According to the presidential advisor on strategic issues, the main reason for such a delay in arms exports is the sluggishness of the bureaucratic systems of partner countries.
According to the presidential advisor on strategic issues, the main reason for such a delay in arms exports is the sluggishness of the bureaucratic systems of partner countries.
Detailed plans for exports, joint ventures in Europe, and the interest of foreign giants in Ukrainian developments were shared by the presidential advisor on strategic issues, Oleksandr Kamyshin, in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
The economic feasibility of opening foreign markets for Ukrainian gunsmiths is absolutely pragmatic. According to Kamyshin, the logic of this process is very simple: "10 products that will be exported will provide at least four products free of charge for our army through taxes and salaries."
However, despite the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to open controlled exports back in November, there have been no real commercial deliveries abroad yet. Currently, weapons are only exported to international exhibitions or tests.
The main reason for this delay is the sluggishness of the bureaucratic systems of partner countries. Foreign governments need time to change their military doctrines and staffing levels.
"The conditional Poland should say: 'We are no longer buying mortars, but we are buying 100,000 FPVs.' This breaks its old procedures, where a conditional tank was chosen for a long time, purchased for a long time, then used for 40 years, and a drone is a consumable. So changing the procurement procedures of our Western partners is at least a year," Kamyshin explained.
Kamyshin emphasizes that since December the country has been producing more interceptor drones than it uses, and more than 20 domestic manufacturers are able to "speed up production many times over." At the same time, the market remains democratic: companies are not obliged to sell weapons through state-owned special exporters like Ukroboronprom.
Regarding tax conditions, there is currently an ongoing discussion between departments about introducing a single export duty at the level of 10%, although Kamyshin himself believes that it should be differentiated due to the different competitiveness of goods.
The main priority and foundation for long-term global expansion is the creation of joint ventures (JVs) with European companies. This strategy, according to Kamyshin, “will eventually allow Ukrainian technologies to dominate not only domestic but also global markets, in particular through integration into Western defense systems.”
More than 10 relevant agreements have already been signed, and in February, the first FPV drone, created as part of a partnership between Ukrainian Frontline and German Quantum Systems , rolled off the assembly line in Munich.
By the end of the year, it is planned to launch at least 10 such operating production facilities in Europe and attract over $1 billion in investments.
