Why are Ukrainian gunsmiths considering transferring their production facilities abroad?

According to Tech Force of Ukraine, 85% of Ukrainian arms manufacturers are considering relocating abroad or had already done so. Among weapons and military equipment manufacturers, 73% do not see any steps from the state to improve operating conditions for Ukraine’s defense industry.

One of the main problems for Ukrainian manufacturers is Ukraine’s closed arms export status, identified by 70% of respondents. Among other issued cited by respondents, 62% pointed to missile strikes, 48% to a small volume of state orders, 38% to insufficient business profitability and no state orders, and 35% to pressure from law enforcement agencies.

Tech Force offers several solutions to minimize the impact of these factors on the defense industry. These include partially opening the export of military equipment and shipping only surplus batches or weapons not needed by the military, and only to partner countries. State contracting should be made more predictable for the producer and based on the principles of the market economy.