As of June 1, Ukraine had completed almost half of the planned work on its missile program, according to Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Brigadier General Anatolii Klochko. "We have summarized the results and achieved 47% of the planned measures," he said.
Importantly, this refers to the completion of tasks planned for 2025, not the missile program as a whole. In other words, half of the tasks set for this year have been completed in the first five months.
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Klochko says, there are several ways to finance the missile program today. First, It's the development financed by the state budget: "We are allocated a certain amount per year. We prioritize our objectives and allocate the necessary funds to key missile development projects in order to more effectively supply the army with new missile systems."
Secondly, these are proactive developments by companies, paid from their own resources. "The companies are demonstrating a reasonable and proactive approach. This self-financing model is effective, as it enables them to develop their own production without relying on government funding."
Thirdly, there are Ukrainian partners who don't remain on the sidelines as the development of Ukrainian missile weapons moves forward and offer their help.
The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine also recalled that, in order to strengthen the missile program's development, it was previously decided to separate the missile sector from the general weapons and military equipment, thus creating two new bodies to oversee this area.
These are the Department of Missile Armament and Missile Defense System Development, as well as the Main Directorate for Missile Program Support. Klochko emphasizes that obstacles hindering project implementation in this area have been removed, with bureaucracy reduced to a minimum: "If there are any questions, we meet directly with manufacturers, communicate with them, take the initiative, and ask what they need to do it faster."
"Thanks to changes in strategy and a renewed vision prioritizing the missile program, we have achieved progress that allows for the accelerated development and deployment of new missile systems," Klochko assured.
As Defense Express reported Ukraine's Sapsan ballistic missile has moved to serial production after successful combat use.
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