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Seong Hyeon Choi

Cutting-edge Chinese technology could gradually be becoming part of Serbia’s weapons systems with the appearance of robot dogs in a Serbian military drill on the weekend soon after the opening of a Chinese robotics factory in the Balkan country, according to observers.
Robodogs equipped with machine guns, grenade launchers and rocket launchers were among the major weapons systems unveiled at Serbia’s Pobednik 2026 large-scale tactical live-fire exercise on Sunday.
The event involved its army, air force, air defence, special forces and military police and, according to Serbian media reports, the robodogs were designed to enter dangerous areas and secure entry routes for special forces, operations that were part of the military drill.
The robodogs’ debut comes only a few weeks after Europe’s first factory for mass-producing humanoid robots and robotic dogs began production in the western Serbian city of Sabac.
During factory’s opening ceremony on August 29, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the country would unveil domestically produced combat robots in action “in 15 days”.
The robot factory was jointly established by Taiwan-headquartered automotive supplier Minth Group and mainland Chinese robotics company AgiBot.
AgiBot, which provides technological support for the Sabac factory, said that the company “neither manufactured nor sold” the quadrupedal robots involved in the military drills, and that the products it developed and sold were intended exclusively for civilian purposes.
However, Minth Group, which actually operates the factory, did not respond to the South China Morning Post’s request for comment.

While the US is thought to be a leader in robodog technology, military exports are strictly controlled.
This leaves China as the most likely source of Serbia’s robotic dogs, given the two countries’ existing defence collaboration and China’s 80 per cent share of global robodog production.
“[One can] only assume the dog robots were manufactured in Sabac,” said Vuk Vuksanovic, lecturer in foreign policy and grand strategy education at King’s College London.
“The issue remains: how advanced is the Serbian defence system, and does it allow integration of Chinese robotics, given that Serbian defence procurement is not always based on long-term strategic planning.
“For China, the main reason for these transactions is to win new defence markets, and Serbia can be used as a potential short cut to European defence markets.”
China is one of the world’s largest suppliers of parts for uncrewed platforms, often with the potential for both civilian and military uses, and is rapidly integrating robotics technologies into its own military.
During a military parade in Beijing in September last year, the People’s Liberation Army showcased robodogs equipped with combat rifles and reconnaissance gear.
China also unveiled similar robotic dogs during February’s World Defence Show 2026 in Saudi Arabia, potentially in an attempt to drum up overseas sales. On display was the PF-070 system, which carries four anti-tank guided missiles.


Martin Sebena, a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong who specialises in China-Europe relations, said there was “both industrial and geopolitical logic” to the countries’ “intense collaboration” on drone production, with the Serbian Ministry of Defence explicitly describing China as a partner in air defence and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
“Together with robotics, this gives rise to a dual-use industrial cluster,” Sebena said. “On the geopolitical side, production in Serbia can be seen as hedging, as it allows AgiBot to localise production in Europe in case import restrictions are imposed on it in the future.
“Robotics production has the cover of a Sino-Serbian strategic partnership and goes in line with Serbia’s recent military purchases from China, which has become Serbia’s largest arms supplier.”
Sebena said that given the UAV precedent, the integration of Chinese robotics technology into the Serbian military “could go quite far”.
“The Chinese have first sold drones to Serbia, then helped it develop its own UAV systems until the Serbians were able to produce UAVs themselves,” Sebena said.
“The same could repeat here, with the Chinese providing the know-how, platform and software, and the Serbian side adapting the technology and integrating it into their military.”
Serbia is a major customer for China’s arms industry, buying 6.8 per cent of Beijing’s arms exports between 2021 and 2025 – the second-biggest buyer after Pakistan, which accounted for 61 per cent, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Belgrade’s recent military drill also featured other Chinese-made weapons systems, showing intelligence collection using CH-95 long-range reconnaissance and strike UAVs and tackling swarms of low-flying drones and combat aircraft with the HQ-17AE short-range surface-to-air missile system.


Chinese weapons systems play a particularly significant role in Serbia’s air defence network, which reportedly operates Chinese-made HQ-9 long-range and FK-3 surface-to-air missile systems.
Liselotte Odgaard, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, said Serbia would likely integrate Chinese robotics, sensors, AI, autonomy software and networking technologies into its drone-enabled formations.
Meanwhile, China saw Serbia as a “strategic European manufacturing and technology partner” that was politically receptive to Chinese investments and technology transfers, she said.
“I expect cooperation to be deepened gradually over the next three to five years, especially in drones,” Odgaard said.
“The opening of the robotics factory and recent military cooperation suggest growing institutional links.”
Odgaard added that Serbia was likely to balance these ties against its relations with the EU and other partners, which could mean that “incremental integration” and co-production were more likely than wholesale dependence on Chinese military robotics.
Stefan Vladisavljev, programme director at the Serbia-based Foundation BFPE for a Responsible Society, said Belgrade traditionally maintained a policy of military neutrality, which did not limit its cooperation with different actors.
“As Serbia and China have developed their relations over the span of the past two decades, an increased amount of military-type equipment has been purchased from China,” Vladisavljev said.
“With the development of military technology, now we are entering a phase in which Serbia – in order to build its own capacity – is purchasing new types of equipment.”


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Analysts say the nations are deepening their collaboration, with China seeing Serbia as a gateway to the European market


Analysts say the nations are deepening their collaboration, with China seeing Serbia as a gateway to the European market.


Were the Serbian military’s new robot dogs built using Chinese technology?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysts say the nations are deepening their collaboration, with China seeing Serbia as a gateway to the European market

Analysts say the nations are deepening their collaboration, with China seeing Serbia as a gateway to the European market