Key facts
- Serbia inaugurated a factory producing Israeli-made drones.
- The factory's owner is SDS Technologies, a Serbian company founded in April 2025.
- SDS Technologies is owned by a UK company, Liberty Blue International Ltd. (formerly Cupa Limited).
- The ownership structure has raised questions due to a lack of transparency and discrepancies from initial reports.
- Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturer, was initially expected to be a partner but does not appear in company records.
- Greek citizen Maria Kardamaki, Israeli lawyer Zion Amir, and George Antoine Elghossain are listed as directors of SDS Technologies.
Serbia has inaugurated a new factory producing Israeli-made drones, a move hailed by President Aleksandar Vucic as a boost for the country's military and economy. The factory, owned by SDS Technologies, was initially reported to be a joint venture between Israel's Elbit Systems and Serbia's state arms producer Yugoimport-SDPR. However, current company records reveal a different ownership structure, raising concerns about transparency.
SDS Technologies was founded in April 2025 under the name Cupa Enterprises and is owned by a UK company, Liberty Blue International Ltd., formerly known as Cupa Limited. The Serbian Business Registry lists Maria Kardamaki (Greek citizen), Zion Amir (Israeli lawyer who has represented Benjamin Netanyahu), and George Antoine Elghossain (US citizen with Lebanese roots) as directors of SDS Technologies as of September 17. Liberty Blue International Ltd. recently changed its name and lists "satellite telecommunications activities" and "management consultancy activities" as its main business. Athanasios Rammos, a Greek national, resigned from both SDS Technologies and Liberty Blue International Ltd. in September and July, respectively, though he still controls 75 percent of the UK company.
Neither Elbit Systems nor Yugoimport-SDPR appear in the Serbian or UK company records, and Elbit Systems did not publicly announce the factory opening or respond to inquiries about its involvement. Senior Elbit officials and Israel's ambassador to Serbia attended the opening ceremony, with the Israeli embassy describing it as a milestone in their strategic partnership. Experts note a significant discrepancy between the announced structure and the formal documents, suggesting that while Elbit likely provided the technology, the opaque ownership structure is characteristic of Serbia's defense industry, which is heavily influenced by political elites.