NSDC: Ukraine signs a deal to get French UAVs

Kyiv, February 27, 2015. Ukrainian delegation has signed a contract with THALES (France) for the delivery of modern unmanned aerial vehicles during the IDEX arms expo in the United Arab Emirates, told Oleh Hladkovsky, first deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, during the press-briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “We have also concluded deals to get the means of electronic warfare and other kind of military equipment,” Mr. Hladkovsky said.

Oleh Hladkovsky stated that Ukraine has to search for new export market and diversify the list of its suppliers in order to reduce Ukraine’s dependence on the Russian military imports. Therefore the Ukrainian delegation led by the President Petro Poroshenko signed an agreement on military and technical collaboration with the Government of UAE. “This agreement would enable to attract additional investments to the Ukrainian military industries and import modern types of weapons,”Mr. Hladkovsky said.

“Motor Sich”, Ukrainian aviation enterprise, signed a deal for joint helicopter modernization program that replaced its former Russian partners to the South African company.

Mr. Hladkovsky stressed that these contracts will facilitate Ukraine’s rearmament program scheduled to be completed by 2017. “We have made a qualitative progress. Previously our main focus was to repair old military equipment; now we are looking for new partners to organize industrial collaboration and modernize our military-industrial complex,” he concluded.