Vucic: Contract on Procurement of Suicide Drones from the UAE To Be Signed within Two Days

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/DIMITRIJE GOLL)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Feb. 21 said that an agreement on procurement of suicide unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be signed within the next 48 hours. 

After touring Serbia’s defense industry stand at defense exhibition IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, Vucic said that 30 percent of the entire production of Serbia’s defense industry would “a priori” have to remain in the country.

Vucic also said that 40 Serbian Army tanks would be modernized by the end of the year. He added that France had delivered Mistral missiles, which the domestic defense industry had already been “integrating” into PASARS air defense systems, noting that talks were underway with France on procurement of Rafale fighter aircraft.   

“Now, we cannot obtain [Russian] Pantsir missile systems due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, but they are extremely efficient systems, particularly Pantsir S1M. We have paid 30 percent in advance for a S1M system, but now it is illusory to speak about its delivery to Serbia,” Vucic noted. He also said that the Serbian defense industry would continue developing rocket and missile systems.

Vucic also said that in the evening on Feb. 21, he would be meeting with the UAE foreign minister in Abu Dhabi and would talk over the phone with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.