At the beginning of 2024, it became known that the American defense corporation Northrop Grumman plans to expand its presence in Ukraine through the joint production of medium-caliber ammunition. This agreement is the first publicly recognized initiative between the US Department of Defense and the Ukrainian government regarding a production project in Ukraine.
Northrop Grumman Corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of weapons and military equipment, plans to create a production of medium-caliber ammunition in Ukraine.
The creation of such production will contribute to increasing the defense capability of Ukraine and providing the necessary arsenal to strengthen the country's defense. It is known that the agreement with Northrop Grumman is the result of long-term negotiations and is planned as a strategic step in strengthening military-technical cooperation between the United States and Ukraine.
This was reported by Northrop Grumman Defense Systems representative Dave Bartell at the EUROSATORY 2024 defense exhibition for Breaking Defense.
"This is our first project, which is paid for in "Ukrainian dollars". We plan to expand this agreement to ammunition for tanks, 155 mm, and others, when we find innovative processes ," said the director of international business of the defense systems sector of Northrop.
Confirmation of this agreement took place during the communication between Bartell and Stanley Brown, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the State Department for military and political affairs of the United States.
In his speech at an arms exhibition in Paris, Brown announced a new State Department program that will invest $2 billion in Ukraine's defense industry, which, in turn, could open the door to new U.S.-Ukrainian production.
What other companies plan to open factories in Ukraine
American defense companies lag behind their European counterparts in establishing joint production agreements. This month, German company Rheinmetall shared plans:
- to open a factory in Ukraine for the production of Lynx BMP;
- joint production of ammunition with the Ukrainian defense industry.
Also this month, during the visit of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the Franco-German manufacturer KNDS and the Ukrainian firm KZVV signed a contract for the production of 155 mm artillery shells in Ukraine.
Previous U.S. co-production efforts to support Ukraine's needs have typically focused on U.S. arms production efforts within NATO allies in Eastern Europe, but that could all change in the next few months.
