Ukrainian military engineers looked for alternative options against problems with military aid to AFU from the United States and other partners. They began to create analogues of foreign technology. The first results of their work, namely the HMMWV and M113 copies — the "Kharakternyk" armoured vehicle and the "Sikach" APV — are already helping AFU soldiers to destroy the enemy at the front.
Production of analogues of Western technology in Ukraine. What is known
Ukrainian engineers, who so creatively approached the problem of lack of equipment, say that production has already been established at the capacities of several enterprises in different parts of the country.
The authors of the idea emphasise that they could still achieve almost complete compliance with the original samples but with certain technical features.
As of today, it is possible to put five copies of the Humvee and M113 into service every month. What is essential to understand is that this happens only after all the necessary tests.
Armoured "Sikach" and Browning machine gun on "Kharakternyk": How Ukraine's copies of foreign technology were created
According to the developers, the Ukrainian Humvee almost does not differ from its American prototype.
Engineers do not hide that the " Kharakternyk " chassis is taken from the GAZ-66, Ford F-15, or F-350.
As for the "Sikach", in this case they used the mobile MTLB and the old BMP-1. The production of individual units caused certain difficulties, but in the end, the technical and technical characteristics of the machine were almost completely reproduced, and in some cases even improved.
It is also worth paying attention to the fact that the exterior of both cars is almost indistinguishable from the original models.
According to the soldier of the Armed Forces with the call sign "Satan", when he first got into the Ukrainian Humvee, he could not even imagine that it was a copy and not an original.
"Only when I was told that it was no longer a HMMWV, but a Kharakternyk, did I take a closer look and noticed certain differences in the interior," says the fighter.
However, interestingly, the M113 had a slightly different story because, in the original, it was the first aluminium armoured personnel carrier.
The developers realised that, in this case, there was a more profound modernisation, so "Sikach" was created from the original alloy.
Of course, we do it without a license, everything had to be done on the go, from wheels, as they say. The war does not give us time to coordinate all the formalities quickly. We hope that the American allies will understand our situation and, given their problems with supplies at the legislative level, will not condemn us for this, but on the contrary — will help, — note the developers.
