Britain cements foothold in Ukraine for weapons upkeep, production

LONDON — Light artillery pieces donated to Ukraine by Britain’s Ministry of Defence are to be repaired and maintained locally under a deal agreed by the two governments.

The new servicing arrangement for the BAE Systems-built L119 guns replaces a maintenance plan for the 105mm guns that currently entails shipping them outside of the country for repairs.

Officials announced the agreement to use a Ukrainian plant during an April 9 British trade mission to Kyiv, which saw the two sides sign a new defense pact aimed at encouraging cooperation on defense and industrial issues.

The British, along with other European arms makers, are eager to boost ties with Ukraine as the war with Russia opens up possible opportunities for local production . Twenty-nine British companies joined the trade mission, the second of its kind in recent months.

BAE is cooperating with British-based company AMS Integrated Solutions in providing the in-country repair and maintenance capability for the L119.

The two companies signed a teaming agreement last December to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services on BAE-supplied weapons from existing facilities in Ukraine.

Aside from the towed light artillery, the company has supplied other weapon types to Ukraine, including AS90 tracked 155mm howitzers and Challenger 2 main battle tanks.

Kyiv has also signed a statement of intent with Sweden to explore possible support and production of the CV90 family of armored vehicles, made by the Swedish arm of BAE and donated to Ukraine by Stockholm .

Maj. Gen. Anna-Lee Reilly, director of operations at Defence Equipment and Support, the Ministry of Defence’s procurement and support arm, said the AMS-operated facility could become a center for the support of several other weapons systems.

“The repair facility that has been secured is scalable to provide a similar capability for U.K. and other nations’ systems,” she said.

The light gun support deal could be a stepping stone to Ukraine building the L119 in the country.

During a visit by BAE CEO Charles Woodburn to Kyiv last August the company said it was setting up a local office. Exploring potential partners and how it could eventually facilitate the production of the light gun locally was one of the issues being studied, BAE said at the time.

Alexander Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, said in a statement issued during the British trade mission that the U.K. was making progress towards building local production capabilities.

“It was British defense companies that were the first to open their offices here after the start of the great war. Our partnership is developing, and today we are one step closer to British manufacturers being the first to start producing their weapons in Ukraine,” said Kamyshin.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——根据两国政府达成的协议，英国国防部捐赠给乌克兰的轻型火炮将在当地进行维修和维护。

BAE Systems 制造的 L119 火炮的新维修安排取代了目前 105 毫米火炮的维护计划，该计划需要将火炮运到国外进行维修。

4月9日，英国贸易代表团访问基辅期间，双方官员宣布了使用乌克兰工厂的协议。在访问期间，双方签署了一项新的防务条约，旨在鼓励在国防和工业问题上开展合作。

英国和其他欧洲军火制造商都渴望加强与乌克兰的关系，因为与俄罗斯的战争为当地军火生产带来了潜在机遇。29家英国公司参加了此次贸易代表团，这是近几个月来第二次此类代表团访问乌克兰。

BAE 与总部位于英国的 AMS Integrated Solutions 公司合作，为 L119 提供国内维修和维护能力。

去年 12 月，两家公司签署了一项合作协议，利用乌克兰现有的设施为 BAE 提供的武器提供维护、修理和大修服务。

除了牵引式轻型火炮外，该公司还向乌克兰提供了其他类型的武器，包括 AS90 履带式 155 毫米榴弹炮和挑战者 2 主战坦克。

基辅还与瑞典签署了一份意向声明，探讨支持和生产 CV90 系列装甲车的可能性。该系列装甲车由 BAE 瑞典分公司制造，并由斯德哥尔摩捐赠给乌克兰。

国防部采购和支持部门——国防装备与支持局的运营主管安娜-李·雷利少将表示，AMS运营的设施可以成为支持其他几种武器系统的中心。

她表示：“我们已获得的维修设施具有可扩展性，可为英国和其他国家/地区的系统提供类似的能力。”

轻型火炮支持协议可能是乌克兰在该国生产 L119 轻型火炮的垫脚石。

去年八月，英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）首席执行官查尔斯·伍德伯恩访问基辅期间，该公司表示正在当地设立办事处。BAE当时表示，探索潜在合作伙伴以及如何最终促进光枪在当地的生产是正在研究的问题之一。

乌克兰战略工业部长亚历山大·卡梅申在英国贸易代表团访问期间发表声明称，英国在建设本地生产能力方面正在取得进展。

“第一次世界大战爆发后，英国国防公司率先在这里设立了办事处。我们的合作关系正在发展，今天，我们距离英国制造商率先在乌克兰生产武器的目标又近了一步，”卡米申说道。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。