Serbia's Arms Spree Faces a Reckoning

A student-led election upset ends Vucic's 12-year rule—and puts nearly €3.65 billion in defense deals under an anti-corruption microscope.

By The Defense Desk

Serbia's next government inherited a weapons portfolio that spans 12 French Rafale jets, Chinese FK-3 and HQ-17A air defense systems, CH-92 and CH-95 drones from Beijing, and Hermes drones from Israel—all bought under a leader who was just voted out by half a million votes. [1]

Aleksandar Vucic, who ran Serbia for 12 years, spent around 1.12 billion euros on arms procurement in 2025 alone and nearly 3.65 billion euros between 2021 and 2025, according to SIPRI. [1] In January he announced he would double Serbia's military capabilities within 18 months. [1]

[1]

"What could reasonably be expected is a slowdown in armament expenditures in the couple of years to come," she said. [1] The manifesto also promises a pay rise for military personnel and talks of remedying a "scarcity of qualified personnel." [1]

When a defense budget doubles as a corruption trail, the audit becomes the policy. Serbia's new rulers have campaigned on transparency; now they must decide which inherited commitments survive the paper trail.

[1] Whether those ambitions survive a forensic audit of Vucic's contracts is the open question.