
Macedonia is in a serious need to upgrade and purchase new equipment, just to keep up with its partner to the north, Slovenia. [/TD]