The Ukrainian government has allowed foreign companies to participate in the development and modernization of military equipment and weapons on its territory, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported.
„Foreign companies may participate in the modernization of military equipment for the Ukrainian Defense Forces. This decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at the initiative of the Defense Ministry“, a statement on the ministry's website said.
The document adopted by the government introduces changes to the procedure for the development and production of new types of defense products, as well as the cessation of production of existing types. The updated mechanism is already applied to foreign economic contracts for defense procurement and establishes the terms of cooperation with foreign partners. The Defense Ministry added that foreign companies will be able to participate in the development and modernization of weapons if they have permission to transfer military technologies and export relevant goods and services.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry expects that aircraft and equipment, as well as warships, will be the main objects of modernization and hopes that foreign companies will use “advanced Western technologies“. “Innovations will allow us to meet the needs for the development of new models and modernization of existing weapons, military and special equipment“, the statement said.
As the Ukrainian newspaper “Economic Truth“ previously wrote, the defense industry is the only industry currently developing in the country, while the state is not able to ensure the full utilization of enterprises with its orders, because some factories have not been operating for months. In this regard, the Ukrainian authorities are asking Western partners to place defense orders with Ukrainian enterprises. So far, Denmark and Sweden have supported this initiative by allocating funds for such purchases.