"The efforts made to develop the arms industry worldwide before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine were insufficient. To improve the situation, quick and effective actions by both Ukrainians and their allies are needed," said Lynndy Smith, Member of the Supervisory Board of Ukroboronprom, President of the Arizona Defense Industry Coalition (USA).

She made this statement during the second Defense Industry Forum, where she moderated one of the panels.

The topic of the discussion was the production of conventional weapons and the challenges faced by the arms manufacturers of the free world against the backdrop of the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The discussion was attended by:

• Ihor Chepkov, Head of the Central Research Institute of Arms and Military Equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• Maksym Bilan, Executive Director of the joint venture between Rheinmetall and Ukroboronprom;
• Joe Dunaway, President of Amentum Services, Inc.
• Christian Sear, CEO of BAE Systems Ukraine;
• Rainer Warner, Senior Vice President of KNDS Deutschland.

"A number of key factors influence the course of the Russian-Ukrainian war. For example, the rate of production in the West does not keep pace with the stockpiles of weapons that are used up on the battlefield. On the other hand, the capabilities of Ukraine's defense companies are not 100% utilized. Experts say that the Ukrainian defense industry currently has orders for $7 billion, which is only about a third of its potential capacity," Ms. Smith said.

The ways to solve this problem may be to deepen production cooperation between the Ukrainian and Western defense industries, including joint ventures, technology transfer and active attraction of foreign investment.