Solutions to win: Ministry of Defense unveils latest Ukrainian weapons innovations

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine showcased state-of-the-art domestically produced weapons to international allies at a military training facility.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports this.

As the Ministry of Defense noted, the partners were presented with demonstrations of domestic weaponry that demonstrated its efficacy in combat situations.

Some examples that were shown included:

• unmanned aerial vehicles;
• anti-tank missile system "Stuhna";
• self-propelled artillery unit "Bohdana";
• armored vehicles;
• robotic systems, specifically ground-based kamikaze drones.

^{Photo: Ministry of Defense}

"We have one-of-a-kind advancements that have already undergone combat testing and have been perfected by our developers to a specific standard. We welcome arms manufacturers and investors worldwide to collaborate with us in bolstering our defense capabilities collectively," Deputy Minister of Defense Dmytro Klimenkov said.

According to him, investing in the Ukrainian defense industry is currently very important.

The Defense Express portal specifically pointed out that the video features a new version of the "Bohdana" artillery system. The video is believed to showcase a towed artillery system, which has been in development since December 2023.

The 2C22 "Bohdana" artillery unit is seen utilizing a gun carriage, most likely borrowed from the towed "Hyacinth-B." Ukraine can produce more gun barrels for the self-propelled "Bohdana" than chassis. Given the pressing demand for artillery among the troops, the concept of developing a non-self-propelled version of "Bohdana-B" was formed.

Defense Express believes that it is too early to discuss the detailed characteristics of self-propelled guns because this is their first public appearance.

For reference:

In August, it was announced that the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had already authorized the use of twice as many domestically produced weapons and military equipment in Ukraine's armed forces compared to the entire previous year, all within just eight months. In 2023, this indicator amounted to more than 200 samples of domestic military and defense complexes.

Some Ukrainian-made weapons possess unique characteristics that have been proven through their successful use in combat situations. For instance, certain drone models make Ukraine a top global competitor.

Recently, Oleksandr Kamyshin, the president's adviser on strategic issues, announced that Ukraine has started producing 155-mm artillery shells.

On August 24, during the Independence Day celebrations, Zelensky announced the first successful combat use of the Ukrainian Palianytsia drone missile.

In addition, during the press conference at the "Ukraine 2024. Independence" forum on August 27, the president said that Ukraine had successfully tested a ballistic missile of domestic production for the first time.

Furthermore, the Ukrainian army has received new shipments of 5.45×39 mm and 5.56×45 mm ammunition produced locally. This marks a crucial move towards re-establishing the independent production of ammunition, which was lost due to the seizure of the Luhansk cartridge factory in 2014.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has seen a significant rise in the production of drones and aviation complexes. These include not only copters and attack drones but also marine drones. According to Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine can manufacture 4 million drones annually. As of now, over 1.5 million UAVs have already been ordered.

Recently, the Ministry of Defense reported that the new Black Widow drone bomber was put into service with Ukraine's armed forces. According to Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Ukrainian drones can already hit targets in Russia up to 1,800 km from the border with Ukraine.