Israel and Serbia to Co-Produce Tens of Thousands of Military Drones in a 50-50 Venture

Israel and Serbia are moving to set up a joint venture to produce tens of thousands of UAVs, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic revealed today (Tuesday) in remarks to his country’s media. He said ownership will be split evenly and the venture will center on technological cooperation: Israel will contribute its advanced know-how and experience in the field, while Serbia will provide local production and development infrastructure.

Ynet reported that Vucic said his country "cannot produce UAVs the way Israel can, but we will do it together—50% to 50%. This guarantees that we will have the best UAVs in the region."

This announcement from Belgrade follows a plan Vucic presented at the end of last year, under which a new plant for mass production of drones is expected to open in Serbia. The plan envisions that within about two years Serbia aims to equip itself with roughly 80,000 drones, including suicide UAVs produced locally and imported.

It should be noted that, according to a joint investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the newspaper "Haaretz" published a week ago, the Israeli partner in the project is Elbit Systems. According to that report, the plant will be built in the Shimanovci industrial zone, about 30 kilometers west of Belgrade, and two types of aircraft will be produced there: short-range UAVs capable of carrying heavy munitions, and long-range drones that can operate at altitudes of up to six kilometers.