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Kosovo received containers of “thousands” of Skydagger suicide drones on Wednesday, acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced. Kurti said on Facebook that the drones arrived ahead of schedule and that dozens of KSF soldiers have already been trained in their use.
Kosovo signed the contract in December last year with the well-known Turkish company Baykar, which is the parent company of the manufacturer Skydager, Kurti said.
"The Skydagger drones were scheduled to arrive in January 2026, but we received them three months early. These suicide drones, also known as RTF (Ready to Fly) Skydagger FpVs procured by us, are combat drones equipped with explosive devices with the aim of hitting moving and static enemy targets," Kurti wrote.
Kurti said that, with the purchase of these drones, Kosovo is continuing to "raise and increase the striking power of our army with the aim of building a capable and coherent force with new technological developments and contemporary warfare tactics."
The Kosovo Security Force is currently in the process of transforming into an army. This process began in 2018, following the adoption of legal amendments, and is expected to last ten years.
Spokesperson Liridona Gashi did not reveal how much was spent on armaments this year, but emphasizes that this government has invested "many times more" than in the past.
In September, the KSF received drones purchased from the United States - the RQ-20 Puma LE model. In August, the KSF was also equipped with armored vehicles, purchased from the United States. Last year, it submitted a request to purchase 200 more Javelin anti-tank missiles, and is now in the process of paying.
Kosovo has also purchased a fleet of Turkish drones, Bayraktar, in 2023. In 2018, military vehicles of the Humvee type also arrived in Kosovo from the US. The Kosovo government, at that time, signed a contract with the American company AM General for the purchase of 51 vehicles of this type.
Two years later, Kosovo purchased other military vehicles from the US, while in 2021, the US Government donated 55 ASV (Armored Security Vehicles) vehicles to Kosovo.
In recent years, the Government of Kosovo has increased the budget for the defense sector - this year it reached 207.8 million euros.
The KSF trains continuously at American and European bases, and also participates in multinational exercises such as "Defender Europe".
At the end of last year, Kosovo also signed an agreement with Turkey to build its first ammunition factory.
Gashi, from the Ministry of Defense, says that the expectations are for it to be operational “within two years.” Meanwhile, regarding the military cooperation announced in March between Kosovo, Albania and Croatia, he says that “a joint plan of activities is currently being compiled.”
The United States has supported the transformation of the KSF into an army from the beginning, but not NATO, which insists that the KSF stick to its original tasks, such as crisis response or civil protection./ REL
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