Swarm of loitering munitions draws attention at Serbian defense show

Belgrade, Serbia – At the heart of the main hall of the Belgrade Partner 23 Defense Fair, an unusual display of drone technologies captured the attention of visitors.

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, about the size of a grocery shopping cart, was displayed, equipped with two 120mm aerial bombs, and to their left, the same 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 30 minutes when carrying a 20kg (44 lbs) payload. It’s offered in gray, white and black, as well as 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 more than the domestic one.

“Saudi Arabia has shown great interest in the Ika bomber(s) for its military, which is expected to become operational in the next month or two. We are actually holding a demonstration for them today at our offices, to show them its capabilities and allow them to practice controlling it themselves,” she said.

These platforms are among a sea drone systems presented at the fair. Such a vast range of available technologies highlights the rising level of competition in the market, as well as the challenges that exist within the Serbian drone industry, in part due to 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 each other for limited funding and contracts, both at a domestic and international level.

This was exemplified in February at the IDEX arms fair held in Abu Dhabi, where Serbia’s president announced that the country would buy UAE-made loitering munitions despite a number of domestic alternatives.

These challenges were highlighted by a representative of the Military Technical Institute, the developer of the Sparrow drone, also known as the Vrabac. The aircraft institute, which is tied to the Serbian Ministry of Defense, unveiled an armed version of this system in 2022. Thus far, the primary user of the standard Vrabac has been the Serbian Armed Forces, though MTI is eager to market it internationally.

“It has grabbed the interest of many non-European countries, but the international market [for this industry] is fierce,” said an MTI representative, who wished not to be named. “We have also encountered some organizational and funding issues.”

The Serbian MoD appears to be focused on rectifying this situation, where in the last two months, it signed contracts with domestic factories for $55,8 million worth of weapons to be delivered to the country’s military.

“We export to customers worldwide, making profit from 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 was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

塞尔维亚贝尔格莱德——在贝尔格莱德合作伙伴 23 防务展主展厅的中心，一场不同寻常的无人机技术展示吸引了参观者的目光。

三十多个装有航空炸弹的小型巡飞弹呈集群状散布在会议厅的地板上。在它们的右侧，展示着一架白色的六旋翼无人机，大小与超市购物车相仿，配备两枚120毫米航空炸弹；在它们的左侧，一架黑色的同款无人机携带两枚81毫米航空炸弹。

此次演示的塞尔维亚制造商是位于贝尔格莱德的PR-DC公司，该公司正在展示其主力系统“伊卡”（Ika）无人机的第三代产品。这款旋翼无人机由六台电动机驱动，携带20公斤（44磅）有效载荷时，飞行时间为30分钟。它提供灰色、白色和黑色三种涂装，并可配备不同的武器系统，这些武器通常由当地供应商Krúsik公司生产。

PR-DC 的市场经理 Jovana Jevtić 告诉《防务新闻》，该公司更关注国际市场而不是国内市场。

“沙特阿拉伯对伊卡轰炸机表现出了浓厚的兴趣，预计该型轰炸机将在未来一两个月内投入使用。我们今天在我们的办公室为他们举行了一场演示，向他们展示该型轰炸机的性能，并让他们有机会亲自练习操控，”她说道。

这些平台是展会上展出的众多海上无人机系统之一。如此丰富的技术选择凸显了市场竞争的日益激烈，同时也反映了塞尔维亚无人机行业面临的挑战，而这些挑战部分源于该国的采购战略。

贝尔格莱德在努力平衡国际供应商多元化和进一步拓展国内业务之间时，常常出现双重竞争的局面。塞尔维亚无人机制造商虽然在一定程度上开展合作，但也必须在国内和国际层面争夺有限的资金和合同。

今年 2 月在阿布扎比举行的 IDEX 武器展上就体现了这一点，塞尔维亚总统宣布，尽管国内有很多替代品，但该国仍将购买阿联酋制造的巡飞弹。

这些挑战是由“麻雀”（又名“弗拉巴克”）无人机的研发方——军事技术研究所的一位代表重点阐述的。这家隶属于塞尔维亚国防部的航空研究所于2022年推出了该系统的武装版本。迄今为止，标准版“弗拉巴克”无人机的主要用户一直是塞尔维亚武装部队，但军事技术研究所渴望将其推向国际市场。

一位不愿透露姓名的MTI代表表示：“它已经引起了许多非欧洲国家的兴趣，但国际市场竞争非常激烈。我们也遇到了一些组织和资金方面的问题。”

塞尔维亚国防部似乎正致力于纠正这种情况，在过去的两个月里，它与国内工厂签署了价值 5580 万美元的武器合同，这些武器将交付给该国军队。

“我们向世界各地的客户出口产品，从中获利，并将利润再投资到国防预算中，以提高我们的国内生产能力，”塞尔维亚国有武器制造商 Yugoimport-SDPR 的市场总监 Aleksandar Lijakovic 告诉《防务新闻》。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。