Ukraine should lift export ban on reconnaissance drones, vendor says

MILAN — Ukraine may lift an export ban on drone systems to generate revenue for local companies, a move one manufacturer argues is overdue.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 Kyiv has prohibited the export of military goods to other countries to guarantee that the Ukrainian armed forces are supplied with the equipment they need to continue defending their territory.

While the ban has allowed smaller local defense companies to grow at a fast rate, thanks to an initial boost of orders by the state, the policy is now hurting their business, Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, deputy director general of Piranha Tech said.

“It has opened up opportunities for private companies to produce weapons and led to the emergence of numerous firms that, in two and a half years, have grown from garage-based startups to stable companies capable of fulfilling a large number of orders,” he told Defense News. “At the same time, as firms have scaled up their capabilities, they’ve accelerated to a level the state cannot fully procure from.”

Piranha Tech has specialized in the development and production of electronic-warfare systems, radio-jamming as well as drones and counter-drone systems since 2014.

Khrapchynskyi noted that most of the investments in research and development came either from the companies’ own funds or small grants provided by platforms like Brave1, a Ukrainian government entity responsible for fast-tracking the delivery of weapon samples to the frontlines.

At the rate defense systems have evolved on the battlefield, research and development has become more expensive, and having the state as the sole customer is no longer sufficient for many firms, the argument for lifting the export ban goes.

According to Ukrainian media, a government working group on arms exports has been working since August on assessing risks that would come with the country re-entering the global arms market, and setting conditions that could make this possible.

Khrapchynskyi told Defense News he supports the initiative, saying reconnaissance drones could serve as a test case because they are useful in military and civilian applications alike.

“Security and the end-user are of the utmost importance – we could also consider selling earlier versions that are not cutting edge, but companies must guarantee that state contracts remain a priority and be fulfilled on time,” Khrapchynskyi said.

A requirement to invest some of the profits into company research and development also should be on the table, he added.

One of the biggest issues associated with lifting the wartime ban on these weapons is the possibility for Russian forces to get their hands on information and technology.

“We see how Russia circumvents sanctions, so we understand that they will certainly start looking for ways to obtain certain means for copying [weapons] or developing countermeasures against them,” Khrapchynskyi said.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——乌克兰可能解除对无人机系统的出口禁令，以给当地企业创造收入，一家制造商认为此举早就应该实施了。

自 2022 年俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，基辅禁止向其他国家出口军需品，以确保乌克兰武装部队获得继续保卫其领土所需的装备。

Piranha Tech 副总经理 Anatolii Khrapchynskyi 表示，虽然禁令使得规模较小的本地国防公司得以快速发展，这要归功于国家最初的订单刺激，但这项政策现在正在损害它们的业务。

“这为私营企业生产武器创造了机会，并催生了众多公司，这些公司在两年半的时间里，从车库创业公司发展成为能够完成大量订单的稳定企业，”他告诉《防务新闻》。“与此同时，随着这些公司能力的提升，它们的扩张速度已经超过了国家采购的范畴。”

自 2014 年以来，Piranha Tech 一直专注于电子战系统、无线电干扰以及无人机和反无人机系统的研发和生产。

赫拉普钦斯基指出，大部分研发投资要么来自公司自有资金，要么来自 Brave1 等平台的小额赠款。Brave1 是乌克兰政府实体，负责加快向前线运送武器样品。

鉴于战场上防御系统的发展速度，研发成本越来越高，许多公司认为，仅仅依靠国家作为唯一客户已经不足以满足需求，因此，解除出口禁令的理由是：

据乌克兰媒体报道，政府武器出口工作组自 8 月以来一直在评估该国重新进入全球武器市场可能带来的风险，并制定可能使之成为可能的条件。

赫拉普钦斯基告诉《防务新闻》，他支持这项倡议，并表示侦察无人机可以作为试验案例，因为它们在军事和民用领域都很有用。

“安全性和最终用户至关重要——我们也可以考虑销售一些非尖端的早期版本，但公司必须保证国家合同仍然是优先事项，并按时履行，”赫拉普钦斯基说。

他还补充说，应该考虑将部分利润投资于公司研发。

解除对这些武器的战时禁令所带来的最大问题之一是俄罗斯军队有可能获得相关信息和技术。

“我们看到俄罗斯是如何规避制裁的，所以我们明白他们肯定会开始寻找方法来获取复制（武器）的某些手段，或者开发针对这些武器的反制措施，”赫拉普钦斯基说。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。