President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with heads of American defense companies during a working visit to the United States.
The meeting was attended by BAE Systems President Tom Arsenault, Day & Zimmermann Chairman and CEO Harold Yoch, Boeing President Theodore Colbert, Sierra Nevada Executive Director Fatih Ozmen, Northrop Grumman Vice President Stephen OʼBrie, RTX Vice President Jeff Shockley, Lockheed Martin Vice President Raymond Piselli, General Dynamics Vice President Marc Ruali, CEO of D&M Holding Daniel Powers, and Vice President of AeroVironment Charles Dean.
The President thanked all the employees of American defense companies that produce weapons that save Ukrainians and help the Ukrainian army to defend the country.
"You have done a lot for Ukraine. Without people like you, we would not be able to cope and protect our land," noted Zelensky.
Zelensky also talked about the idea of creating a defense hub in Europe, which will be located on the territory of Ukraine, since the country has a lot of practical experience gained through the war.
According to him, Ukraine is ready and will produce more ammunition and military equipment, but it needs the support of such powerful companies. In particular, we are talking about the joint production of artillery ammunition, air defense systems, artillery and missile systems.
Ukraine also wants to invite American partners to enter the share of Ukrainian defense companies, which will benefit all parties.
Production of weapons
Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleksandr Kamyshin said that Ukraine wants to become the largest arms producer in Europe.
In 2024, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Strategy and Industry intend to multiply the production of missiles, ammunition, weapons and military equipment, especially air defense equipment.
In September, the first international Forum of Defense Industries DFNC1 was held in Kyiv, which was attended by 252 defense companies from more than 30 countries. Ukrainian companies signed 20 documents with foreign partners within the framework of the forum. The Ministry of Strategy and Industry talked about Ukraineʼs monthly increase in weapons production and emphasized that there is a "multiple increase even this year."
On December 6, 2023, the United States and Ukraine signed a statement of intent on joint production and exchange of technical data aimed at meeting the urgent operational needs of the Armed Forces.