It is essential that any activity in Kosovo\u2019s airspace be properly coordinated with NATO\u2019s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, to prevent tensions and ensure security, a NATO official told Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty.<\/p>\n
Kosovar authorities announced on October 8 that they had received \u201cthousands\u201d of combat drones from Turkey, prompting strong reactions from neighboring Serbia.<\/p>\n
The NATO official praised Turkey as a committed contributor to the NATO-led mission in Kosovo, KFOR, and to regional stability.
However, he declined to answer RFE\/RL\u2019s question about the circumstances under which Kosovo might be permitted to use those drones, noting that only the NATO-led mission has authority over the territory\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n
\u201cKFOR regularly monitors Kosovo\u2019s airspace, using all the tools and resources at its disposal, in accordance with its authority and existing mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999,\u201d the NATO official said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that KFOR remains \u201cclosely engaged on this important issue and is in close contact with Kosovo security organizations and the Serbian armed forces for this purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
KFOR is also the third security responder in Kosovo, after the Kosovo Police and the European Union Rule of Law Mission, EULEX.
Among other responsibilities, the NATO mission is charged with security along the border line between Kosovo and Serbia.<\/p>\n
NATO increased its presence in Kosovo during 2023, following a rise in tensions in the Serb-majority north, and now counts 4,649 peacekeepers from 33 countries.<\/p>\n
Mentor Vrajolli, director of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies (QKSS), told RFE\/RL that although Kosovo does not have authority over its own airspace, it still needs to develop defensive capabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a sort of arms race developing in the region, where I think it is to be expected that Kosovo will respond in kind, because its territorial security is openly threatened by a neighboring state,\u201d Vrajolli said, referring to Kosovar officials\u2019 allegations of drone incursions by Serbia.<\/p>\n
Kosovar officials said at the end of September that Kosovo\u2019s airspace had been violated by suspected Serbian drones. They did not provide details about those alleged incursions or when they exactly took place.<\/p>\n
KFOR, however, told RFE\/RL on September 26 that it had not observed any drone entries from outside into Kosovo\u2019s airspace that could affect the security of the whole country.<\/p>\n
Vrajolli told RFE\/RL that Kosovo\u2019s acquisition should not be seen \u201coutside the regional and global context,\u201d pointing to suspected Russian drone violations in Eastern Europe in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are defensive drones \u2014 so if someone comes and attacks Kosovo, these drones are used for such actions, and they are not intended to enter another country\u2019s territory to carry out operations,\u201d he added.
He believes Kosovo\u2019s objective is defense, not targeting another state.<\/p>\n
\u201cKFOR is not a very large force and the mission does not necessarily have the most advanced technology, because NATO does not yet view Kosovo as a country under direct threat\u2026 Therefore Kosovo\u2019s institutions must increase their capacity to counter these drones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cKosovo very much needs to develop technology that detects and disables these drones, because Kosovo could also face terrorist drone attacks, and honestly we do not know to what extent we currently have capacities to confront such threats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo\u2019s independence, has accused Turkey \u2014 one of NATO\u2019s most powerful members \u2014 of \u201cdreaming of the revival of the Ottoman Empire.\u201d
Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 said he is alarmed by Turkey\u2019s actions and claimed that Turkey had violated the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now completely clear that Turkey does not want stability in the Western Balkans and is once again dreaming about the revival of the Ottoman Empire. Serbia is a small country, but we understand their real intentions,\u201d the Serbian president wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n
Later, Serbia\u2019s Ministry of Defence said that after the delivery of Turkish drones to Kosovo, the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, General Millan Mojsilloviq, held an urgent phone conversation with KFOR Commander Major General \u00d6zkan Uluta\u015f.<\/p>\n
In a media statement, it was said that during the conversation General Mojsilloviq strongly protested the \u201ccontinuing arming of Kosovo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kosovo accepted drones of the Skydagger RTF 7 and Skydagger RTF 15 types, according to Kosovar officials. They said they received \u201cthousands\u201d of them but did not give an exact number.<\/p>\n
Vranjolli said the Skydagger RTF drones are not attack drones but defensive, and that Kosovo obtained them for protection; he described the defense sector as \u201chypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we will not need to use these drones, because they are destructive, but if Kosovo faces an external attack, then Kosovo must have the capacity to defend itself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Skydagger RTF is a \u201cready-to-fly\u201d drone equipped with an explosive payload for use against stationary and moving targets, although it also has professional applications such as surveillance and search-and-rescue.<\/p>\n
RTF signifies that the drone is fully assembled and includes all necessary components \u2014 the drone itself, a radio transmitter, a receiver and batteries \u2014 making it ready to fly immediately upon purchase.<\/p>\n
The Skydagger RTF 7 can reach a maximum speed of 130 kilometres per hour and an operational range of up to 10 kilometres, similar to the RTF 15.
With a maximum payload of 2 kilograms, the RTF 7 can fly for up to 12 minutes fully loaded and 20 minutes without payload. The Skydagger RTF 15 can fly up to 14 minutes with a maximum payload of 5 kilograms, and 36 minutes without payload.<\/p>\n
In August this year, the Kosovo Security Force (FSK) \u2014 which is in the process of transforming into an army \u2014 was also equipped with armoured vehicles purchased from the United States.<\/p>\n
Last year, it requested the purchase of 200 Javelin anti-tank missiles and is currently in the payment process.<\/p>\n
Kosovo also bought a fleet of Turkish Bayraktar drones in 2023.<\/p>\n
In 2018, military Humvee vehicles from the United States arrived in Kosovo. At the time, the Kosovo government signed a contract with the American company AM General to purchase 51 such vehicles.<\/p>\n
Two years later, Kosovo bought additional military vehicles from the U.S., and in 2021 the U.S. government donated 55 ASV (Armoured Security Vehicles) to Kosovo.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Kosovo\u2019s government has increased the defense budget \u2014 this year it reached \u20ac207.8 million.<\/p>\n
The FSK trains regularly at U.S. and European bases and also participates in multinational exercises like Defender Europe.<\/p>\n
At the end of last year, Kosovo also signed an agreement with Turkey to build its first ammunition factory.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is essential that any activity in Kosovo\u2019s airspace be properly coordinated with NATO\u2019s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, KFOR, to prevent tensions and ensure security, a NATO official told Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty. Kosovar authorities announced on October 8 that they had received \u201cthousands\u201d of combat drones from Turkey, prompting strong reactions from neighboring Serbia. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":80757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n