European countries, faced with challenges in producing enough weapons for Ukraine, have proposed a new strategy that would allow for much faster delivery of weapons to Kyiv. According to The Wall Street Journal , this approach involves purchasing weapons in other countries and redirecting them to Ukraine, which would help avoid lengthy production processes.
Under the new approach, Europeans fund Ukrainian state contracts with Ukrainian arms manufacturers to produce equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including long-range missiles and drones that can strike across Russian territory. Kyiv tells partners which companies to work with and buy weapons from, while Europeans independently vet manufacturers before agreeing to deals.
Ukraine will still rely on Western partners for advanced weapons, such as Patriot missiles. But officials say the new approach will allow Kyiv to get weapons faster and in greater quantities than waiting for European weapons to be manufactured. Ukraine can do this because its arms industry is currently operating far below its production capacity due to insufficient funding. By some estimates, it is running at 30 percent.
Proponents of this approach say that Ukrainian defense companies are able to produce many systems faster and cheaper than Western suppliers. Ukrainian companies also adapt equipment more specifically to the country’s ever-changing needs, while strengthening its defense industry for the future.
