The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, disclosed some details regarding the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex. Despite the fact that the entire territory of Ukraine is in the zone of damage of russia’s long-range missiles, domestic gunsmiths continue to perform tasks not only to repair or modernize vehicles, but also to produce new models.
Moreover, many enterprises of the defense industry of Ukraine have changed their location and even expanded their production. In particular, as the Minister of Defense reported, serial production of the Bohdana self-propelled gun was financed as early as the spring of 2022, and Ukrainian 155-mm artillery will soon be at the front.
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"TYou see the Ukrainian 155-mm Bohdana self-propelled gun on this photo. One such artillery system successfully passed tests on the battlefield. The Ministry of Defense financed the new artillery systems as early as the spring of 2022. Western-made tanks, which will arrive in a few months, will be supported at the front by Ukrainian artillery," the post reads.
Defense Express notes that the Bohdana SPG changed its chassis, the prototype was mounted on the KrAZ chassis. The manufacturer remained Ukrainian, while the company itself did not mention it and was not noted in the post. Therefore, we can only note that the unnamed chassis manufacturer has relevant experience and already supplied similar products to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
At the same time, serial production of the Bohdana SPG means that the entire industrial base has moved to a different location, including machines for the production of barrels, which are unique for Ukraine. And this is really a titanic task, which was carried out under extremely difficult conditions and in an short time.
The preliminary firing tests of the Ukrainian 155-mm SPG had taken place in January 2022, a month before the full-scale russian invasion. It was proved possible to fire at a range of 42 km without using an active-reactive projectile, which exceeded the established requirements of 40 km.
The battle-proven test was the operation to liberate Snake Island, when the self-propelled gun fired at russia’s positions from the islands at the mouth of the Danube, with the Bayraktar TB2 carrying out the adjustment of the fire. At the same time, the unit could monitor the accuracy of its fire through a live video broadcast from the drone. The firing range in this case was at least 35 km, which is the distance from the coastline to the island, more probably it was up to 40 km.
In addition, in 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine made a maximum bet on domestic arms manufacturers, who would satisfy the demand of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in those items that were purchased from abroad last year.
"The Ministry of Defense has prepared the transition so that in 2023 the maximum amount of funds will be directed to Ukrainian manufacturers. This applies to all components: from uniforms, shoes, body armor and UAVs to heavy weapons and ammunition," Reznikov emphasized.
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