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From Tel Aviv to Belgrade and then back to Tel Aviv. That was the route of an Israeli transport plane on March 5, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty found through an analysis of specialized flight tracking websites. The plane was intended to transport heavy and dangerous cargo, such as weapons.
However, it is not clear what it was carrying, as the responsible institutions have not provided any clarification. This is not the only time that a transport plane of the private Israeli company “Challenge Airlines IL” has landed in Belgrade in the last month. REL has discovered that during February and early March, two transport planes of this company made at least nine flights between Serbia and Israel, in both directions.
Two of these flights were recorded after the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Radio Free Europe asked the Serbian ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Trade about these flights and what was transported on them, but did not receive a response.
The Israeli company that owns the transport aircraft did not respond either. Serbia suspended arms exports at the end of June last year, following an instruction from President Aleksandar Vučić.
This happened at the height of the Israeli-Iranian conflict and amid accusations from Moscow that Serbia, through intermediaries, was exporting ammunition to Ukraine. But according to information confirmed to Radio Free Europe by two state-owned arms factories, arms exports outside Serbia resumed in February. Despite REL's continued efforts, state institutions in Serbia have not disclosed what they are exporting, to whom, and under what conditions.
According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, in 2025, Serbia exported weapons and ammunition worth about $50 million.
This is half the amount recorded in 2024, when exports, according to the same data, exceeded $104 million. However, these are not final amounts, as accurate data is not publicly available. Serbia has not published for years what weapons and military equipment it exports, to whom and in what quantities.
What do they say at Belgrade Airport?
Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport does not provide details about what was transported by cargo planes that flew from Belgrade to Tel Aviv and vice versa in February and March.
In its response to Radio Free Europe, it is stated that the airport allows airlines to use its infrastructure "in accordance with international and national regulations governing the transport of passengers and various types of cargo in air traffic."
It is not clear who hired the private Israeli airline, as the relevant ministries did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions.
Israel's Challenge Airlines describes itself as an airline specializing in transporting "non-standard cargo." According to its website, it owns three Boeing aircraft intended for cargo traffic.
The company reportedly offers regular services between Tel Aviv and European countries, as well as the United States, via Liege Airport in Belgium. It also says it has various security licenses for air cargo transportation, issued by the European Union, the United States, China and other countries.
It emphasizes that it is trained to transport a variety of goods - from food to explosives, medicine and large machinery. Since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East in late February, much of the international air traffic in that region has been suspended and the flow of goods has been significantly reduced.
However, Challenge Airlines continues to fly to Israel and provide cargo services. Earlier, in November 2024, Belgian media reported that the airline had filed complaints against federal and regional regulations in Belgium that restrict the transport of weapons and military equipment to Israel.
According to them, "Challenge Airlines" denied at the time that it was transporting weapons, claiming that it was sending humanitarian aid and food to Israel./ REL
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