Recently, Defense Express reported that the Ukrainian military uses 70-mm FZ275 LGR laser guided rockets by Thales Belgium on the battlefield, and the demand for this weapon is so great that Thales simply cannot keep up with it, although the company is currently actively increasing their production.
For example, if last year only 700 rockets were manufactured, this year they plan to produce five times more - 3,500, although this is slightly less than the previously announced plan of 5,000 units.
Read more: All NATO States Hit 2% Defense Goal — But Belgium Still Lands in the Hot Seat
Forces Operations Blog adds some details about these rockets – the published material claims that the supply of FZ275 LGR rockets primarily allowed the rearmament of Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters.
“This allowed for increased air support, abandoning Soviet [unguided] 80-mm rockets,” the article says. From this statement, we can conclude that Ukrainian helicopters use FZ275 LGR rockets primarily for strikes on ground targets, although they can also be useful for destroying russian attack drones.
Moreover, Forces Operations Blog notes that as of today, about 10 Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters have been modernized to launch FZ275 LGR rockets, which received American launchers capable to launch 19 rockets.
And if we talk specifically about American ones, we are talking about the M261 Lightweight Launcher by Arnold Defense that can fire many types of 70mm rockets, which have already been repeatedly seen on Ukrainian Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters.
Ukrainian airman loading American Hydra 70 unguided rockets into a rocket pod of the Czech-delivered Mil Mi-24V helicopter. pic.twitter.com/KxZm4zLqtw— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (@Archer83Able) August 1, 2023
As Defense Express reported, earlier Ukranian minister said Belgian THALES intended establish joint production of missiles with Ukraine.
Read more: Additional F-16s for Ukraine Move Closer as Belgium Receives Its First F-35s After Seven Years of Waiting
