Ukrainian arms buyers discuss the current problems of the Ukrainian army, its needs, and challenges during the war.

A representative of a Ukrainian company that purchases weapons for the Ukrainian army told this in his interview for The War Zone. The interview was conducted during the SOFWeek Special Operations Force Conference in the United States.

A Ukrainian company representative, who wished to remain anonymous to foreign journalists, provided only his name – Ihor. He said that his company was looking for weapons and equipment and purchasing them for the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, SOF, SSU and other units. His company also helped foreign companies organize their own products’ presentations and testing in Ukraine.

Currently, one of the main tasks for the organization is the purchase of various reconnaissance and strike drones.

“So we require different types of drones, and we also need a lot of kamikaze drones because drones [are cheaper to operate than missiles], which we don’t have. All these are commercially available on the market: drones from Polish and U.S. producers. German ones, as I remember. So every single one that is available. So of course we try to make something inside Ukraine, and for this reason Ukrainian producers bought a lot of components on the market,” said Ihor.

Another problem with the purchase of drones is the long cycle of their production and the lack of consignments ready for shipment.

“So if we’re talking about kamikaze drones, which aren’t available in large quantities at the market <…> we are ready to procure as much as the whole world could produce,” the dealer explained.

Another issue is the lack of experience using some UAV samples on the market in real combat. This complicates their purchase because the products may not be quite ready for battle or vulnerable to enemy countermeasures.

According to Ihor, there is a very difficult situation with enemy electronic warfare systems on the front line in Ukraine now. The Russians are actively using EW to suppress GPS and communications. This critically affects battlefield coordination and unmanned aircraft activity.

Ihor admits that the Russians have many such systems, and they quickly adapt to the changing conditions of the battlefield.

“They have an understanding of the waveform of radio waves and some other characteristics of this. So they learn from time to time which signals they need to jam because you could jam everything, but it’s just for low distances. If you want to jam something special, you need to be very accurate with this frequency rate, this waveform, etc.,” said Ihor.

A good indicator of EW activity is the constant loss of UAVs at the front. So, the average life expectancy on the battlefield of the DJI Mavic drone, common in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is three to five days.

The enemy can both suppress the radio signal and geolocate its position. And this is already dangerous for the UAV operator.

In Ukraine, there are landfills with Russian captured EW equipment that constantly test the protection against radio interference in various systems, but it is impossible to conduct such tests abroad. That is why Ukrainian importers ask foreign manufacturers to bring their equipment to Ukraine for testing.

Logistics

Ukrainian buyers are trying to speed up logistics in every way, but contracting and delivering equipment still takes a lot of time.

“From my experience, the fastest contracts, which we have, lasted about one month and a half, but it was one year ago. Now, everything is back to normal. And the fastest contract now, is like, three, four months. It’s from the point at which we’re signing contracts. So all the pre-contract work has already happened. We agreed on price, terms of delivery, and everything else. And usually, normal terms of delivery are like three months,“ the buyer says.

However, delivery times still need to be added to this deadline, typically lasting three months. Therefore, from the moment of signing the contract to getting the ordered weapons to the front, it takes about six months.

Needs of Ukrainian special forces

According to the buyer, currently the main requests of Ukrainian special forces are electronics, light infantry weapons, and UAVs.

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces need communications, optical sights, night vision devices, and drones. There is also a request for light armored vehicles and spare parts for them.

“And a huge problem for the Ukrainian military will be that we have a zoo of armored vehicles, wheeled and tracked. It doesn’t matter which ones, and now, wefaced this problem of spare parts,” explained Ihor.

The requests of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine are almost the same as those of the SOF. Intelligence officers also use drones, electronics, and rifles. The DI is a more flexible institution, and therefore, unlike other units of the Ministry of Defense, intelligence can purchase weapons and equipment that are not officially in service in Ukraine.

“If you talk about special operations forces, DI or SSU, they have their own budget, and they are more flexible in procurement. For example, OK, I know this rifle; it’s not bad; we need it. And they buy through us or through some other company. They have more flexibility. And so they have the latest equipment,” says Ihor.