The connection of costs, management and capabilities of the Serbian armed forces

The Serbian Armed Forces and its formations, at all organization levels, perform their missions and tasks by conducting their operations. To conduct the operations, the Serbian Armed Forces need to have certain capabilities that are set before them, i.e. defined as requirements. To determine the Serbian Armed Forces’ capacity to fulfill the requirements regarding their capabilities, it is necessary to establish the current level of capabilities, and then the next required level to be reached at some point. In this entire process, it is impossible to talk about the development and use of capabilities, unless the cost factors are directly involved, which eventually are decisive for reaching a specified level of capability. Depending on the step, or the phase of the capability management process, one can talk about the role and importance of the costs, i.e. the cost factor and models, which, in conjunction with other factors, can be applied to reach the required capabilities. The ultimate goal of this process is getting to know the nature, structure and size of the likely future costs that will enable the execution of all alternative force structures and, through their influence on the development and use of the Serbian Armed Forces’ capabilities, compensate for any possible shortcomings that may be identified in the management process of the Serbian Armed Forces’ capabilities.