The First International Defense Industries Forum (DFNC1) held today, on September 30th, in Kyiv, Ukraine has gathered delegates from 41 partner countries. The Czech Republic was represented by the Deputy Ministry of Defense Daniel Blažkovec, he discussed some of the ongoing projects in cooperation with the Ukrainian defense industry and prospects of new ones, the Czech defense ministry's press service reports.
In particular, Blazkovec discussed a joint manufacture of CZ Bren 2 assault rifles (locally known as Sich) and establishment of a production line for making small arms ammunition from Sellier & Bellot.
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Other projects on the table include a potential production of large caliber ammunition casing out of hard polymers "which brings innovative solutions at a time of shortage of raw materials," as noted by the Czech Ministry of Defense. Also, there are talks on cooperation in armored vehicle crafting, infantry fighting vehicles or deliveries of "special Tatra chassis," as well as in the "promising" field of UAV production.
"Our support has changed from the level of military assistance and supplies of final products to long-term intensive defense-industrial cooperation, in which not only our armies but also defense industry companies, both state and private, are involved. However, we want to move this cooperation even further," Daniel Blažkovec stressed at the forum, as quoted.
He also added that the discussion on technology transfer and the creation of joint ventures in Ukraine should be and already is a common topic,and the Czech Republic is fully in favor of this.
"The joint Czech-Ukrainian effort to closely interconnect the defense industries is also the driving force behind the transfer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Soviet platforms to NATO standards. Joint projects, their standardization and compatibility with NATO are necessary for further integration of Ukraine into the structure of Western defense. The role of the Czech Republic in the integration of Ukraine into NATO thus acquires a completely new, tangible and practical dimension," reads the report by the Czech defense ministry.
Earlier, Defense Express covered the results of the DFNC1 forum in Kyiv, as summarized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The main achievement being the creation of the Defence Industries Alliance including 38 companies from 19 different countries.
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