UK officials gauge long-term defense business ties with Ukraine

LONDON — Britain has mounted its first defense trade mission to Ukraine as the government here steps up efforts to secure military business with Kyiv.

The mission saw companies including BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales, KBR and AMS join the British government-led trip to the Ukrainian capital Dec. 13-14.

The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement that the visit will result in additional defense trade missions in 2024.

“The U.K. government and U.K. industry will continue to work hand-in-glove with our Ukrainian allies, seizing opportunities for collaboration and bolstering our defense industries,” Defense Procurement Minister James Cartlidge was quoted as saying.

The trade mission brought together U.K. and Ukrainian government officials along with U.K. and Ukrainian industry executives to discuss opportunities for long-term cooperation.

The industry push comes on the back of weapons support from London that has been growing for months. Fellow European nations are similarly seeking to marry their military support with business growth strategies in the war-torn country, and national heavyweights like Rheinmetall and Thales have been among those pursuing deals with Kyiv.

Initially, those opportunities are principally for the support of the sometimes aging weapons that have poured into Ukraine from Western governments since the Russian invasion started last year. But new weapons system will likely be included too.

BAE announced in August it was setting up an office in Kyiv and looking at the possibility of building and supporting its L119 light gun locally.

Following the trade mission the company went further, announcing it had signed a teaming agreement with support company AMS Integrated Solutions to pursue opportunities maintaining and repairing BAE-built artillery systems in the country.

No mention was made of the type of platforms likely to be involved in the proposal, but the British have donated AS90 155mm tracked howitzers and L119 105mm guns to the Ukrainian military.

The proposal would see AMS use existing maintenance centers in Ukraine, where the company employs local engineers.

AMS already has an agreement with the U.K. MoD to repair platforms in use in Ukraine and has established facilities in country to carry out the work.

Babcock has also set up a local office and last week announced it had been awarded a three-year contract by the Ukrainian MoD to support and maintain two mine countermeasures vessels following their transfer from the U.K. Royal Navy.

The British contractor activities in Ukraine predate the invasion with an agreement involving the two governments and Babcock enhancing Kyiv’s maritime capabilities.

Earlier this year the company secured a £50 million ($63 million), 12-month deal to support operations of Challenger 2 main battle tanks and other armored vehicles donated to Ukrainian forces.

The MoD statement announcing the trade mission also said Thales had signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian unmanned aerial systems business Aerodrone, which involves engineers from the French company’s Northern Ireland operation participating in an unspecified project.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国首次派出国防贸易代表团访问乌克兰，英国政府正加紧努力，以确保与基辅的军事贸易往来。

此次访问中，包括 BAE Systems、Babcock、Thales、KBR 和 AMS 在内的多家公司参加了由英国政府牵头的 12 月 13 日至 14 日对乌克兰首都的访问。

英国国防部在一份声明中表示，此次访问将促成2024年更多的国防贸易访问。

据报道，国防采购部长詹姆斯·卡特里奇表示：“英国政府和英国工业界将继续与我们的乌克兰盟友密切合作，抓住合作机会，加强我们的国防工业。”

此次贸易代表团汇集了英国和乌克兰政府官员以及英国和乌克兰的行业高管，共同探讨长期合作的机会。

在伦敦方面持续数月加大对乌克兰的武器支持力度之后，乌克兰的产业发展势头也随之增强。其他欧洲国家同样寻求将军事支持与该国的商业增长战略相结合，莱茵金属和泰雷兹等乌克兰国内巨头企业也一直在积极寻求与基辅达成交易。

最初，这些机会主要是为了支持自去年俄罗斯入侵以来西方政府向乌克兰大量输送的、有时略显老旧的武器。但新的武器系统也可能包含在内。

BAE 于 8 月宣布将在基辅设立办事处，并考虑在当地建造和支持其 L119 轻型火炮的可能性。

贸易访问结束后，该公司更进一步，宣布已与支持公司 AMS Integrated Solutions 签署合作协议，以寻求在该国维护和修理 BAE 制造的火炮系统的机会。

提案中没有提及可能涉及的平台类型，但英国已向乌克兰军队捐赠了 AS90 155 毫米履带式榴弹炮和 L119 105 毫米火炮。

该方案将使 AMS 使用其在乌克兰现有的维修中心，该公司在乌克兰雇佣了当地工程师。

AMS 已与英国国防部达成协议，负责维修在乌克兰使用的平台，并在该国建立了设施以开展这项工作。

巴布科克公司还在当地设立了办事处，并于上周宣布，该公司已获得乌克兰国防部为期三年的合同，负责支持和维护从英国皇家海军移交的两艘扫雷舰。

英国承包商在乌克兰的活动早于入侵，两国政府与巴布科克公司达成协议，增强了基辅的海上能力。

今年早些时候，该公司获得了一笔价值 5000 万英镑（6300 万美元）、为期 12 个月的合同，为捐赠给乌克兰军队的挑战者 2 主战坦克和其他装甲车辆的作战行动提供支持。

英国国防部在宣布此次贸易访问的声明中还表示，泰雷兹公司与乌克兰无人机系统企业 Aerodrone 签署了一份谅解备忘录，该备忘录涉及这家法国公司北爱尔兰分部的工程师参与一个未指明的项目。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。