Development of the Defence Industry of Ukraine to Ensure National Security

Abstract

The national defence industry concentrates on military, electronic, information and space technologies. In the near future, Ukraine's defence industry may become one of the most knowledge-intensive industrial sectors of the economy. Accordingly, the purpose of the study is to assess the capacity of Ukrainian defence enterprises to produce weapons and military equipment to ensure national security. The research aims not only to assess the problems of the defence industry under martial law but also to ensure the effective development of the defence industry sectors by identifying priority areas of funding.It was found that the current state of the Ukrainian defence industry does not meet the current realities of the time, especially in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The provision of equipment and weapons to military units is at a low level. It is found that the renewal of modern models of weapons and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, before the full-scale invasion, was less than 1%, which in turn did not allow to compensate for the rate of ageing of existing weapons. The authors suggest ways to support the development of Ukraine's defence industry, in particular, through the creation of a Defence Industry Development Fund.The authors propose to create a Defence Industry Development Fund using public and private sources of funding not prohibited by the legislative framework of Ukraine, which will expand the capabilities of defence industry enterprises to produce weapons and military equipment. The creation of a system of multi-level continuous education in the defence industry and long-term conditions for the sustainable development of the defence industry's human resources will allow to engage in capacity building and reach a new level of support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the implementation of NATO standards.