Serbia inaugurated a military drone factory in partnership with an Israeli company

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić inaugurated on Thursday a military drone assembly plant, established together with an Israeli company, in a project through which Belgrade aims to expand its arms production and exports. The location of the plant and the name of the partner were not disclosed, with authorities citing the confidentiality of the production process.

Vučić announced that the facility will produce Israeli-made drones for the Serbian armed forces and other countries. He said that Serbia and its partners intend to open at least three more factories in the country.

According to investigations published by BIRN and Haaretz, the partner would be the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. The joint venture would be 51% owned by Elbit and 49% by the Serbian state-owned group Yugoimport-SDPR, and the factory is expected to produce short- and long-range drones. The information was not commented on by the parties.