Turkish company to build ammunition and drone factory in Kosovo

(Patria) - The Government of Kosovo signed an agreement yesterday with the Turkish state defense company "Machinery and Chemical Industry Corporation" (MKE) on establishing an ammunition factory in Kosovo.

As announced by the office of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the factory will produce ammunition "of various calibers according to NATO standards".

- In addition to production machinery, the contract signed today also provides for personnel training, periodic maintenance, and equipment for testing and calibrating the quality of the systems - said Kurti.

The office of the Kosovo Prime Minister added that the factory will operate as a public enterprise and as a 100 percent local Kosovo brand.

On November 27, Kurti announced that the process of opening a factory for ammunition production and a laboratory for drone design had begun, stating that it is "a necessary step to guarantee the sustainable development of the army".

Minister of Defense Ejup Maqedonci says that the project was coordinated with international partners, including the USA, and that the Ministry of Defense of Turkey assisted with a "feasibility study".

Last summer, Kosovo purchased Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicles from Turkey. Kurti said at the time that their purchase made Kosovo "even safer" and added that officers of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) had already been trained to use the drones. It was not known at the time how many drones were purchased.

The budget of the Ministry of Defense for 2025 is projected to be 207.8 million euros, or 54 million euros more than this year.

The KSF are currently in the process of transforming into a regular army. By the end of this process, in 2028, the KSF are expected to have more than 7,500 active and reserve members, while they currently have 4,000.