Vladyslav Belbas, director general of Ukrainian Armor, a member of NAUDI, outlined the main problems in the production of weapons and military equipment at the Kyiv Economic and Security Forum Cipher Brief 2024.

In his statement, he emphasized that in order to improve and ensure the growth of domestic military production, Ukrainian private enterprises lack long-term orders:

“Any private manufacturer is ready to increase production if it has a planned long-term order. Then there will be no need to attract state or sponsor investments, the manufacturer will be able to plan, attract and invest, develop products and increase the production of weapons and military equipment from its own funds. In my opinion, FPV drones are like a “new gunpowder” for warfare, but we should not forget about traditional weapons such as artillery. We need to prioritize domestic production and develop it in significant quantities so that we have a balance of capacities at the front, including in artillery.”

In addition, Vladyslav believes that the most important problem for Ukrainian businesses involved in the defense sector, for attracting and investing from foreign companies, is the ease and openness of access to important strategic information:

“Engaging external partners will only be possible when Ukraine has a transparent system of work and the assets of manufacturers are protected. In the third year of the war, it is unacceptable that information about defense contractors, their locations, sales volumes, etc. is publicly available. In the third year of the war, this information should be closed and hidden from the enemy,” said Vladyslav Belbas, director general of Ukrainian Armor, in his speech.