Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin announced that Belgian company Thales has signed a memorandum of cooperation with a Ukrainian defense enterprise to produce anti-drone missiles jointly.

Ukraine works to expand its domestic military production capabilities to counter Russian aggression more effectively. Major defense partnerships have already been established, including agreements with German Rheinmetall for armored vehicle production, British BAE Systems for artillery systems, Swedish Saab for anti-tank weapons, and American Lockheed Martin for various defense technologies.

These partnerships aim to establish joint production facilities within Ukraine, helping meet immediate defense needs and develop long-term domestic manufacturing capacity.

According to Smetanin, this agreement envisions the joint production of missiles to counter Russian UAVs.

“We also expect this cooperation to expand further – to include technology transfer and components for these missiles,” Smetanin said.

According to the minister’s statement, the partnership with the Belgian company will strengthen Ukraine’s defense-industrial complex and enhance critical infrastructure protection against Russian drones.

Read also:

• Lithuanian Defense Minister meets Zelenskyy in Kyiv to discuss defense cooperation and Ukraine’s needs
• Defense cooperation: Ukraine’s Defense minister outlines new agreements with the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Baltic states
• Zelenskyy, Duda discuss Ukraine-Poland defense cooperation, Ukraine’s EU aspirations