According to the “Serbian Economist,” a new plant for assembling Israeli-designed military drones has been built in Serbia. According to Aleksandar Vučić, the plant will employ about 100 people, and its products are intended for both the Serbian Armed Forces and the armed forces of other countries.
Journalists were not allowed inside the plant.
Vucic attributed this to the confidentiality of the production process. Some of the models being produced were shown only in a video he released.
At the same time, the current plant is intended to be only the first phase of cooperation with Israel. Vucic stated that he expects to open at least three more similar plants in Serbia. He named areas near the Lajevci and Niš airports as potential locations for the new production facilities.
Earlier, an investigation by BIRN and Haaretz reported that Serbia’s partner in the project is Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense company. According to the journalists, Elbit is set to hold a 51% stake in the joint venture, while the Serbian state-owned company Yugoimport-SDPR will hold 49%.
The plan is to produce both drones for close-range missions and more sophisticated aircraft for long-range flights. Elbit and SDPR have not publicly disclosed details of the project.
Serbia is gradually building its own drone manufacturing cluster by bringing together local defense companies with the technologies of foreign partners. Vučić stated that the project’s goal is to strengthen the capabilities of the Serbian army while also expanding exports of military products.
