NATO will discuss a long-term strategy to rebuild Ukraine’s defense industry in its first meeting with Kyiv next week, Politico revealed.
The 10-year-plan broadly entails bringing Ukraine “closer to the alliance in both training and equipment,” echoing the call for “standardized requirements” made in a meeting last month.
Transition From Soviet to Western Systems
“We will be looking at defense planning requirements to get Ukraine fully interoperable with NATO,” Politico quoted an unnamed senior NATO official.
“It’s about shifting away from Soviet equipment … to NATO-compatible Western equipment.”
In its September 28 meeting, the alliance discussed ways to expand its members’ defense industrial base to produce defense capabilities “critical to Ukraine’s long-term defense,” such as ground-based long-range fires, air defense systems, and air-to-ground munitions.
Need for Interoperable Systems
The meeting recognized the importance of standardizing defense requirements and producing “more interchangeable and interoperable systems.”
More recently, NATO acquisition officials met to discuss ways to arm Ukraine while replenishing their own war-depleted stockpiles.
The Russian strikes before the meeting forced a rethink about the aid, pushing air defense systems to the top of the priority list.