Soldiers of the Royal Artillery firing 105mm Light Guns during an exercise. Credit: Richard Watt.

BAE announced it has signed an agreement with Ukraine to explore potential for local partners in the production of 105mm Light Guns, as well as an agreement to revitalise Ukraine’s industrial base and work alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to support its future force structure and capability requirements.

“Alongside our government customers, we’ve been discussing with President Zelenskyy and his team how to best evolve the support that we’re already providing to Ukraine,” said Charles Woodburn, chief executive, BAE Systems. “Signing the agreements and establishing a legal entity in Ukraine builds on our existing trust and support and paves the way for us to work together to provide more direct support to the Ukrainian armed forces.”

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Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industry, expressed thanks for the signing of the agreement, and was optimistic about bringing production to Ukraine: “I am grateful to BAE Systems for the bold decision to stand side by side with us in the fight against Russian aggression and building the future of the Ukrainian defence industry. Together with the company, we will be able to localise the production of advanced weapons.

“BAE Systems has already been providing support to the Ukrainian war efforts through training and MRO services,” said Tristan Sauer, aerospace and defence analyst for GlobalData, referencing the support that BAE Systems is currently supplying through its entities in neighbouring Nato countries.  

Sauer infers from the agreement signed with the government of Ukraine that BAE Systems has a robust outlook on Ukraine. “The decision by BAE Systems to pursue the production of defence material in collaboration with Ukrainian entities illustrates both a growing level of confidence in the resilience of Ukrainian industrial capacity as well as a tacit understanding that the conflict in Ukraine will continue to drive demand for more ‘conventional’ products such as towed artillery pieces.” 

BAE systems manufacture two 105mm Light Gun Systems, the L118 and the L119 versions of the artillery piece. The 105mm Light Gun is a compact, helicopter portable system that can be towed behind light vehicles at high speed over rough ground, according to the manufacturer, and it is versatile in the ammunition type that can be introduced. 

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Sauer anticipates BAE’s involvement to become broader and deeper than the production of 105mm Light Guns. “As it seeks to expand its offerings in the digital security and unmanned systems markets, continuing to strengthen their relationship with Ukraine may further facilitate efforts to develop and market those products in the medium to long-term as the nation looks to shore up its security measures over the coming decade.”