Serbia to jointly produce drones with Elbit Systems

Serbia’s state arms producer SDPR and Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems are preparing to jointly manufacture short- and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

A few weeks ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announced that a new drone production facility would open soon.

“Serious drones, the most serious in the world,” the president said, adding that the facility could be ready as early as April and would operate as a joint venture, though he did not identify the partner.

An investigation by BIRN and Haaretz found that the facility will be jointly owned by Elbit Systems and SDPR, Serbia’s main state arms manufacturer.

According to official documents obtained by BIRN and Haaretz, as well as interviews with two independent sources, Elbit Systems and SDPR plan to produce two types of drones at the facility: short-range armed unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range unmanned aerial vehicles.

The documents show that Elbit will hold a 51% stake in the partnership. The drone factory will be built in the Simanovci industrial zone, about 30 kilometres west of Belgrade.

According to project plans obtained by BIRN and confirmed by two sources in Serbia’s arms industry, the facility will produce unmanned aerial vehicles capable of carrying heavy payloads for short-range missions, as well as advanced, long-range drones designed to operate at altitudes of up to six kilometres.

According to one source, the new drone will surpass the capabilities of Serbia’s Pegasus model, which is produced by the country’s defense industry.

The source said:

“That is precisely the point, because we cannot achieve this on our own. The aim here is to acquire knowledge and technology, with Serbian engineers also joining the project.”

A second source added that engineers from UTVA, the Serbian aircraft manufacturer owned by SDPR, will also be involved in the project.

The new partnership takes defense ties between Serbia and Israel to a new level. Over the past two years, Serbia’s arms exports to Israel have risen 42-fold, reaching 114 million euros in 2025. A large share of those exports to Israel is handled by SDPR.

As Haaretz/BIRN reported last August, arms exports continued despite the Serbian leader’s announcement that all defense industry exports from the country would be halted.

Haaretz’s tracking data show that exports from Serbia intensified after the war with Hamas and Hezbollah erupted in 2023.

Faced with ammunition shortages during the war, weapons shipments from Belgrade to Israel’s Nevatim Air Base increased significantly over two years through an air bridge.

According to Vuk Vuksanović, a foreign policy lecturer in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, Serbia will benefit economically and technologically from the drone partnership and gain access to the expertise of Elbit, one of the world’s most advanced arms manufacturers.

For Israel, meanwhile, the venture helps create a production and supply chain outside a country that is in “constant conflict.”

According to SIPRI data, Elbit Systems is Israel’s leading arms manufacturer. Over the past two years, the company has signed two major defense agreements with Serbia. In early 2025, Elbit sold artillery systems and advanced drones worth $335 million.

In August, a second agreement was signed for the purchase of drones, long-range missiles and electronic warfare systems worth $1.6 billion. Elbit Systems’ revenue in 2025 was about $8 billion.

From a geopolitical perspective, Serbia’s leadership sees Israel as “a shortcut to the White House” at a time when Vučić and his party are facing a decline in popularity after 14 years in power.

“Their priority is to stay in power, and to achieve that it is best not to anger the Americans — especially given President Trump’s moves on the global stage,” Vuksanović said.