Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that nearly 60% of weapons used by Ukraine's military were domestically produced, already exceeding a target he set two months ago.
"During this war, Ukraine has reached the point where nearly 60% of the weapons we have, the weapons in the hands of our soldiers, are Ukrainian-made," Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
"And these are powerful weapons, with many advanced features."
Zelensky and other officials have long stressed boosting domestic production of weapons as a key element in ensuring Ukraine's future defense.
In his address, he also pointed to a joint project to undertake weapons production in Denmark.
The president in July called on his reshuffled government to take measures to boost production of weapons made in Ukraine to more than 50%.
He said then that Ukrainian-made weapons made up about 50% of those used at the front and in other operations, higher than at any other time since independence from Soviet rule in 1991.
According to Ukraine's Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, the country's defense capabilities have increased 35-fold over the past three years, with approximately 900 enterprises and more than 1,000 innovative teams active. In a report by Ukraine Business News, Shmyhal said that “of the 900 defense sector companies, more than 800 are private."
Ukraine has focused on drone production and on providing air defenses to counter Russia's intensive drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Officials have also stressed the development of interceptor drones as an effective and economical way of dealing with Russian aerial attacks.
Locally built missiles
In an interview with The War Zone, Andriy Hyrtseniuk, the head of Ukraine’s Brave1 defense tech incubator, said that they are working on solutions to counter Russian drone attacks. According to Hyrtseniuk, "surface-to-air missiles are extremely crucial, and it’s also one of our key priorities. And next week, we are launching this very big grant program. One is AI, and the second area is missiles."
While he wouldn't elaborate on the sort of missiles, Hyrtseniuk explained that while Ukraine is following NATO standards, due to cost they are focused on creating their own systems.
"We are using everything possible that we can use, we can buy, or we can rebuild or refurbish, but it’s not enough. So, of course, the new launchers are also needed, and the technologies are developing. And in some cases it makes sense not to use old launchers, but in some cases, it’s easier to build the new one with other launching principles, aiming principles, radio control protocols and standards, because the technologies are growing," he said.
Hyrtseniuk emphasized that Brave1 assists companies by providing grants and funding.
On Friday, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Digital Transformation announced new grant competitions for Ukrainian manufacturers of missiles and explosives as part of the Brave1 defense cluster. The grant program specifically targets the manufacturers of tactical ballistic missiles and surface-to-air missile systems for countering unmanned aerial vehicles.
Manufacturers of anti-UAV and ballistic missiles will be able to receive over UAH 100 million (approximately $2.4m.) for their developments.
“Supporting these areas will foster the growth of missile production by the private sector, enable the development of long-range weapons, and strengthen air defense,” Shmyhal was quoted as saying.