Production of British howitzers in Ukraine could pave the way for Patriot – media

Ukraine has reached an agreement with the British company BAE Systems on the licensed production of L119 light howitzers. The Wall Street Journal believes that this project could be the first step towards localizing the production of more sophisticated Western weapons, in particular interceptor missiles for Patriot systems.

This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.

BAE Systems signed an agreement on localization of production during the Farnborough Air Show. The document provides for the transfer of technical documentation and engineering support to the Ukrainian partner for the production of the first prototype gun. After that, the production is planned to be scaled up.

BAE Systems Director of Engineering, Technology and Strategy Giles Ambrose noted that Ukraine seeks to independently produce and maintain modern weapons.

“Ukraine wants to have the opportunity to independently produce and maintain its own forces and means in order to create a sovereign military potential,” he said.

The publication notes that the launch of L119 production will be a kind of test of whether Ukraine is capable of producing high-tech Western weapons. If successful, this could pave the way for localizing the production of other systems, primarily missiles for Patriot complexes.

At the same time, journalists emphasize that the production of Patriot missiles is a much more complex process. The United States strictly controls the transfer of relevant technologies due to the risks of intellectual property leakage. As an example, they cite the German company Rheinmetall, which has not yet received permission to produce modern PAC-3 missiles for these systems.

Despite this, Kyiv has received political support from Washington in recent weeks regarding the future licensing of Patriot missile production. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine expects to obtain the technical capability to produce such missiles by the end of 2026.

The L119 is a British 105mm lightweight towed howitzer with a firing range of about 17 kilometers. It is highly mobile, can be transported by helicopters, and is already in service with the Ukrainian army.

According to the WSJ, a significant part of the gun’s metal components, including the barrel, breech, and some elements of the hydraulic system, are planned to be manufactured in Ukraine. This will allow Ukrainian enterprises to gain experience in producing modern artillery systems according to Western standards.

As “Pryamiy” reported, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump promised to grant Ukraine a license to produce missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft systems.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , X , Telegram , and Instagram.