Serbia orders attack‑drone units

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the army on April 15 to form units armed with attack drones as Belgrade speeds up a military overhaul. (usnews.com) Vučić gave the order after a meeting with Serbia’s top military leadership, according to Reuters. He said the armed forces should move away from obsolete Soviet-era systems and adapt to modern warfare. (usnews.com) Serbia has already been buying newer equipment from Europe, Israel and China. In August 2024, it signed a 2.7 billion euro contract for 12 new Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation. (usnews.com) (mod.gov.rs) The drone push did not start this week. Serbia’s defense ministry said earlier that the armed forces had already taken delivery of six Chinese CH-92A unmanned aircraft armed with laser-guided missiles. (mod.gov.rs) The ministry now lists a wider unmanned inventory, including the CH-95, CH-92A and the domestic Pegaz system, plus loitering munitions that hover before striking. That shows Serbia is building not just aircraft, but dedicated drone formations and support systems. (mod.gov.rs) Two days before Vučić’s order, The Associated Press reported that Serbia had agreed to jointly produce combat drones with Israel. Vučić said the plan would strengthen the military and expand arms production. (apnews.com) Serbia is not a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member, but it cooperates with the alliance and is also an official candidate for European Union membership. At the same time, Belgrade has kept ties with Russia and deepened defense purchases from China, giving its arms policy a mixed direction. (apnews.com) (usnews.com) Attack drones are aircraft that can find a target and fire on it without putting a pilot in the cockpit. Serbia’s latest order turns that technology from a procurement program into a force-structure decision, with new units expected to be built around it. (mod.gov.rs) (usnews.com) What comes next is whether Belgrade publishes a timeline, unit size or procurement numbers. For now, Vučić’s instruction makes clear that drones are moving from Serbia’s arsenal into the center of its military planning. (usnews.com)