Ukraine Defense Group's Armaments Directors Update

Following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III directed Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) Dr. William LaPlante to regularly convene National Armaments Directors (NADs) under the auspices of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG).

Focused on accelerating capability deliveries to Ukraine by synchronizing international procurement, production, and sustainment efforts, the forum has convened fourteen (14) times to date since its first meeting on September 28, 2022. The group will meet for the fifteenth time on January 10, 2025. More than 40 nations and representatives from NATO and the European Union actively participate. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister for European Integration Sergiy Boyev currently co-chairs the forum alongside USD(A&S) LaPlante.

The forum focuses on (1) requirements-based planning for production, and (2) tangible deliveries against increasing capacity and the commitments made by UDCG members to date. Major lines of effort include:

• Mapping global production capacity, and opportunities to increase throughput;
• Identifying production constraints and mitigations, including opportunities for co- production, joint ventures, and other mechanisms;
• Enabling the sustainment of equipment and reconstitution of Ukrainian forces; and
• Increasing opportunities for standardization, integration, and interchangeability.

Significant Achievements to Date

Through extensive collaboration across nations, UDCG NADs have enabled:

• Expansion of existing, or establishment of new, production capacity of critical munitions around the world.
  • The United States has invested $5.5 billion to expand domestic production capacity of the following munitions or subcomponents (NOTE: entries reflect increases from 2022 to current production rates):
    • 155mm Projectiles: 14,400 per month to 40,000 per month (178% increase)
    • 155mm Propelling Charge:14,494 per month to 18,000 per month (24% increase)
    • GMLRS: 833 per month to 1,167 per month (40% increase)
    • Javelin: 175 per month to 200 per month (14% increase)
    • AIM-9X: 116 per month to 137 per month (18% increase)
    • PAC-3 MSE: 21 per month to 48.6 per month (116% increase)
    • HIMARS: 5 per month to 8 per month (60% increase)
    • M777 Tubes: 11 per month to 18 per month (64% increase)
  • Examples of production expansion and munitions delivery efforts announced by UDCG members include, but are not limited to:
    • France and Sweden will double capacity of ammunition and explosives loading by 2025, double capacity of modular charges by 2026, and increase powder production capacity ten-fold by 2026.
    • Sites in Germany, Spain, Hungary, South Africa, and Australia plan to increase production up to 700,000 artillery shells and up to 10,000 tons of gunpowder per year by 2025; this includes a new gunpowder factory in Romania as part of a project developed with the European Commission and a new artillery ammunition facility in Germany.
    • Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain will co-produce up to 1,000 Patriot GEM-T missiles in Germany.
    • A consortium of 15 countries led by the Czech Republic have pledged €1.7 billion to source 500,000 artillery rounds from around the world by the end of 2024.
    • Through the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), European defense industry is expected to increase annual ammunition shell production capacity to 2 million by the end of 2025. 31 projects cover five areas: explosives, powder, shells, missiles, and testing and reconditioning certification.
    • Norway will invest more than NOK 1 billion to significantly expand artillery production for at least 15 years.
    • Nordic other participating nations are increasing ammunition production through the NORDEFCO++ initiative to support Ukraine as well as to strengthen long-term capacity to ensure regional security of supply.
    • The United Kingdom will spend £162 million to increase production of the Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) and supply Ukraine with 650 LMMs.
  • From 2023 to 2024, Ukraine increased its total domestic production of mortar and artillery ammunition—ranging from 60mm to 155mm calibers—from 1 million rounds to 2.5 million rounds annually (150% increase).
• Identification of gaps and mitigations for production of propellants and explosives.
• Delivery of VAMPIRE C-UAS systems and "FrankenSAM" iTEL and BUK systems.
• Donations of trucks and gun mounts for Mobile Fire Teams (MFT) to assist Ukraine in protecting its critical national infrastructure.
• Delivery of NASAMS units and munitions, and subsequent functionality upgrades to expand interceptor options.
• Delivery of AIM-7, RIM-7, and AIM-9M missiles for air defense.
• Integration of thousands of air-to-ground munitions donations for employment from Ukraine's current aircraft and donated F-16s.
• Co-development of Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM), a low-cost, long-range cruise missile for mass production (Denmark, Netherlands, United States).
• Open competition and advanced flight testing for one-way attack capabilities through Project ARTEMIS (United States) and Project BREAKSTOP (United Kingdom).
• Facilitation of Jumpstart Foreign Military Sales cases with allies and partners to provide funding for munitions purchases in lieu of donations.
• Delivery of 90 refurbished T-72s tanks (45 Dutch and 45 U.S.), and more than 100,000 T-72 spare parts; a forthcoming jointly-funded effort will expand spares and overhaul support to all major Soviet-era armored combat platforms via the NATO Support and Procurement Agency.
• Development of a common sustainment framework focusing on time-based, increased Ukrainian sustainment capability across spares, maintenance, training, and Ukrainian industrial support capacity.
• Delivery of seven commercial-grade 3D printers, post-processing equipment, and consumables to the Remote Maintenance and Distribution Center-Ukraine (RDC-U), and procurement of seven additional polymer printers with associated support equipment and consumables.
• Establishment of tele-maintenance capabilities, and execution of an augmented reality demonstration to improve maintenance and repair training for Ukrainian personnel in the field.
• Translation of more than 1,600 technical repair and operations manuals.
• Facilitation of, and support to, partnerships with Ukrainian industry for co-production and co-sustainment activities.
  • Examples of U.S.-Ukraine industry partnerships include:
    • The Department of State established a team of subject matter experts to assist the Ukrainian Ministry of Strategic Industries to help build the resilience and effective oversight of Ukraine's defense industry, address urgent military production needs, and complement the assistance provided through $2 billion in new Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to establish the Ukraine Defense Enterprise Program (UDEP). The expert team includes a Defense Production Liaison and a Defense Industry Partnerships and Policy Strategist (November 2024).
    • Northrop Grumman signed an agreement with the Government of Ukraine to provide equipment and training to establish a medium-caliber ammunition production line (July 2024).
    • Amentum signed a Memorandum of Intent to form a Joint Venture with Ukrainian Defense Industry (UDI) for cooperation in restoring and maintaining U.S.-donated armored vehicles (June 2024).
    • D&M Holding Company constructed an ammunition factory in Ukraine and are currently expanding production pursuant to agreements with the Ukrainian Ministry of Strategic Industries and key companies (October 2023).
  • Examples of international-Ukraine industry partnerships include:
    • UDI began domestic production of CZ Bren 2 assault rifles following a series of agreements with the Colt CZ Group (Czech Republic) (December 2024, contracted July 2024).
    • The Swedish government announced funding and industrial support for Ukrainian production of long-range missiles and UAS (November 2024).
    • Through Task Force HIRST, the United Kingdom is coordinating with multiple industry partners to conduct maintenance, repair, and overhaul of capabilities within Ukraine.
    • Nammo (Norway) announced that it will license production of 155mm rounds in Ukraine (August 2024).
    • KNDS (France/Germany) is establishing a subsidiary in Ukraine to produce 155mm rounds and spare parts (June 2024).
    • Rheinmetall (Germany) signed a Letter of Intent to establish a production facility for Lynx armored vehicles in Ukraine, building upon a Joint Venture between Rheinmetall and UDI to establish a maintenance center in-country for German-donated military equipment (June 2024).

Working Groups

Efforts of the NADs under the auspices of the UDCG are organized across four Working Groups aligned to functional areas: Innovation, Production, Sustainment, and Ukraine Defense Industrial Base Support.

The intersection of the NAD Working Groups and the UDCG Capability Coalitions is complementary, not duplicative. The NADs are uniquely positioned to operationalize ministerial- level guidance produced via the Capability Coalitions by providing subject matter expertise in procurement, production, and sustainment. Specific, long-term requirements identified by Capability Coalitions will guide the NADs' deliberate prioritization and resourcing of corresponding industrial base and sustainment investments. This "require-deliver-sustain" partnership between the Capability Coalitions and NAD Working Groups closes gaps between requirements and capability deliveries, maximizes the effectiveness of investments by UDCG members while avoiding duplication of effort.

• Innovation Working Group: Increases the speed from idea to fielded capability, focusing on anticipating adversarial advancements and maturing emerging technologies accordingly for operational use. Current efforts include:
  • Lower cost missiles
  • Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) detect, track, and engage capabilities
  • Countermeasures for guided bombs
  • Laser solutions
  • One-way attack drone capability experimentation
• Production Working Group: Accelerates and drives production efforts for critical weapons systems by supporting opportunities for co-production, facilitating funding opportunities, identifying production constraints and best practices for mitigation, and enabling replenishment contracts. Current efforts include:
  • Source needs and opportunities for production increases or acceleration of 155mm artillery and TNT, among other critical programs and subcomponents
  • Application of lessons learned from multinational production consortia to air defense interceptors
• Sustainment Working Group: Supports Ukraine's weapon system availability by addressing cross-cutting sustainment issues in key enabling areas such as spare parts provisioning and ordering, operational maintenance and depot-level training, sustainment capacity across the Ukrainian and partner industrial bases, and supporting Ukraine's ability to maintain donated platforms. Current efforts include:
  • Resourcing critical Ukraine sustainment requirements in support of combat reconstitution
  • Pooling and joint provision of spares
  • Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of legacy and western equipment, including expanding sustainment support for Soviet-era armored combat vehicles
  • Supporting current weapon systems with a common sustainment package support framework (spares, technical data, training, maintenance devices, etc.)
• Ukraine Industrial Base Support Working Group: Coordinates efforts to advance a robust Ukrainian industrial base that provides materiel for urgent needs, contributing to Ukraine's long-term security and economic resilience. Current efforts include:
  • Facilitating partnerships supporting co-production or co-sustainment between Ukrainian industry and U.S. or international companies, including working with the Department of State to reduce timelines to receive necessary export licensing
  • Identifying and promoting collaborative funding mechanisms to channel pooled resources directly to priority Ukrainian defense industrial base project
  • Identifying and troubleshooting policy and regulatory issues impeding industrial cooperation with Ukraine