Serbia plans to purchase Turkish Bayraktar drones worth several hundred million euros. Belgrade expects to receive the first drones next year.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić made this statement in Belgrade, at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense of Serbia also had a conversation with the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye.

The representatives of Türkiye and Serbia stated that they are interested in improving cooperation in the military-educational and military-industrial spheres.

The leadership of Serbia decided to purchase the Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicle at the beginning of April this year.

In summarising the results of the “Fire Shield” exercises, the Serbian president said that he had asked his Turkish counterpart for the delivery of this type of weapon out of turn and had received a corresponding promise.

For the first time, Aleksandar Vučić officially announced the possibility of purchasing Turkish-made unmanned aerial vehicles on October 5, 2020.

During his speech to journalists in Belgrade, Aleksandar Vučić praised the qualities of the Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicle and noted that Serbia is interested in purchasing such unmanned aerial vehicles.

Previously, on July 4, 2020, the Armed Forces of Serbia received 6 new Chinese-made CH-92A reconnaissance attack drones.

The Chinese CH-92A reconnaissance attack drones were developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics.

Together with the drones, Serbia purchased 18 Chinese-made FT-8C guided missiles with semi-active laser guidance for them, and Aleksandar Vučić announced at the presentation that he intends to purchase additional missiles.

Serbia became the first known customer of this drone, signing an agreement on its purchase with the Chinese manufacturer in 2018. In the same contract, the parties agreed that China would contribute to the development of the Serbian Pegaz drone.