Belgrade, Serbia – At the center of the essential hall of the Belgrade Partner 23 Defense Fair, an unusual display of drone technologies captured the eye of tourists.
Over three dozen mini loitering munitions armed with aerial bombs were spread across the conference hall floor in a swarm formation. To their right a white rotary-wing hexacopter drone, in regards to the size of a grocery shopping cart, was displayed, equipped with two 120mm aerial bombs, and to their left, the identical system in black carried two 81mm aerial explosives.
The Serbian manufacturer behind this demonstration is Belgrade-based PR-DC, which is showcasing the third-series of its primary system, the Ika bomber. The rotary-wing drone is powered by six electric motors and has a flight time of half-hour when carrying a 20kg (44 lbs) payload. It’s offered in gray, white and black, in addition to with different armament sets, typically produced by local supplier Krúsik.
Jovana Jevtić, marketing manager at PR-DC, told Defense News that the firm is eying the international market greater than the domestic one.
“Saudi Arabia has shown great interest within the Ika bomber(s) for its military, which is anticipated to turn out to be operational in the subsequent month or two. We are literally holding an indication for them today at our offices, to indicate them its capabilities and permit them to practice controlling it themselves,” she said.
These platforms are amongst a sea drone systems presented on the fair. Such an enormous range of accessible technologies highlights the rising level of competition available in the market, in addition to the challenges that exist throughout the Serbian drone industry, partly resulting from the country’s procurement strategy.
As Belgrade attempts to strike a balance between greater diversification of international suppliers and further expanding its own domestic business, it often appears to create dual rivalries. Serbian drone manufacturers, although they do share some level of cooperation, must also battle one another for limited funding and contracts, each at a domestic and international level.
This was exemplified in February on the IDEX arms fair held in Abu Dhabi, where Serbia’s president announced that the country would buy UAE-made loitering munitions despite a lot of domestic alternatives.
These challenges were highlighted by a representative of the Military Technical Institute, the developer of the Sparrow drone, also often known as the Vrabac. The aircraft institute, which is tied to the Serbian Ministry of Defense, unveiled an armed version of this technique in 2022. So far, the first user of the usual Vrabac has been the Serbian Armed Forces, though MTI is desirous to promote it internationally.
“It has grabbed the interest of many non-European countries, however the international market [for this industry] is fierce,” said an MTI representative, who wished to not be named. “We’ve got also encountered some organizational and funding issues.”
The Serbian MoD appears to be focused on rectifying this case, where within the last two months, it signed contracts with domestic factories for $55,8 million value of weapons to be delivered to the country’s military.
“We export to customers worldwide, making make the most of this, which we invest back into our defense budget and towards enhancing our domestic production capabilities,” Aleksandar Lijakovic, marketing director at Yugoimport-SDPR, a Serbian state-owned arms manufacturer, told Defense News.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide selection of topics related to military procurement and international security, and focuses on reporting on the aviation sector. She relies in Milan, Italy.