Croatia is prepared to produce several million first-person view (FPV) drones per year to meet rising demand, Defence Minister Ivan Anušić said on October 1, adding that a deal on anti-drone protection for critical infrastructure would soon be signed.

Speaking after the international military exercise Sava Star 25 at the Gašinci training ground near Đakovo, Anušić said Croatia has positioned itself as a leading country within Nato for FPV drone production, a defence ministry statement said.

The country currently produces about 200,000 drones annually, which are already in use by the armed forces of Croatia, Bulgaria, the United States, France and Saudi Arabia, he said.

“We are talking about the possibility of very quickly raising the production to half a million or more than half a million drones per year,” Anušić told reporters. “If the project is fully implemented as we envisioned, it will be several million drones per year, or as many as needed.”

Anušić stressed that the drones are fully designed and manufactured in Croatia, describing them as “a 100% Croatian product that is very efficient, extremely high quality and in demand.”

He also said Croatia is working on counter-drone capabilities and would soon sign an agreement with one domestic and one foreign company on developing anti-drone systems to protect critical infrastructure, which could later be deployed across Nato facilities.

At the exercise, which runs until October 5, 120 Croatian and 80 British troops demonstrated coordinated tactical operations. Anušić said the drills underscored close cooperation with the United Kingdom and alignment on security issues, including support for Ukraine.