US arms company to produce munitions in Ukraine
Northrop Grumman, an American weapons manufacturer, plans to produce ammunition in Ukraine bankrolled by Ukrainian money, the Breaking Defense magazine reported on June 18, citing a company official.
Kyiv has been courting Western arms producers in an effort to localize domestic production and decrease reliance on foreign supplies.
Northrop's agreement is the first known deal of its kind between a U.S. defense company and a Ukrainian government for producing arms in Ukraine.
"We've been working, as you know, in Ukraine to produce medium (caliber munitions). That's our first project that's paid for with Ukrainian dollars," said David Bartell, the company's director of international business, during the Eurosatory arms show in Paris.
"We are looking to expand that into tank ammo, 155 mm (artillery shells), others as we find innovative processes."
Bartell and Northrop have not elaborated further on these plans.
The company is involved in the defense and aerospace sectors and has produced B-2 Spirit and B-21 Raider stealth bomber planes used by the U.S. military, as well as RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones and more.
The U.S. recently signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine under which it pledged to bolster Ukraine's defense industrial base, "including through cooperative defense research and development."
The state-owned Ukrainian Defense Industry (Ukrboronprom) signed a memorandum with U.S.-based Amentum Services last week on plans to set up a joint enterprise to restore and maintain American-made armored vehicles. In December 2023, Kyiv and Washington signed a statement of intent on the co-production of weapons.
While the opening of American-run defense plants in Ukraine is only in the preparatory phase, German arms producer Rheinmetall has already set up shop in the country for the repair and, eventually, production of armored vehicles.
Martin Fornusek
