A representative from a Ukrainian company spoke at the SOFWeek conference about Ukraine’s military requirements, including the need for drones and tools to counter Russian electronic warfare, while also highlighting the difficulties associated with procurement and the desire to test foreign tools on Ukrainian battlefields.
At the SOFWeek special operations conference in Tampa, a representative from a Ukrainian company discussed Ukraine’s military needs, including drones, optics, and developing a logistics chain for donated armor. The representative, named Igor, explained that Ukrainian legislation restricts some parts of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) from directly procuring equipment, requiring them to work with companies like his. The import legislation in Ukraine has become more open, allowing for easier procurement of necessary equipment. However, exporting remains a complicated process. Igor emphasized the need to test equipment in Ukraine’s challenging electronic warfare environment, as Russian forces are skilled at jamming signals. He expressed the desire to bring in international companies to test their equipment in Ukraine. Igor highlighted the Russian’s knowledge of radio wave characteristics and their ability to detect and target equipment, posing a challenge for Ukrainian drone operators. He mentioned the need for different types of drones and kamikaze drones, which are cheaper to operate than rockets. Igor stated that Ukraine has been using commercially available drones from various producers. He also mentioned a budget of around $1 billion for drone procurement and expressed interest in finding the most productive and battle-tested equipment.
