Serbia’s arms exports to Israel surged by 140 percent in 2025, reaching a record 114 million euros ($131.1 million), according to official data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Open-source flight tracking shows that the shipments were carried on 38 cargo flights, doubling the number from 2024. The dramatic rise comes despite a public declaration by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić halting all defense exports, a contradiction highlighted in a joint Haaretz–BIRN investigation last August. According to Haaretz monitoring, arms shipments intensified following the outbreak of war against Hamas and Hezbollah in October 2023.
The spike in exports is striking: Serbian deliveries of arms and ammunition to Israel totaled just 3 million euros ($3.5 million) in 2023, surged to 48 million euros ($55 million) in 2024, and more than doubled again in 2025. Most exports were facilitated by the state-owned arms manufacturer Yugoimport SDPR, with additional shipments by four other Serbian companies. According to Serbia’s Ministry of Trade, companies such as Edepro and Romax supplied ordnance to IMI Systems, a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems that produces missiles, rockets, and artillery shells. Haaretz previously reported that the shipments included 155-mm artillery shells, with photographic evidence showing pallets loaded at Belgrade Airport for flights to Israel’s Nevatim Air Force Base.
Aviation tracking data indicates that Israeli cargo planes, both military and civilian, made 20 flights to Belgrade in 2024. In 2025, this doubled to 38 flights, and the trend has continued into 2026, with 17 flights recorded in less than three months. The exports reflect a broader deepening of military cooperation between Israel and Serbia. Early in 2025, Israel’s Elbit Systems sold Serbia advanced artillery systems and drones worth $335 million, followed by an August deal for $1.6 billion covering drones, long-range missiles, and electronic warfare equipment. Israeli cyber technology has also been sold to Serbia, enabling mass-surveillance capabilities that have reportedly been deployed during domestic protests to monitor political opponents.
The arms transfers intersect with political and intelligence controversies involving Israel and Serbia. Haaretz has reported that Israel Einhorn, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resides in Serbia and is a key suspect in corruption-related investigations in Israel. Serbian authorities have reportedly refused to cooperate with Israel’s requests for his temporary arrest, citing his close ties to senior Serbian officials. Haaretz–BIRN previously revealed that Einhorn leveraged connections in Serbia and Montenegro to facilitate arms shipments to Israel, helping address ammunition shortages caused by the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
Meanwhile, developments in Slovenia underscore a broader pattern of Israeli private intelligence operations in Europe. Slovenia’s intelligence agency, SOVA, confirmed that representatives of the Israeli firm Black Cube visited the country four times over the past six months amid concerns about potential foreign interference in parliamentary elections. SOVA presented findings to Slovenia’s National Security Council, describing the operatives’ methods—fake LinkedIn profiles, false identities, staged meetings, and digital erasure—which correspond with prior allegations of election-related covert operations. Investigations suggest that some meetings involved opposition political figures, though authorities refrained from confirming specific contacts. Haaretz reported on these developments, noting the company’s history of clandestine operations and prior scandals, including involvement in Romania and operations for high-profile clients abroad.
Black Cube, founded in 2010 by former Israeli intelligence officers, has a controversial record, including past operations for Harvey Weinstein and Romanian officials. Haaretz highlighted the company’s ongoing links to Israeli government interests, including meetings last year between Black Cube executives and Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, discussing potential operations against pro-Palestinian activists in the United States. The firm’s methods—covert surveillance, disinformation, and politically timed exposures—illustrate how military, intelligence, and political spheres are increasingly intertwined across borders.
The surge in Serbia’s arms exports and the parallel intelligence activities in Europe reflect the intensifying global repercussions of the Middle East conflicts. While Europe debates boycotts or restrictions on Israel, Serbia’s record-breaking arms shipments and Israel’s private intelligence initiatives indicate an expanding network of military and political cooperation that operates largely behind the public eye. Haaretz reporting underscores the opacity surrounding these deals and the challenges of holding states accountable for arms transfers and covert operations.
For Serbia, the economic and political benefits of arms sales coincide with geopolitical alignment with Israel, yet the exports contradict public statements intended to limit defense transfers. The resulting international scrutiny, documented extensively by Haaretz and partner organizations, raises questions about oversight, transparency, and the use of private intelligence to influence political outcomes both domestically and abroad. The complex interplay of arms trade, private intelligence, and regional conflict highlights how global security issues now extend far beyond traditional battlefields, affecting European elections, domestic political stability, and international diplomatic relations.
Haaretz’s investigations reveal that while arms sales, intelligence operations, and diplomatic maneuvering continue, accountability remains limited. The combination of official state exports, private contractors, and influential intermediaries creates a system that is difficult to monitor, leaving civil society and the international community with few tools to fully understand or regulate the flows of weapons and covert activities.
As the Serbia-Israel arms relationship grows, so too does the broader web of geopolitical and intelligence entanglements in Europe and the Middle East. The record-breaking arms shipments and ongoing covert operations documented by Haaretz offer a rare glimpse into a shadowed dimension of international security, where state and private actors converge to shape conflict, influence politics, and secure strategic advantages far from public scrutiny.