Haaretz daily said on Wednesday that the Serbian government is buying advanced artillery systems and drones from the Israeli Elbit Systems.

According to the Daily, the deal is worth 335 million Dollars.

Elbit Systems said on its website that it was awarded contracts worth 335 million Dollars to supply defence systems to an undisclosed European country. “The contracts include the supply of PULS™ (Precise and Universal Launching Systems) rocket launchers and rockets, as well as Hermes™ 900 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) equipped with advanced payloads.

The contracts will be performed over three years and six months,” the press release specified. It added that the PULS provides a comprehensive and cost-effective solution capable of launching unguided rockets, precision-guided munitions, and missiles with various ranges and is fully adaptable to existing wheeled and tracked platforms. A Serbian company alleged to have close ties to the authorities recently imported military-grade trucks capable of carrying rocket launchers from China.

Elbti said the Hermes 900 multi-role MALE UAS is its largest drone capable of performing a wide range of missions, including area dominance and persistent intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) across land and maritime domains.

Defense news-oriented portals said the purchase is a significant step in the modernization of the Serbian military, adding that the Elbti PULS can strike targets up to a range of 300 kilometres using various munitions from the same platform without relocating and is ideal for rapid response.

According to analysts, Serbia’s purchase of Israeli systems and drones comes in response to Croatia’s purchase of the US HIMARS system in an effort to maintain a strategic balance in the region.