In the conditions of the fourth year of the war that continues for Ukraine, it is of particular importance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to provide all necessary and, above all, modern weapons and military equipment (WME) models. In this process an increasingly important role is played by enterprises of non-state ownership, which are distinguished by high work efficiency, efficiency, flexibility in decision-making and a number of other qualities.

Having united at the end of 2016 within the framework of the League of Defense Enterprises of Ukraine (League), private defense manufacturers already by the end of 2017 turned the League into a major domestic player in the defense-industrial field. Direct contacts with NATO have been established, and at the headquarters of the alliance in Brussels, they are already accustomed to the periodic appearance of representatives of the League and demonstrations of weapons novelties. In fact, to date, the League takes part in the work of all the relevant structures that participate in the implementation of the military-industrial and military-technical policy of the state. Thanks to the established contacts with the military department, representatives of the League are among the permanent participants of the meetings of the bilateral commissions for military-technical cooperation, and also take part in all meetings of two key commissions: the Interdepartmental Commission for the Defense Industry Complex of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the Interdepartmental Commission for Military Policy – technical cooperation and export.

It should be noted that the enterprises of the League managed to significantly improve internal cooperation, as well as interaction with state and scientific structures. Enterprises of the League, which in 2018 became more than fifty, were the first to make the transition from demonstration of individual weapons to the display of integrated combat systems, assembled on a modular basis. When, for example, complexes for combating unmanned aerial systems (BAK), electronic warfare complexes (EW), the BAK itself or other weapons, were installed on a single wheelbase, based on the customer’s requests. It seems that it is the private OPK that will open an account for the projects of military-technical cooperation (MTC) with foreign states in the interests of the Ukrainian army. This, in particular, about the Ukrainian-Polish reconnaissance and strike complex Sokol, which was tested in mid-September 2017. In it, on the wheelbase of a private NGO “Praktika”, a combat module of another private defense enterprise PJSC “CheZaRa” and the BAK of the Polish private manufacturer WB Electronics SA was installed.

Cooperation, born within the most private defense and directly the League, today offers up to a dozen joint projects that integrate countermeasures against the LHC and the EW complexes of the HC “Ukrspetstekhnika”, communication facilities of the enterprises “Share and K” and “Telecard-Device”, means RCB- protection “Sparring-Vist Center” and many other developments. In the course of a curious fact: “Sparring-Vista Center” products are bought by 81 countries of the world, only the native defense department is still in no hurry with orders …

Private enterprises are able to operate smoothly, including using, in cooperation with the state sector of the OPK, a tried and tested method of technology development – contracts to the world arms market, which include development work. It is such a contract – for the modernization of Ukraine by a party of 12 Mi-24 in the interests of Azerbaijan allowed to perform development work on the integration of a combat guided missile into a helicopter. Now the enterprises of the League of Radionics LLC and Ramsay LLC together with the state-owned Luch CCU, GPPP Fotopribor and GP Izyum Instrument-Making Plant approached the independent creation of a guided weapon system for the helicopter. Which at one time proved impossible even during the MTC with France (in particular, with the French company SAGEM). Of course, participating in the helicopter project and private motor vehicle patrol “Motor Sich”, which decided to join the League in 2018. In this way, the ambitious task of modernizing helicopters with guided weapons for night combat for the APU has actually been solved. The project in 2018 was released for state tests. Thus, the 524R guided missile system was launched as part of the main product – Mi-24, Mi-8, Mi-2 helicopters. At the same time, the 524P guided missile system provides for the use of the domestic rocket of the Luch RC-2B rocket and provides the range of detection and destruction of the target at a range of 7.5 km.

The private segment of the military industrial complex, even in its structure, differs markedly from the state structure, which is very bloated in structure (perhaps only from the large state players, only LMC GKKB with less than 1,000 employees corresponds to modern standards of effectiveness of employing human potential). At the enterprises of the League, as a rule, from two dozen to three hundred employees, of which a good three-quarters are engineers and designers. The specific weight of modern science and the concentration of high technologies in this segment are approaching the western standards. This is what can make a country a high-tech power, rather than a supplier of raw materials and agricultural products. And what can become the locomotive of the entire national economy.

According to Yuriy Brovchenko, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, there has been a significant increase in activity in recent years in the defense industry of enterprises with private ownership.

The need to unite the efforts of private enterprises in the defense industry actually reflects the idea of ​​the wartime society itself – to create a powerful and influential defense industrial lobby. As the experience of 2015-2017 shows, private developers and manufacturers of defense equipment are more flexible, they are able to attract foreign investments and new technologies, are more motivated for this and, accordingly, are more resistant to corruption. Unlike government agencies, private traders risk their own funds, rather than budget.

Thanks to the private enterprises of the League, a number of important tasks were solved in a short time, ensuring the production of weapons and ammunition, detection and communication equipment, which are necessary for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the NSU. It is interesting that fifty of the enterprises of the League have developed and are currently producing a large range of new weapons and military equipment: light armored vehicles, LHC, reconnaissance, surveillance, ballistic and cruise missiles, electronic warfare, communication complexes for various purposes, simulators, personal protective equipment, P. Moreover, taking into account the predicted changes on the battlefield, it is important to note the relevance and relevance of the listed products to the requirements of time, as well as existing threats. It clearly demonstrates the greater flexibility in government decision-making and the better knowledge of the military’s needs, than in the public sector.

An example of such an approach is the PJSC RPA “Practika”, actively and consistently specializing in the manufacture and modernization of light armored vehicles, primarily the armored vehicles of the Kozak family (including the landing version with independent suspension), as well as options for upgrading to meet the requirements battlefields BMP-1, BTR-60 and BTR-6. At the same time, feedback is of great importance when the reserve has the opportunity to inform the developer about the behavior of the equipment on the battlefield and to offer some or other design improvements that are quickly taken into account by the designers. The consistency and systematic approach in the modifications of the light armored vehicle “Kozak”, taking into account the study and introduction of modern trends, allowed the company to achieve a noticeable increase in the volume of state defense order in 2018. The enterprises and other customers reacted to the proposals. So, “Practika” in early June 2018 completed work on the order of the State Service of Ukraine for Emergency Situations of Ukraine (DSNS, MIA) and handed over eight new pyrotechnic machines for the demining service to the customer. These cars are a specialized modification of the Kozak-5 armored car, designed for the needs of the Ukrainian National Treaty of Prisons and intended for the transport of mines and improvised explosive devices, including unexploded ones. But the main thing is that the enterprises of the League are initially inclined to expand public-private partnership.

It is extremely important to note the growing trend in the work of the League – the desire to create their own development and publish their technologies. Sometimes with the use of technologies and developments already created and implemented in production by Western defense companies. A rather illustrative example is the company «Dolya & Ko.LTD», which is now the Ukrainian developer and producer of radio communications facilities Agent and Lybid, as well as a company that implements the decision to build professional radiocommunication systems manufactured by Motorola Solutions. It can be recalled that at the beginning of the Russian aggression, when the problem of providing communication facilities was one of the most sensitive tasks for Ukrainian armed forces, it was «Dolya & Ko.LTD», which, incidentally, is an authorized platinum partner of Motorola Solutions, managed to solve this puzzle. The company had some experience before the war. For example, the digital trunking radio systems of the TETRA standard were created for the first time in the framework of the Euro-2012 support at the NSC Olimpiyskiy, as well as at the Donetsk airport and the Lviv football arena. By the way, Ukrainian “cyborgs” used the remnants of the system during the defense of the Donetsk airport. Now the development of a private company is becoming more and more known. “At the beginning of our cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, we mainly provided communications equipment manufactured by Motorola Solutions. To date, we are gradually moving towards creating a Ukrainian product. Sample 2014 differs from the sample in 2018. In addition, we, together with specialists from Motorol Solutions, created software that is distributed only in the territory of Ukraine. In 2014, we bought voltage converters, and today we produce them ourselves. We created a sample of a radio station with a protection IP-68, equipped with military connectors, antennas and the like. In fact, we have created a radio station, where only the receiving and transmitting board of Motorola Solutions is used. Everything else is there,”- said Larisa Tatarintseva, CEO of the «Dolya & Ko.LTD» company in an interview with Defense Express magazine in June 2018.

Speaking of individual achievements, one can note the LLC “Design Bureau” Logika “(as part of the Ukrainian Agency for Advanced Scientific and Technical Developments UA.RPA), which developed a combat management system for tactical links and an automated control system for artillery fire” Kropiva “. This is an integral solution for the brigade artillery group, which makes it possible to reduce response time to changes in the situation by 5-7 times, increase the probability of destruction of targets by standard ammunition by 25-30% and reduce the latter by 30-40%. “Kropiva” is not inferior to foreign analogs and has already successfully passed tests in combat conditions.

Among the military and dual-purpose products of the Arta group of companies (remotely controlled combat modules Lezo, Shilo, high-tech artillery and reconnaissance systems, etc.), it is worth noting the unique development of the Arta geoinformation system (GIS) allowing to obtain high-precision cartographic information for orientation on the terrain and quick and effective fire damage targets. At the same time, the high accuracy of the artillery fire (deviation up to 2 m), provided by GIS “Arta”, allows you to quickly hit targets without the need for adjustment. The system quickly takes into account dozens of parameters of fire weapons of the APU. “Artu” is distinguished by a high level of protection against interference, reliability, compactness and simplicity of design, which greatly simplifies the training of operators. In total, 140 sets of GIS “Arta” are currently used in the zone of environmental protection.

The Ukrainian tactical machine gun complex “Hizhak” deserves attention – the original development of “Kharkov plant of means of individual protection” RAROG “LLP for the PK / PKM machine gun. Its feature is the possibility of placing the entire ammunition arrows (500 rounds of ammunition) in the backpack, which ensures uninterrupted supply of cartridges without the need for recharging, which is especially important in combat conditions.

In turn, this became possible thanks to another original development of the same company – a plastic machine gun belt, which, in contrast to the metal analogues, has a much smaller mass. According to the plant’s director Yury Fedorov, this success was preceded by a large amount of experimental work and research of almost 200 types of plastics, which required considerable funds and time.

Considering the potential threat posed by the aggressor’s aircraft, as well as the trends in the development of modern anti-missile defense forces, it is also important to note the work of private enterprises in this field. For example, in the most difficult economic conditions OJSC HC Ukrspetstekhnika successfully upgraded the P-18 radar by implementing a new element base and simultaneously creating on its basis a newer and more effective analogue of P-18MM. In addition, in a short time a number of original new samples of special equipment were created, incl. “Malachite” and “Badger” radar. “Malachite” is a radar with digital signal processing, the possibility of pairing (data transfer) with modern automated command and control systems (command points), high noise immunity and the ability to work in conditions of enemy active and passive interference, radial target speed measurement, significant expansion of the detection zone from 2, 5 to 400 km, the possibility of use in the air defense forces, etc. The universal radar is capable of reconnaissance of air and surface conditions in a round-the-clock mode, in all weather conditions. The use of the Malachite radar in the ATO / OOS zone showed that it works perfectly under the conditions of intensive use by the Russian side of the EW and REB assets. The radar provides for the possibility of automatic frequency tuning or the use of a 4-channel autocompensator to suppress interference that the enemy tries to place. One of the latest innovations was the introduction of an automatic quick-release antenna.

Ukrspetskhnika’s response to the increasing threat from the enemy’s LHC in the war zone was the development of the radio clerk “Enclave” designed to block the receiving devices of the complexes using the NAVSTAR and GLONASS satellite navigation systems and the control channels of the aircraft.

NPP “Athlone-Avia” is known for its developments in the field of unmanned aircraft. In the summer of 2015, the company supplied the first five unmanned aerial systems (LHC) A1-C to the AFU, and in 2016 the customer received a deeply modernized version of the Fury Bay with the A1-SM index. “Furia” successfully passed departmental tests, incl. in combat conditions, receiving high marks from the military. And in 2018, the development was awarded a prize of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for the development and implementation of innovative technologies (out of 17 submitted applications, 5 best works were selected).

According to specialists’ estimates, the Furiya BAK Al-SM is by its TTX and functional capabilities not inferior to foreign analogs and is able to provide both automatic determination of target coordinates and their automatic tracking. The upgraded version is equipped with a new optical system capable of carrying out a circular survey.

By now, five state-of-the-art radiation monitoring equipment manufactured by SPRPP “Sparring-Vist Center” have been adopted for the Armed Forces, and in the company’s order book there is a wide range of radiation monitoring and pyrotechnic devices, as well as weapons stabilization systems, etc., . Moreover, the company’s specialists are developing several dozens of projects, developed for the needs of the Armed Forces, at the same time. domestic analogues of arms stabilization units BMP-2 and BMD-2, and even a project to create for the APU a modern armored vehicle for radiation-chemical and biological reconnaissance. The latter is proposed to the military to replace the outdated car BRDM-2RKhB.

The list of achievements of private arms companies in Ukraine is now more capacious than the list of developments of the public sector. Which means only one thing: rates on the private sector and public-private partnership are justified.

The development of modern types of weapons and military equipment requires joint efforts and partnership based on mutual trust. And for Western defense companies that are carriers of advanced technologies, the private sector is more attractive than the state sector.

Experts point out that it is precisely such structures as the League that can stimulate the state in the clear formulation of military-technical policy (VTP). As for the principles of the VTP, for modern Ukraine it is extremely important to gradually move to a balanced model, when about 50% of defense products will be procured for the needs of national customers, primarily the APU. And this position, some expert organizations insist, should be fixed legislatively. And also proclaim the main goal of the ITP to meet the needs of the army and other military formations of the state. This is important, because otherwise, most efforts can be directed to the development of the defense industry, which may not coincide with the tasks of rearmament, but obey the task of increasing arms exports.

Of course, the most important element is who, which body will develop and implement the ETP. In the League, we are convinced that it is important to create a central executive body (CSI), most likely subordinate to the profile vice-prime minister. Such an IO should form and implement the military-technical policy of the state with the function of the manager of budgetary funds. The CRC should be endowed with legislative initiative. In addition, it is this government body, within the framework of the implementation of military-technical policy, that can speed up the restructuring and corporatization of defense industry enterprises, create conditions for future privatization and establish joint ventures (enterprises) with foreign companies.

In addition, as experts say, including representatives of the League, it would be advisable to consider the possibility of legislating the mandatory for any defense minister of 25% of the budget for national defense needs to spend on the purchase, modernization, repair of weapons and military equipment (WME), as well as for development work in the field of creating new weapons.

Head of the Supervisory Council of the League and Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005-2006. Yuriy Yekhanurov believes it is extremely important to intensify the efforts of private businesses to lobby their interests in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, seeing in this as helping to strengthen the country’s economic potential, including by increasing the export of arms and military equipment. In addition, the development of the defense-industrial sector of the economy should not only raise domestic industry, but also hamper the attempts of certain forces to turn Ukraine into a dependent, purely agrarian country.

To the list of the main achievements of the League to now, according to the head of the Board of the League Oleg Vysotsky, the establishment of close relations with all power departments and structures of Ukraine related to the defense industry. “In these structures there is already an understanding of the position of the League, it is seen and heard there, and this is already important,” the leader of the organization said.

Vladimir Zablotskyi,

Member of the Expert Council of  «Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies» (CACDS)

The article is posted with the kind consent of the information portal opk.com.ua