Ukraine produces 8 self-propelled Bohdana artillery systems per month - NYT

The New York Times reports.

In particular, the media recalled that at the time of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine had one such system. And it is capable of firing NATO-caliber shells.

"Now, Ukraine’s arms industry is building eight of the self-propelled Bohdana artillery systems each month, and although officials will not say how many they’ve made in total, the increased output signals a potential boom in the country’s domestic weapons production," the article says. 

At the same time, Russia has already quadrupled its weapons production in round-the-clock operations.

The publication also reviewed documents from the Ukrainian government, which state that over the past year, Ukrainian defense companies have built three times as many armored vehicles as they produced before the war and quadrupled the production of anti-tank missiles. 

Read also Ukraine’s Bohdana self-propelled howitzer: specifications and production history 

Janes, a defense intelligence firm, has analyzed Ukraine's military budget until 2030, according to which funding for research and development is forecast to increase by eight times this year — to $1.3 billion from $162 million. Military procurement jumped to a projected 20-year high of nearly $10 billion in 2023, compared with a prewar figure of about $1 billion a year. 

It is also noted that some weapons are more difficult to produce in Ukraine than others. They include 155-millimeter artillery shells, which are in dire need on the battlefield, but depend on imported raw materials and licensing rights from Western manufacturers or governments. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s Strategic Industries minister, said domestic production of 155-millimeter shells was “on the way,” but would not say when.

The Ukrainian government plans to spend about $6 billion this year on domestically produced weapons, including one million drones.

• On June 30, 2022, Defense Express editor-in-chief Oleh Katkov said that thanks to modern systems, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had neutralized Russian soldiers on Snake island.
• On July 19, 2023, former Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov spoke about the positive prospects of the Ukrainian-made Bohdana self-propelled artillery system.