Ukrainian manufacturers of drones and other military technologies have opened their own hub in Brussels — UARM Hub. Through it, companies will be able to seek European partners, raise money for their developments, and promote the interests of the Ukrainian defense industry in the EU.
One of the team's main tasks is to deal with the obstacles that prevent Ukrainian developments from entering the European market. These may be complex procurement procedures, requirements for testing equipment, or rules for financing defense projects.
The team will also work on protecting manufacturers' rights to their own developments during the implementation of joint projects.
To understand exactly what changes are needed, UARM Hub will work on two studies. The first will concern the structure of the Ukrainian defense market. The second — the preparation of a "White Paper." This document will contain proposals on which rules and procedures should be changed to make it easier for Ukrainian and European companies to implement joint defense projects.
At the opening of UARM Hub, European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius drew attention to a distinctive feature of the Ukrainian defence industry — the close cooperation between developers and the military. He proposed that in the future UARM Hub be transformed into a kind of academy where European manufacturers could learn from the experience of the Ukrainian defence industry. The European Commissioner's special adviser Klaus Welle also stated that Ukraine could soon become a "security donor for Europe."
Previously, dev.ua wrote that the founder of the military unit Lasar's Group, Pavlo Yelizarov, called for simplifying the export of Ukrainian defense technologies to EU and NATO countries. According to him, drone production is currently loaded at only 30%. The remaining capacity could be used for foreign orders, but current export control procedures are currently hindering this.