EditTurkey to build Kosovo’s first ammunition factory amid regional tensions
Serbia is unlikely to "swallow" the announcement quitely, as in the past it has decried Kosovo's armament efforts as provocative
Turkey’s state-owned defence giant MKE (Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi A.Ş.) has signed a contract to construct Kosovo’s first ammunition factory, capable of producing 20 million rounds annually. The Turkish company will construct all necessary facilities and deliver comprehensive training in production, maintenance, and repair, while providing ongoing technical assistance to the local workforce.
The turnkey project, slated for completion in 2026, represents a pivotal step in Pristina’s drive for defence self-sufficiency and highlights the surging military partnership between Ankara and Pristina.
Under the agreement, MKE will deliver comprehensive support, including machinery for cartridge and bullet production, assembly and loading lines, laboratories, and testing equipment. Turkish experts will train local staff in production, maintenance, repair, and technical operations, while MKE oversees the full construction of the facilities. This initiative builds on Acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s late November 2024 announcement of plans for the ammunition plant and a drone design laboratory, aimed at fortifying Kosovo’s defense industry against perceived threats from neighboring Serbia.
The past year has seen military ties between Turkey and Kosovo deepen dramatically. In July 2023, Pristina acquired Bayraktar TB2 drones from Turkey’s Baykar. This month, on 8 October, Kosovo received thousands of Skydigger kamikaze drones from the same firm, further enhancing its aerial capabilities. Kurti has framed these investments as essential countermeasures to Serbia’s ongoing territorial claims, positioning Kosovo as a de facto state backed by Western allies and NATO.
According to some, Kosovo’s ammunition factory is permissible under UN resolutions, enhancing self-reliance without breaching import bans. This reflects evolving post UN Resolution1244 realities, where Kosovo acts as a de facto state with Western backing.
However, Serbia is unlikely to “swallow” the announcement quitely. Serbia has repeatedly decried Kosovo’s armament efforts as provocative. For instance, in October 2025, when Kosovo received thе Turkish Skydagger drones, Vučić accused Turkey of “imperial ambitions” and attempting to resurrect the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, framing it as a direct challenge to Serbian sovereignty.
Serbia-Kosovo tensions escalate as Vučić accuses Turkey of reviving Ottoman Empire ambitions
Earlier, in response to U.S. arms shipments like Javelin missiles, Vučić expressed “disappointment” to Washington while mulling a ban on Serbia’s own arms exports to signal resolve. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti has justified the factory explicitly as a hedge against “threats from neighboring Serbia,” which only fuels Belgrade’s narrative of Albanian aggression.
More recently, however, Vučić quickly tempered his rhetoric, praising President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a “great leader” and affirming Serbia’s pursuit of “the closest possible relations” with Turkey.
The developments unfold amid escalating ethnic tensions in northern Kosovo, the most severe since independence in 2008. NATO’s KFOR mission sustains over 4,000 peacekeepers there to maintain stability. For MKE, the Kosovo project fits a pattern of global expansion: the company recently completed similar ammunition facilities in Jordan and Mongolia and is negotiating with eight other nations for weapons assembly and munitions plants.
Turkey’s involvement aligns with its reproached “neo-Ottoman” outreach in the Western Balkans, leveraging cultural-historical links to ethnic Albanians (many Kosovo Albanians trace ancestry to Ottoman-era migrations) and countering Russian influence via Serbia. Kosovo, in turn, views Turkey as a reliable NATO-aligned supplier amid EU hesitancy on its army transformation.
Sources: BGNES, Daily Sabah, Koha, Telegrafi, edited by a.k.
Caption: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) arrive for their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, 11 October 2024. President Erdogan is on an official state visit to Serbia. EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC
Updated: October 22, 2025 - 11:24
