Companies that make parts for Ukrainian weapons can now get grants, much like the weapon-makers themselves, First Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced.
Parts developers can get up to 8 million hryvnias to accelerate R&D and improve their readiness (about $188,000.) This is part of a larger goal to make Ukraine's weapons industry more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports, especially from China, which supplies billions of dollars worth of parts to Ukraine.
Dependence on Chinese parts doesn't just give China an outsized influence over Ukraine's ability to defend itself, but also supplies a huge volume of parts to Russia, to be used in the same weapons being used to attack Ukraine. Chinese parts reportedly account for over 60% of components used in Shahed attack drones.
According to Zmiinyi (Snake) Island Institute, Ukraine's domestic manufacturers cover 70% of the need for communication systems for controlling drones, and 55% for analog video transmitters. The institute believes that Ukraine has the potential to cover 100% of the market in these three categories.
On the other hand, Ukrainian manufacturers produce just 25% of flight controllers for domestic FPV drones, and only 14% of the thermal cameras and electric motors.
“The development of Ukraine’s component base is important not only for Ukraine. It is important for the entire free world,” Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a Brave1 defense tech cluster expo for weapon components on 3 December.
The event, billed as the largest of its kind in the history of independent Ukraine, featuring 200 companies that make everything from mini jet engines, to electronic boards for autonomous drone operation.
“I invite foreign companies to invest in Ukraine, establish joint production and R&D. The development of Ukrainian components is an investment in our common security,” Shmyhal said at the event.
According to a Brave1 press release, priority funding will go to the following components:
- Engines and drives, such as electric motors and internal combustion engines.
- Propulsion elements for unmanned ground vehicles, propellers for aircraft and multirotor drones
- Computer systems and sensors for control, navigation, and guidance
- Communications systems, including antennas, channel aggregators and frequency transfer systems
- Cameras and the gimbal systems that mount them
- Other electronic systems not specified by Brave1
“At the beginning of the invasion, we opened the markets for UAVs, UGVs, electronic warfare, and other innovative weapons in Ukraine. Now the rapid development of these markets creates demand for Ukrainian components for these technologies,” Fedorov said.
“Our strategic goal is to achieve independence in the production of key components, and later Ukraine has every chance of becoming a component base for the civilized world.”
Brave1 announced that it will also work on updating the legislature so that makers of parts and final products can work better together.
Points for parts program
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Along with the grants announcement, Brave1 also announced its initiative to allow the military to buy parts for electronic points, something that the defense cluster already does with drones.
Brave1's combat e-points can be earned for successful missions, such as confirmed enemy kills. This has allowed top units to get more equipment.
This system has both its fans and its detractors.
“It is beyond strange. It makes little sense as weak units get nothing and then get defeated because they are weak,” said Glen Grant, a British retired Colonel who advises the Ukrainian military. “If a unit needs something it should get it, not have to use a strange system.”
However, a Ukrainian source familiar with the subject, who asked not to be identified by name, said that the system isn’t just about rewarding the most effective units, but about also auditing which units are the most effective, to make improvements possible.
“The system is great, we love it,” said 13th Khartia Brigade spokesman Valentyn Dehtiaryov. “Like any points system, it has its downsides, but overall it’s a great step ahead in terms of rewarding efficiency and transparency.”
“The downside is that it most benefits those units who are hunter-killers,” he added.
