Homegrown defence: Ukraine bolsters domestic weapons production • FRANCE 24 English

Homegrown defence: Ukraine bolsters domestic weapons production • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] heading towards the Russian border to meet an artillery unit hidden in this forest in eastern Ukraine. Their target for the day, Russian drone operator positions about 20 km away. To strike them, they use this Bogdana cannon, the pride of Ukraine’s defense industry. There was only a prototype of his howitzer at the start of the war. Now Ukraine produces 36 of them per month. Firing in one minute, the 155 mm cannon is the unit’s weapon of choice. It’s fast and very accurate. We can shoot up to 40 km. I prefer using this model over Western cannons because the design, optics, and firing system are all similar to the old Soviet cannons we were trained on. The commander confirms that the target was successfully hit. Now we need to hide. While waiting for a possible counterattack, the soldiers use the break in the shelter to suggest improvements to a battalion chief. The system often gets out of alignment after firing. Ukraine’s arms industry is adapting directly on the battlefield. Our engineers have improved it a lot over the past year. The advantage of this cannon is that we get spare parts in one or two days. We don’t have to wait weeks or months like with foreign equipment. Ukraine knows it must rely on innovation to resist in the long term. The old industrial techniques inherited from the Soviet Union are now a thing of the past. It’s in startups like this one that Ukraine’s defense is developing. More than 500 have been created since the start of the war. For engineers like Andre Condrettov, it’s a challenge to be innovative, low cost, and to not rely on Chinese components. This is a device we invented to jam Russian drone frequencies. Outside, he tests a robot, a remotec controlled ground vehicle capable of transporting anti-tank mines. Try going onto the lawn. The goal is to reduce dependence on foreign arms amid growing uncertainty over US aid. We’ve understood that we can’t rely on the help from other countries. Our initiatives are the key to Ukraine’s future. We’re not on the front line, but we’re mobilizing in our own way. We are resisting through these workshops, encouraging innovation from an early age. At this private high school, part of a technology curriculum is now dedicated to drone design. The students are 13 years old. Teenagers already aware of a technological war being waged in this classroom. The war will need a lot of drones like this. Then I will have experience to make a lot of them in uh a little time. A defense industry in full expansion but constantly in search of investors. Insufficient funding is slowing its development while the war rages on.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, soldiers on the eastern front are taking steps to become less reliant on foreign aid. According to government figures, 40 percent of the weapons used are now produced in Ukraine, from cannons to anti-tank mines. Our colleagues at France 2 sent us this report. 
#defence #Ukraine #weapons

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