On Wednesday, Sep. 28, Brussels hosted the first meeting of national armaments directors of member countries of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, which was attended by representatives of 45 countries, the European Union and NATO, the U.S. Department of Defense reports.
“The forum enabled frank and open dialogue about defense industrial base challenges and opportunities to increase production of capabilities critical to Ukraine’s long-term defense,” the report notes.
The U.S. delegation outlined the Department’s analytical approach to identifying supply chain constraints for major components and sub-components, and plans to increase production of ground-based long range fires, air defense systems, air-to-ground munitions, and other capabilities. Nearly 20 international partners briefed similar efforts to strengthen and expand their nations’ industrial base to accelerate production, spurring productive dialogue on areas for multi-national coordination.
With the aim of providing long-term support to Ukraine, participants recognized the importance of standardizing requirements, thereby creating more interchangeable and interoperable systems. In addition, they discussed building sustainment capacity in Ukraine, including forward repair activity, access to spares, and other sustainment enablers.
The Ukrainian Defense Contact Group’s national armaments directors committed to standing up smaller working groups to collectively drive progress on the above topics. In coming weeks, working groups will define multi-national strategies to mitigate supply chain constraints, increase production, and pursue interchangeability in portfolio areas critical to Ukraine’s long-term success.
