Facing the need to ramp up every aspect of weapon production, Ukraine must start with creating a long-term arms procurement strategy and step-ahead planning, an expert told in an interview to Defense Express. Describing the struggles of having to buy components for production of drones without a concrete plan from the government, he notes:
"Any talks of progress in the domestic defense industry with contracts being concluded in December for just one year forward, while in June, you already have to start procurement for the next year without having a contract, is all nothing but profanity," says Artem Viunnyk, director of the Athlon Avia enterprise, specialized in R&D and manufacturing of unmanned aerial systems.
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For starters, at least a medium-term roadmap for the next three years is necessary, Viunnyk says:
"Formally written down plans, earlier done within the framework of state defense orders, now as defense procurements without specifically allocated budgets, in reality, are idle chatter, they are not bound to reality. The [actual] contracts are basically signed for one year."
Artem Viunnyk adds that even in the case when the contract is intermediary or spans for two years, the volumes of products ordered are still being specified in separate agreements.
"As of today, at least speaking of our systems, we have received a demand for 2023–2024. Of course, with a contract signed in December, it is impossible to fulfill the demand for 2023, therefore, it is in fact about the year 2024 only," he noted.
Five to six months later, the manufacturer faces a pressing issue in anticipation of the contract for the next year.
"We'd very like to have this problem solved in advance and not wait until the end of the year, losing time and finding ourselves in a situation where we can no longer afford to provide monthly supplies of products, so essential for the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Viunnyk sums up.
Athlon Avia's aerial drones have been helping Ukrainian artillery forces to launch successful strikes on russian invasion forces. This is exemplified in the video below, featuring a Furia UAV providing reconnaissance and adjusting fire for the M777 towed howitzer team.
The expert's point of view gives an important insight into the problem of expanding the production of weapons, which became a crucial factor in the russo-Ukrainian war of attrition. On the other hand, we have to note the progress made by the Ukrainian government since the outbreak of the russian invasion, in helping the manufacturers and their products to reach the frontlines times faster than before.
For instance, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine adopted the policy of testing new developments right on the battlefield and established the MoD Accelerator program. From this point of view, some NATO countries even should follow the example of Ukraine.
Earlier Defense Express also explored how indecisiveness, when it comes to awarding long-term contracts, undermines the effort to increase production, particularly in the domain of artillery ammunition making; and what Ukraine is doing to mitigate the lack of industrial capacity within the country and in the partner countries, too.
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