How Serbia became Israel’s top arms supplier?

Serbia has quietly become Israel’s only European supplier of ammunition, according to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in a recent interview with The Jerusalem Post. The country boasts the largest defense industry in the Western Balkans, with military exports estimated at $1.3-1.4 billion. Vučić claims that after the October 2023 attacks on Israel, he received a direct request for aid from Israeli President Isaac Herzog—and within just four days, Serbia bypassed international protocols to begin arms shipments.

The numbers back this up. In 2024, Serbia’s weapons and ammunition exports to Israel skyrocketed to €42.3 million—a 30-fold increase from the previous year. This is a sharp reversal from Belgrade’s earlier denials of supplying Israel at all. Reports suggest these deals were masked behind fake end-user certificates and routed through third countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, and African states. Some shipments even allegedly flew directly on Israeli military and civilian planes via Greek airspace.

What makes this especially notable is that Serbia and Israel are technically in a diplomatic feud. In 2020, Israel recognized Kosovo’s independence, prompting Serbia to downgrade its diplomatic presence in Tel Aviv—though it did so quietly. Now, the arms sales reveal a clear pragmatism: Vučić sees Israel as a bridge to Washington, using defense ties and lobbying connections to position Serbia as a key Western ally in the Balkans.

Meanwhile, Israel’s own stance on military aid appears to be shifting. After years of publicly refusing to send lethal weapons to Ukraine, reports surfaced that Tel Aviv transferred U.S.-supplied Patriot systems to Kyiv—a claim Israeli officials quickly denied. But with Serbia and Israel both dropping pretenses, it’s clear strategic interests are trumping diplomatic postures. This is realpolitik in action, and the fallout is still unfolding.