Ukraine defence industry body says first JV with UK company yet to be signed
A video image from Frontline Robotics showing a Linza 3.0 UAV that is being produced as part of a JV with Quantum Systems in Germany. (Frontline Robotics)
The Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry (UCDI) said a first joint venture (JV) agreement between a Ukrainian and UK defence company is yet to be signed.
Ihor Fedirko, CEO of UCDI, told Janes in an interview on 27 February that âwe are working closely with Babcock, and BAE Systems and many others, but we still don't have any established joint venturesâ.
Teams within UK and Ukrainian industry are currently working to produce British-built Octopus interceptor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Production of the Octopus began in January, with the UK aiming to make thousands each month to send to Ukraine. The Octopus interceptor, designed to counter Shahed-type one-way attack (OWA) and loitering munition UAVs, is equipped with an artificial intelligence (AI)-based control system, according to a 20 January Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) press release.
The release said that âtechnology transfer enabling the production of the Octopus at UK facilities became possible following intellectual property reforms at the Ukraine MoDâ. The design is updated every six weeks to âstay ahead of Russian tacticsâ and live battlefield data feeds straight into UK production lines, according to a 9 January press release from the UK MoD.
âOctopus is one of the best solutions which we are using right now in Ukraine, but it's not being built within the framework of the Build with Ukraine initiative,â Fedirko said. He went on to add that the agreement to produce Octopus UAVs in the UK was established on a âgovernment-to-government levelâ.
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