Türkiye's state-owned defense manufacturer MKE has signed an agreement to build a turnkey ammunition production facility in Kosovo, a report said on Tuesday, the latest step showcasing advancing defense links between Ankara and Pristina.
The announcement follows a delivery of thousands of kamikaze drones to the Balkan nation by Turkish giant Baykar earlier this month.
In late November, Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Kosovo planned to build its first ammunition factory and drone design lab to prop up the country's defense industry.
Kurti has repeatedly argued for increased defense spending to counter any potential threat from neighboring Serbia, which still considers Kosovo part of its territory.
NATO still has a force of more than 4,000 peacekeepers mainly in the northern part of Kosovo, where in the past two years the country has seen its worst ethnic tensions since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
The MKE plant will have an annual production capacity of 20 million cartridges, the news agency DHA reported on Tuesday. It is planned to be completed by 2026.
Under the deal, the Turkish company will supply the Balkan nation with case and bullet manufacturing machinery, loading and assembly lines and laboratory and testing equipment.
In addition, MKE personnel will provide training in production, maintenance and repair, as well as technical assistance to the local workforce, the report said.
The Turkish firm will be responsible for constructing the buildings in which production will take place.
Meanwhile, MKE recently completed and inaugurated similar projects in Jordan and Mongolia. On Tuesday, it said it is currently in talks with eight additional countries to establish ammunition, weapon assembly and munitions filling and assembly plants.
On Oct. 8, Kosovo announced it had taken delivery of thousands of Turkish Skydagger kamikaze drones.
The drones are developed by Baykar, from which Kosovo also bought a batch of famed Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles in July 2023.
The Skydagger delivery sparked criticism from Serbia, whose president, Aleksandar Vucic, said he was "appalled" by Türkiye's behavior.
Shortly after, Vucic backtracked, describing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a great leader and saying Serbia wants "the closest" relations with Türkiye.
Ankara has sought close ties with all the Balkan nations, including Serbia, and has undertaken a role as a mediator in the highly volatile region.
Vucic himself has repeatedly said Serbia planned to purchase the Bayraktar drones.
