Ukraine’s Arms Enterprise Signs Agreement With Northrop Grumman to Set up Munition Production

Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s state-owned arms conglomerate, signed an agreement with US defense firm Northrop Grumman to create production of NATO-standard medium-caliber munitions.

Northrop Grumman’s site, under the “Medium Caliber Ammunition” section, listed 30x113mm, 30x173mm, 40x180mm and 50x228mm munitions for its Bushmaster chain guns, which are found on vehicles such as the Bradley fighting vehicle (BFV) seen in Ukraine.

However, it’s not clear which exact calibers are covered under the agreement, nor whether the planned production will take place in Ukraine or abroad.

The Ukrainian Presidential Office, in a press release, said the signing took place at the Ukrainian Embassy in the US, where President Volodymyr Zelensky met with top managers from leading American and international defense companies, including BAE Systems, Day & Zimmermann, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Company, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Lockheed Martin and others.

Zelensky said the meeting was a “continuation of the dialogue started in Washington last December.”

In December 2023, Kyiv and Washington signed a historic agreement to jointly produce weapons through the “memorandum on co-production and technical data exchange.” The agreement aimed to establish a co-production of air defense systems, repair and technical support, and critical ammunition for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

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Ukroboronprom is a Ukrainian arms conglomerate whose products encompass munitions, small arms, artillery, explosives, combat vehicles, warships, civil and military aerospace products, engines, missiles and others.

In 2023, Kyiv made the decision to privatize and restructure the company as the Ukrainian Defense Industry Joint Stock Company to improve efficiency and attract investment. Ukroboronprom opened its first foreign representative office in the US on Wednesday.

In June this year, German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, in partnership with Ukroboronprom, opened its first workshop to repair and manufacture armored vehicles in Ukraine. Rheinmetall says it plans to start producing the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) in Ukraine by the end of this year.