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# From Strong Defense Producer to Minimal Output: Where Did North Macedonia’s Military Industry Go?
- URL: https://www.adriadefense.com/from-strong-defense-producer-to-minimal-output-where-did-north-macedonias-military-industry-go/
- Published: 2025-11-25T07:30:03.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-25T07:30:02.000Z
- Description: Once a major contributor to GDP, North Macedonia’s defense industry has dramatically contracted, leaving experts warning about lost strategic independence and urging industrial revival to support NATO commitments.
- Author: AdriaDefense Desk
- Tags: North Macedonia, #Macedonia defense news, #Macedonia defense industry, Industry, #Shevšhet Demirovski, #ATS Group, #Radmila Šekerinska, #Metodi Hadži-Janev

A public discussion has re-emerged in North Macedonia regarding the condition and potential of its **defense-industrial sector**, triggered by a defense-industry scandal in neighboring Serbia involving North Macedonian national **Shevšhet Demirovski**, owner of “ATS Group” in North Macedonia. The incident has reignited debate over whether the country is using — or neglecting — its defense-production capabilities at a time when global demand in this industry is sharply growing.

The last published institutional review of the sector came earlier this year, following a meeting on **January 11** between Minister of Defence **Radmila Šekerinska** and representatives of the Macedonian Chamber of Commerce.

During the session, **Aneta Trajkovska**, COO of the Chamber, noted that domestic defense-oriented production has **shrunk significantly** over the last few decades. In 1992, it represented **32% of national GDP** — by 2016, that figure had dropped to **just 15%**.

Experts agree with this downward assessment, adding that former industrial giants in the Macedonia defense sector now predominantly manufacture textile products and small-scale ammunition primarily for domestic use.

**Professor Metodi Hadži-Janev**, a leading analyst of defense-industry trends in the region, stressed the strategic relevance of this sector:

> “Defense-industrial capability has always been — and will always be — of crucial importance for the defense and the economy of the state.”

He argues that in an era of technological acceleration and sector-to-sector interdependence, strategic management of the defense-industrial base can **significantly impact national welfare** — not only through supply-chain independence in crises or conflict, but also through economic effects:

- revenue generation
- job creation
- development of industrial infrastructure
- stimulation of related industries

Hadži-Janev emphasizes that NATO membership could become an additional catalyst for industrial revitalization. He specifically highlights potential spillover benefits into:

- **education and technical training**,
- **the country’s textile know-how**,
- and **the emerging IT sector**,  
which could all contribute to — and gain from — the development of Macedonian defense-production companies.