Franco-German arms manufacturer to set up plant in Ukraine

KNDS, a Franco-German group of arms companies, will set up a new subsidiary with production facilities in Ukraine.

Source: Bloomberg; European Pravda

Details: Following talks between German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu in Berlin, it was reported that KNDS, which includes France's Nexter and Germany's Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann, will set up a subsidiary in Ukraine to produce artillery ammunition and spare parts for weapons of their production which have been supplied to Ukraine.

"We, France and Germany, both want to help Ukraine to make the ammunition production there more self-sufficient," Pistorius noted.

Sébastien Lecornu noted that locating the production of artillery munitions closer to the place of combat operations will play an essential role in boosting logistics.

BFMTV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, explained that the issue concerns spare parts for Caesar self-propelled artillery systems and AMX10RC armoured vehicles, also known as wheeled tanks. Ukraine has received 30 Caesars and 38 AMX10RCs throughout the full-scale war, and earlier this year, Paris announced plans to produce 78 more Caesars for Ukraine.

Replacing parts of artillery systems during intensive service is an urgent problem, as Caesar requires additional maintenance after shooting around 2,000 rounds, and the intensity of its use in the Russo-Ukrainian war is exceptionally high. The barrel and some other system elements need to be replaced periodically.

Citing a French official who spoke on condition of anonymity, Bloomberg added that over time, Ukrainian production facilities might start producing not only parts but also weapons systems from scratch.

Background: In addition, Lecornu and Pistorius announced an agreement to share the burden on industry in manufacturing a new generation of MGCS tanks, which are to replace the French Leclerc and German Leopard tanks in the future. The memorandum is due to be signed on 26 April in Paris, and the contract will be prepared by the end of the year.

Earlier, Sébastien Lecornu also mentioned plans to engage the French company Delair, which specialises in drones, in cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry.

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