France, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Türkiye, and even the USA have expressed an interest in and readiness to enter the Ukrainian market.
Valentyn Badrak, the Director of the Center for Army, Conversion, and Disarmament Studies, explained to UkraineWorld the importance of Ukraine’s military-technical cooperation with its partners and its prospects.
For starters, it provides cutting-edge technologies that ensure dominance over the enemy. Second, as a result of collaborative efforts, the design and production of modern weapons is significantly accelerated.
Furthermore, the location of production facilities on Ukrainian territory would allow it, as the final assembler and integrator of weapons, to use weapons at its discretion without coordination with its partners.
The development of high-tech production, which is what a modern defence industry is, would benefit the Ukrainian economy by acting as a catalyst for the development of other technology-related sectors. The entry of Western companies into the Ukrainian market would create conditions for the development of bigger sectoral projects.
The political aspect isn’t less important here. Countries with a high level of military-technical cooperation usually have close political ties and support one another on the world stage.
And Ukraine’s NATO membership would become a logical continuation of such cooperation.
Rheinmetall, a German company that is one of Europe's largest arms manufacturers, was among the first to express interest in Ukraine. It plans to build facilities for maintenance of armoured vehicles in Ukraine.
Rheinmetall has announced its intention to meet 60% of the needs of Ukraine’s Armed Forces in ammunition of all NATO calibres and to build an armoured plant worth 218 million dollars by the end of 2023. The concern is to undertake the protection of the plant.
The planned capacity is for 400 tanks to be produced per year. The first stage should be the production of simpler Fuchs Evolution armoured personnel carriers.
The construction of the Turkish drone factory (Baykar Makina) is another significant interstate project. The construction is already underway since 2023.
Modern high-tech reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial systems Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci are going to be produced at these facilities.
Another major player interested in working with Ukraine is the British company BAE Systems. In the summer of 2023, at the meeting between the president of Ukraine and the executive director of BAE Systems, the agreement on the localization of light howitzer L119 production was finalized.
There is a clear intention to produce the modern Swedish SV-90 infantry fighting vehicles with Ukraine (a production agreement was signed between the Ukrainian and Swedish governments). It's worth noting that Swedish BAE Systems AB is a subsidiary of British BAE Systems.
Regarding Sweden, a large-scale agreement on cooperation in the field of defence procurement was signed between Ukraine and Sweden in July 2023, which, inter alia, gives access to the Swedish defence giant Saab.
These initial steps of cooperation appear to be Kyiv's first major "homework" - if completed, other defence giants, in particular American ones, may soon enter the Ukrainian market.
Ukraine is interesting to Western producers due to a number of factors. First, Ukraine is a market where weapons can be sold. Second, Ukraine has also been an arms exporter. Therefore, by joining forces, the companies will be able to expand sales markets.
Another important factor is technology.
Ukraine has advanced technologies, particularly in the field of engine manufacturing.
E.g., Ukraine supplies Turkey with cutting-edge engines ("Ivchenko Progress", Zaporizhzhia), and has developed an engine for fifth-generation fighter jets for China. These technologies have piqued the interest of foreign firms, and as a result, they can be developed together.
An attractive investment climate for foreign companies remains a crucial issue in the context of the development of military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and its partners.
The only thing preventing the active development of such cooperation is public perception of corruption in Ukraine and a lack of transparency in the game's rules.
The war appears to have altered Westerners' perceptions of Ukraine and Ukrainians. Global giants in the sector have already declared their readiness to launch production in Ukraine.
In this context, the Forum of Defence Industries in Ukraine, taking place in Kyiv at the end of September 2023, is of paramount importance.
The participation of 86 of the world's leading defence companies from 21 countries indicates that military-technical cooperation with Ukraine is appealing to many partner countries.
However, this doesn’t mean that the difficult "homework" has already been completed, as the legislation in this sphere must also be regulated.
If the initial steps of this collaboration are successful, new projects can involve the development of new industries, the advancement of cutting-edge technologies, and, as a result, joint work on the global arms market.
