Why Ukraine will not be able to stop buying weapons from the U.S.: a military expert's assessment
/88x88/filters:format(webp)/p/5/70/6511266e5e5822a9f31e393ff56d0705.webp "Yeva Slastnova")
journalist
Ukraine will not be able to switch from defense procurement from the U.S. to European manufacturers in the near future.
Pavlo Narozhniy, founder of the charitable organization “Reactive Mail” and a military expert, spoke about this in a comment to “Shelter.”
According to him, the Franco-Italian SAMP/T NG air defense system will not replace the American Patriot in Ukraine, since only a handful of these systems exist, and production of the Aster 30 anti-ballistic missiles for it is too slow.
As Narozhniy clarified, the Franco-Italian consortium produces at most 70 such missiles per year, while Russia manufactures about 60 ballistic missiles every month to strike Ukrainian cities.
The military expert noted that Ukraine’s dependence on the U.S. defense industry is not limited to air defense.
The Ukrainian Air Force currently relies on F-16 fighter jets, which requires purchasing spare parts and missiles (specifically the AIM-9 and AIM-120) from the U.S., as well as JDAM-ER long-range guided bombs.
Furthermore, Europe does not yet have a direct equivalent to the Starlink communications system and produces artillery and armored vehicles at a significantly slower pace.
Therefore, we have no choice but to purchase weapons from the U.S.—at least for the foreseeable future. Of course, Europeans are actually capable of producing equivalents to these weapons, but the issue, once again, lies in the quantity and speed of production. Although it would be nice if we in Europe had a self-contained military ecosystem, so we could be self-sufficient and avoid purchasing from the U.S., which has become an unpredictable partner
Pavlo NarozhniyFounder of the “Reactive Mail” Charitable Organization, military expert
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Last month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would be the first to receive the new, enhanced SAMP/T NG systems.
Separately, France will provide the country with two SAMP/T systems. Kyiv will also receive licenses to manufacture SCALP missiles, AASM bombs, and, jointly with Italy, Aster 30 missiles.
Author
Yeva Slastnova journalist
All materialsShe studied at the School of Journalism at the Boris Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, majoring in "International Journalism." She worked at NV for three years.