MILITARY EXERCISES
The number of international military exercises in which Bosnia and Herzegovina participated was assessed through the response of the MoD and the analysis of publicly available sources. Based on those, it was estimated that there were 9 military exercises. Most of them were conducted through NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme or with major NATO powers such as the US and Turkey. Beyond international military exercises, particularly striking was the NATO exercise “Combined Effort 22”, an evaluation exercise based on the NATO Operational Capabilities Concept (NEL-2), for which the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina received a positive assessment. The military medical team from Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in an exercise that was organised by the Balkan Medical Task Force (BMTF).
DONATIONS
It is estimated that the US was a great source of donations to the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022. That year, the US Congress approved USD 23 million in aid to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the form of two new helicopters to develop helicopter capacities within its Armed Forces. This package, besides the helicopters themselves, also included spare parts, multi-annual maintenance and pilot training.¹ In July 2021, Bosnia and Herzegovina also received a donation of 21 Humvees (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle – HMMWV), valued at USD 2.6 million. This donation was part of the bigger package of 86 HMMWV vehicles worth USD 14.3 million. These vehicles will be delivered as the production continues. 79 of 86 vehicles were delivered to date, starting from 2016.²
TOP FOREIGN DONORS 2022
United States of America
EUR 25,600,000
- Response of the Press Office of the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Ibid.
Bilaterally, Bosnia and Herzegovina also received EUR 1.1 million (USD 1.14 million) from Germany, for repairing military infrastructure related to army barracks. Unlike in 2021, there is no record of military donations from Turkey and China. Bosnia and Herzegovina received donations from
multilateral and regional institutions. Among them was a EUR 10 million donation from the EU as part of an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility (EPF), in the form of de-mining equipment, with transportation vehicles and ambulances to be supplied at a later date. Within the project “Safety and Security Upgrade of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ammunition and Weapons Storage Sites (SAFE-UP BiH)”, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) and state donors invested EUR 2 million in upgrading the country’s capacity to secure and manage arms and ammunition stockpiles during the five years of the project’s implementation. The South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) donated IT equipment of unspecified value to the Bosnian military, intended for the standardisation of the military training on gender.
No members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in peace missions in 2022. Due to the decision-making deadlock in the institutions, there was a temporary freeze in the rotation of contingents of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in peace missions. However, the new Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to continue the participation of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in all three missions, implying that the exact number of troops will be the same as in 2021.
