According to information confirmed to Radio Free Europe from two state-owned arms factories in Serbia, the export of weapons abroad has been restarted since February, after an eight-month embargo. The relevant ministries, however, do not answer questions about whether and what they export and under what conditions.
From Tel Aviv, to Belgrade, and back to Tel Aviv, was the path of the Israeli cargo plane on March 5, at the time conflicts in the Middle East RFE/RL has determined, by analyzing specialized flight tracking sites. This aircraft is intended for the transport of heavy and dangerous cargo, such as weapons. However, it is not known what the plane was carrying, and the competent institutions are silent.
And this is not the only time that a cargo plane of the private Israeli airline "Challenge Airlines IL" has come to Belgrade in the past month. During February and early March, RSE noted that two cargo planes of this company had at least nine flights on the route from Serbia to Israel or vice versa. Of these, two flights were recorded after the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East on February 28, when the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran.
However, the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Trade did not answer the questions of this newsroom about these flights and what was being transported by them until the text was published. There was no response from the Israeli company that owns the cargo planes either.
Workers at arms factories say exports have continued
And although the state does not confirm that the moratorium on exports has now been "lifted", this is what employees of two state-owned arms factories in Serbia told RFE/RL.
They said that in February 2026 they received a letter that, after an eight-month ban, exports abroad continued.
"The trade union received information from the management that the state approved a part of the export of military weapons," Aleksandar Tadić, president of the trade union at the "Zastava Arms" factory in Kragujevac, told RFE/RL.
"We don't know officially who the buyers are, from which countries, but this is the first and a good step for the factory, because it found itself in a difficult situation because of that export ban," he adds.
He also points out that deliveries of sporting hunting weapons, which are also produced in this factory in central Serbia, "long ago" headed for the United States of America, which is among the key partners for these shipments.
The management of "Zastava Oraza" did not respond to questions about exports.
And in Užice, in the west of Serbia, where the "Prvi Partizan" weapons factory is headquartered, workers received the same news.
"We received information about a month ago that the export started, we have no idea where or what it is going to," one of the members of the Sloga trade union in "Prvo Partizan" told RFE/RL on the condition of anonymity.
The management of this factory did not confirm this information for RSE either. No answers came from the headquarters of other state-owned companies for the production and trade of weapons, which are members of the Defense Industry of Serbia. Neither the Ministry of Defense is responsible for RSE whether the export of weapons abroad continued and under what conditions.
Previously suspended export
At the end of June 2025, following the instructions of President Aleksandar Vučić, Serbia suspended the export of weapons - in the midst of the then Israeli-Iranian conflict and frequent accusations from Moscow that it was exporting ammunition to Ukraine through intermediaries.
On the day when he is the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić declared that the export of arms was temporarily suspended and ammunition, the Israeli cargo plane landed at the "Nikola Tesla" Airport in Belgrade and flew to Israel the next day, "Time" was written.
According to the data of the Republic Institute of Statistics, in 2025, Serbia exported weapons and ammunition worth around 50 million dollars. That is half less than in 2024, when exports, according to the same data, exceeded 104 million dollars.
However, these are not the final amounts. Because precise data are not publicly available. That is, for several years now, the state has not announced what weapons and military equipment it exported, to whom and in what quantities, and how much it cost.
What does the Belgrade airport say?
Belgrade Airport "Nikola Tesla" does not provide details of what was transported by the cargo planes, which flew from Belgrade to Tel Aviv or vice versa in February and March.
The company Belgrade Airport, which manages the airport, said in a brief reply to RSE that it enables airlines to use the airport infrastructure "in accordance with international and national regulations that regulate the transportation of passengers and various types of cargo in air traffic."
It is not known who hired the Israeli private airline, while the relevant ministries do not respond to RFE's inquiries.
Who is transporting the cargo?
The Israeli "Challenge Airlines" describes itself as an airline specializing in the transportation of "non-standard cargo". According to data from their official website, they own three Boeing airplanes, intended for cargo traffic.
The company, as stated, provides regular services between Tel Aviv and European countries, as well as to the United States of America (USA), via Liege Airport in Belgium. They also say that they have various security licenses for cargo air traffic issued by the European Union, the USA, China and other countries. They point out that they are trained to transport different goods - from food, to explosives, medicines, large machines.
Since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East at the end of February, a large part of international air traffic to that region has been suspended, and the flow of goods has been significantly reduced.
Challenge Airlines, however, continues to fly to Israel and carry out cargo services.
Earlier, in November 2024, Belgian media reported that this airline filed complaints against federal and regional Belgian regulations that limit the transport of weapons and military equipment to Israel. According to the Belgian media, the company "Challenge Airlines" was then denied to transport weapons - claiming to deliver humanitarian aid and food to Israel.
Expedited delivery
The United States is the largest arms exporter to Israel, and the value of the shipments is measured in the billions of dollars. Two-thirds of Israel's arms imports come from the US. And from Serbia, according to the recognition of the President of the country Aleksandar Vučić, the delivery of ammunition was accelerated from October 2023.
Then Israel was attacked by Hamas, a Palestinian organization considered terrorist by the US and the EU. Israel then launched a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip, which led to mass casualties among Palestinian civilians, the destruction of cities and a humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations has accused Israel of grave human rights violations and war crimes.
Source: Radio Free Europe
