July 25, 2012 (DefPro.news) The Ukrainian Armed Forces have put into service the modern Ukrainian armored personnel carrier BTR-4E under the Order of the Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Salamatin.  Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau in cooperation with national defense enterprises has designed and manufactured BTR-4E. The Ukrainian Armed Forces got a new up-to-date weapon system technically comparable with its foreign analogues, while its fire potential is even better. Mass production of this vehicle will help Ukraine to take the leading positions in the world market of light armor wheeled vehicles. “Our national designers and Ministry of Defense specialists did a lot of job. We have developed a completely new system, breaking classical traditions of tank building. It’s a basis for future development of different modifications of this armament,” Andriy Artyushenko, Director of Department of Development and Acquisition of Armament and Military Equipment, commented.  He mentioned that BTR-4E armament included 30-mm automatic gun ZTM-1, antitank missile, grenade launcher KBA-117, machine-gun, and other armament manufactured by Ukrainian enterprises. This armament is integrated in a single system of fire control. “This vehicle proves capabilities of Ukraine to be a manufacturer of high technological and knowledge-based product and ensures possibility to activate defense industries, as well as create additional employment,” Dmytro Salamatin said.  According to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, thanks to BTR-4E Ukraine shall not import these vehicles and even may export them to world markets augmenting the state budget.

Defense exports: a new dawn or the sunset

July 08, 2012 (UNIAN) Chef of UkrSpetsExport* Yevhen Perehudov announced mid-June the start of negotiations about the joint assembly of Ukrainian armored personnel carrier BTR ZE on the territory of Thailand. UkrSpetsExport specializes in the export and import of military and special products and services. The total cost of supply of APCs of this class to Thailand is more than US $110 mn, although the number of APCs that will be jointly assembled in Thailand has not been disclosed. In early May, Ukraine unveiled another joint project on the supply of BTR 4 to Kazakhstan to the tune of approximately US $150 mn. The news was announced by Minister of Defense Dmytro Salamatyn, who is a native of Kazakhstan. Just as in the case with Thailand, the media did not get information about the share of the vehicles that will be assembled in Kazakhstan. If these deals come out, export of licenses and production technologies shall substantially exceed finished products in the overall export of weapons and special hardware, that now bring Ukraine more than US $1 bn annually.  What this new trend mean for the nation’s defense exports? Pessimists say somebody wants to sell out Ukraine’s top defense technologies abroad. Optimists argue that the Ukrainian defense industry is learning to keep up with the times.


* UkrSpetsExport - a Ukrainian state-owned arms trading company, formed in November 1996 for export and import  of military and special products and services. UkrSpetsExport not only sells the products of the Ukrainian arms industry, but also the excess weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Army. Since February 2011 the company also produces non-military firearms and ammunition for them. In documents uncovered during the United States diplomatic cables leak U.S.-diplomats complained the U.S. is fighting a constant battle to stop the flow of arms from Ukraine and UkrSpetsExport to terrorist in the Middle East and South Sudan. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrspetsexport

Qatari, UAE military to participate in Sea Breeze 2012 in Ukraine

KYIV, July 2 , 2012 (UKRINFORM). Representatives of the Armed Forces of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will take part in the Sea Breeze 2012 maneuvers in Ukraine, a UKRINFORM reporter learned from the Ukrainian Embassy in the UAE on Monday. "In accordance with the invitation of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the UAE Command decided to send its observers (4 officers) to participate in the international exercise Sea Breeze 2012 in Ukraine. A similar decision to send a military observer in Ukraine to attend the Sea Breeze 2012 Sun has been taken by the Command of the State of Qatar," the Ukrainian diplomatic mission said. A reminder that the international naval exercise Sea Breeze 2012 will begin July 9 and will last for a month. Participating in the maneuvers will be 500 military from 16 countries and about 19 ships, 3 submarines, 7 planes, 8 helicopters and other military equipment and modern weapons.