According to Oleksandr Kamishin, Minister of Strategic Industry, this year Ukraine can already independently assemble BMPs, armored personnel carriers, and light guns.
What is known about the rapid development of the Ukrainian defense industry
Kamyshin noted that this year Ukraine, together with companies from Great Britain and France, plans to start the production of light guns of 105 mm caliber.
With all the countries with which the president signs "security agreements", there is a block on the joint production of weapons and military equipment. Secondly, we have further negotiations with these countries at the government level on individual agreements at the industry level. Thirdly, we have dozens of agreements of various levels signed between Ukrainian and foreign companies, which are working to organize joint maintenance, repair and production of military equipment, - explains the minister.
Kamyshin emphasized that Western partners have an excellent opportunity to build joint production facilities with Ukraine.
Already this year, we can assemble BMP, armored personnel carriers and 105-caliber light guns in Ukraine together with German and British companies. The question is how to finance the purchase of these weapons, the minister notes.
This year will be the year of drones
Kamyshin predicts that this year Ukraine will start actively using ground drones on the front line.
Last year we saw drones in action in the air as well as at sea. This year will be the year we see them on earth. This will be the year when you will hear more about ground robotic systems, the minister notes.
Kamyshin reminded that strikes on strategic objects on the territory of Russia were carried out with the help of Ukrainian-made UAVs.
Last month, the Ukrainian military showed footage of the front-line use of the Ironclad unmanned ground robot equipped with a thermal imaging camera and a ShaBlya M2 combat turret.
Ironclad is a robotic platform that helps the Defense Forces carry out front-line combat missions. Assault enemy positions, conduct reconnaissance and provide military fire support. It has an armored shell that protects against small arms, and it can be controlled remotely - from a safe place.
Meanwhile, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov noted that this year Ukraine will implement the task of producing one million UAVs.
At the end of last year, President Zelenskyi announced a plan to produce more than a million drones this year. The whole government team is now working on this and there was a lot of contracting going on in January and February. Hundreds of thousands of UAVs have already been contracted, and this goal will be fulfilled this year, Fedorov emphasized.
According to him, there will be more than a million FVP drones in 2024 alone.
In general, the minister promises more reconnaissance aircraft, attack copters, kamikaze drones, sea drones, ground platforms, and EW this year.
In addition, says the head of the Ministry of Digital, 90% of drones currently used by the Ukrainian military on the battlefield are Ukrainian-made.
The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vadym Sukharevskyi, emphasized that the Forces of Unmanned Systems will give the Ukrainian military the opportunity to inflict maximum losses on the occupying Russian army this year.
Therefore, the units that will be formed in the future will be a powerful fist that will solve real tasks on the battlefield, that will be a reliable shoulder of support for our combat brigades, this will be the element that will make it possible to asymmetrically respond to the actions of the enemy and cause him maximum losses , - explains Sukharevskyi.
