Ukraine and the United Kingdom have signed a new framework agreement on defense industry cooperation, which will allow for cooperation between defense companies in both countries.

The signing took place during a conference on the British-Ukrainian defense partnership, which the Militarnyi’s correspondent attended.

Andy Start, Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support, Oleksandr Kamyshyn, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, and Rustem Umierov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, attended the signing ceremony.

The UK delegation emphasized that Ukraine is currently at the forefront of implementing certain technologies and can share this experience. This will help strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

“We have a number of companies that are now established here in Ukraine, British companies that are now based here in Ukraine, and we have a number of contracts in place. Today we signed the second contract for maintenance and overhaul [of L119 howitzers – Ed.]. So, the momentum is building, and we want this momentum to continue to build, so that we are stronger together,” Andy Start, Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support, stated.

He also emphasized that Ukrainian and British companies already have experience of cooperation, in particular in the field of unmanned technologies.

“Our goal is to engage more with the local Ukrainian industry, and I hope that this year, we will see this happen, particularly in the area of unmanned aerial vehicles through new partnerships and expanding our capacity in this area. But it is also about the long-term perspective. It’s about making sure that we can work together to develop more complex, advanced military equipment that Ukraine will need not only in times of war, but also to maintain a deterrent in peacetime,” Andy Start stated.

Within this cooperation, the British company BAE Systems signed an agreement with the UK government to maintain and repair L119 howitzers in Ukraine.

According to the British company, this cooperation opens up opportunities for repair and maintenance in Ukraine of other types of equipment manufactured by the company and used by the Ukrainian military.

Gabby Costigan, Group Managing Director, Business Development at BAE Systems, noted that it regards, for example, AS-90 self-propelled howitzers, M777 guns, Challenger tanks, Archer self-propelled artillery systems, and Bradly infantry fighting vehicles.

BAE Systems will also cooperate with Ukrainian companies to repair automotive equipment, which already do so within an agreement with the UK government.

The implementation of the agreement will allow the repaired equipment to be transferred directly to the battlefield as soon as possible and will contribute to the success of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in countering Russian invaders.