France plans to produce weapons on Ukrainian soil

France is planning to have some of its arms manufacturers producing military equipment on Ukrainian soil.

Reuters reported on this.

Military production should take place on Ukrainian soil, as this will help to deploy the appropriate number of enterprises and attract a large number of specialists.

In addition, the production of weapons directly on Ukrainian soil will help to better counter the Russian threat.

“Three French companies will be setting up partnerships with Ukrainian companies, in particular in the drone and land equipment sectors, to produce spare parts on Ukrainian soil, and perhaps ammunition in the future,” Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu said.

He also noted that the first production facilities were scheduled to start operating this summer. Prompt deployment will help Armed Forces of Ukraine to resist Russian aggression.

“The idea is to have the first production units running this summer,” he said.

Lecornu hinted the companies involved would include tank maker KNDS, the holding structure formed by France’s Nexter and Germany’s Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann.

In general, France has big plans to deploy arms production in Ukraine, which has received a lot of positive feedback from Ukrainian defenders.

As Militarnyi previously reported, the governments of Ukraine and France signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation that provides for the allocation of €3 billion within military aid during 2024.

In general, the agreement provides Ukraine with security assistance and modern military equipment, across the land, air, sea, space and cyber domains.

Air defense, artillery, long-range weapons, armored vehicles, increasing the capabilities of the Air Force and other key capabilities are defined as priorities for military aid.