That is according to Nataliia Sad, the spokesperson for Ukroboronprom. She said this at a briefing at the Ukraine – Ukrinform Media Center, Ukrinform reports.
According to the spokesperson, for the first time in the 31 years of its independence, Ukraine has established the production of its own 82mm fragmentation mortar shells. In order to secure the production cycle and labor teams, production was launched at the capacities of partner countries.
Read more: Straight on target
The main feature of the Soviet-standard bomb improved by Ukrainian specialists is a greater number of deadly fragments upon explosion, she said.
"We managed to increase the number of fragments by 2-2.5 times. During tests on a shield target at a distance of five meters from the epicenter of the explosion, we counted almost 460 fragments, while the regular Soviet bomb has 198 fragments. At a distance of 10–15 meters, the number of affected elements was also many times greater. Therefore, the Ukrainian mortar bomb, which is designed to destroy enemy personnel at a distance of 4,500 meters, will be more effective," Sad said.
As the representative of Ukroboronprom states, although the establishment of production was announced recently, in fact, it happened a little earlier and tens of thousands of new mines have already been shipped to Ukrainian defenders. They have proven themselves well in combat conditions.
"Now we are talking about increasing production in order to fully cover the needs of our Armed Forces of Ukraine in this type of shells," Sad said.
According to her, new shells of Soviet 122mm and 152mm calibers, which are already produced in Ukraine, as well as with the involvement of the capacities of NATO member countries, have proven themselves well at the front. The volume of their production is also increasing. After all, the need for such ammunition is growing every day. The task is to provide the lion's share of the Ukrainian Defense Forces' needs for such scarce projectiles at the expense of own production.
As Defense Express reported earlier, Ukroboronprom Tested a New Ukrainian Long Distance Combat Drone
Read more: Developers from Ukraine Created a Unique Submarine: Armed With Torpedoes and a 'Drone' Function
