Ukraine has the potential to revive its own aircraft manufacturing by organizing joint production of aircraft with India. According to Valentin Badrak, director of the Center for Army Research, this will not only allow Ukraine to regain lost positions in the industry but also provide funding for the creation of modern long-range weapons, including air-to-air missiles with a range of up to 200 km.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
India as a Strategic Partner for Ukrainian Aircraft Manufacturing
The expert emphasizes that India is gradually shifting its cooperation vector, moving away from the Russian Federation towards the USA and Europe. In this context, it is becoming an important partner for Ukraine in the military-technical sphere. In particular, New Delhi has already shown interest in creating joint ventures for aircraft engine production involving Ukrainian technologies.
Revival of An-178 Aircraft Production
The analyst notes that in the future, India could become the main customer for the latest military transport aircraft, the An-178. He believes that the production of these aircraft should be organized directly at Indian enterprises, which would effectively allow for the revival of Ukraine’s aircraft manufacturing industry, which has suffered significant losses since 2015. Since April 2015, after the subordination of State Enterprise “Antonov” to the state concern “Ukroboronprom”, no aircraft have been produced in Ukraine.
“During his visit to Kyiv in August 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi insisted on opening joint defense enterprises in India,” the expert recalled.
Thus, strategic cooperation with India could become a key factor in the revival of Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing and the development of modern defense technologies.