Defence & Security News - Ukraine

Responding to conflict in the country’s east, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is modernizing the military’s vehicle fleet, emphasizing improving vehicle protection. Ukraine’s leading defense group, Ukroboronprom, said on Oct. 6 that in the previous week, its production facilities delivered 115 modernized and overhauled military vehicles to the armed forces.

UkrOboronProm delivered modernized T-64BV main battle tanks

These batch included T-64BV tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, BREM-2 armored recovery vehicles, as well as BTR-3, BTR-4, BTR-70 and BTR-80 armored personnel carriers, reported Defensenews, October 12.

As part of the program, the military acquired 10 modernized BTR-70s fitted with additional multilayer protection this September. The upgrades were performed by Ukroboronprom’s subsidiary, Mykolayiv Arms Plant (MBTZ), the group said in a statement.

Local industry representatives say the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which pits pro-government armed forces against Russia-backed separatists, has sharply increased the number of contracts Kiev has awarded to local defense firms.

“Complying with very tight deadlines, in a period of one month and a half we managed to overhaul a large amount of vehicles,” said Oleksandr Shevts, the acting director of the arms plant. “[W]e are ready to perform new contracts.”

According to Ukroboronprom, the BTR-70 deal is the largest contract awarded to MBTZ in the past 20 years.

Moreover, to improve troop protection, the Defense Ministry has awarded contracts to Kharkiv-based Malyshev Plant, another Ukroboronprom subsidiary, which is upgrading the T-64 and T-72 tanks and the BTR-3 and BTR-4 vehicles.

“We [have delivered] the next batch of upgraded T-64 tanks [with enhanced] reactive protection and fire control unit,” said Oleksandr Sheyko, the chief engineer of the arms plant.

The company said that, while initially intended for an unnamed foreign customer, the overhauled tanks were deployed to the anti-terrorist operation area in the country’s east under orders of the Ukrainian government.

In its modernized T-64BV variant, the tank is fitted with an automatic fire control system, laser rangefinder, 2E42 armament stabilizer, as well as a KUV 9K112-1 missile system. To enhance protection, Kontakt explosive reactive armor was mounted on the turret and hull of the tank.

The T-64BV weighs up to 42.5 tons, has a maximum speed of 60.5 kilometers per hour, and can carry a crew of three, according to data from the manufacturer.

To handle the increased workload resulting from the numerous vehicle modernization contracts, the Ukrainian group’s Lviv Armored Plant has decided to launch a third production shift.

The facility has been supplying upgraded BTR-60PB, BTR-80 and BDRM amphibious vehicles to the armed forces. Meanwhile, Ukroboronprom’s Zhytomyr Armored Plant, which also recently started a third shift, delivered 16 various BMD, BMP and BREM-type modernized armored vehicles to the Army in September.

Sergey Butenko, the director of the Zhytomyr-based plant, said that while the facility is ready to accept more military vehicles and other equipment for upgrades, it is vital that the Defense Ministry simplifies its procedures for testing and technical acceptance.

Kiev-based Ukroboronprom was set up in 2010 with the aim of consolidating Ukraine’s fragmented defense industry. The group comprises 131 entities, according to figures released by Ukroboronprom.