Serbia-Israel military drone manufacturing partnership

Serbia has inaugurated a new assembly factory for Israeli-made drones through a partnership between the Serbian state arms producer Yugoimport SDPR and Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems. The facility is intended to bolster Serbian military capabilities and produce equipment, such as the Lanius X combat drone, for both the Serbian Armed Forces and international export.

President Aleksandar Vučić described the production process as “highly confidential” and announced plans to expand the collaboration by opening at least three additional drone factories in locations including Niš and Lađevci. The inauguration of the facility, located within a military-industrial complex, occurs as Vučić conducts a political campaign for early parliamentary elections scheduled for October 25. Vučić has indicated his intention to resign from the presidency on September 27 to run as a private citizen, aiming to potentially become Prime Minister if his party wins.

On September 17, Vučić officially opened the plant in the Makiš neighborhood of Belgrade alongside Israeli Ambassador Avivit Bar-Ilan. While the collaboration with Elbit Systems is confirmed, investigations indicate that production occurs within the facilities of SDS Technologies. This finding appears to contradict Vučić’s previous statements that Serbia and Israel would share ownership on a 50-50 basis; instead, SDS Technologies is owned by the London-based CUPA Limited, which is majority-owned by Greek citizen Atanasios Ramos. Furthermore, Zion Amir, a prominent Israeli criminal lawyer representing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has been appointed as one of two new directors of SDS Technologies, though his specific role remains unclear.