Ukraine, Britain’s BAE Systems agree to produce L119 light howitzers

The Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine and the British multinational defense giant BAE Systems have signed a cooperation agreement on localizing arms production, according to Defense Express.

The agreement was signed in the presence of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn, the president's official website reports. The event took place as part of Zelenskyy's meeting with representatives of BAE Systems.

In addition to the production localization agreement, another agreement was also signed during the meeting, this time with the participation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine – this is the framework agreement on cooperation in the repair, spare parts and production of New L119 light howitzers.

Zelenskyy thanked BAE Systems for the decision to open a representative office in Ukraine: "We highly appreciate when private companies open their offices in our country at such a time. First of all, this is a very important signal of support for our people, Ukrainian citizens."

The news that the defense giant BAE Systems plans to open an office in Ukraine and subsequently deploy both repair and production facilities for weapons and military equipment was first reported at the end of May this year.

At the same time, Ukraine is currently using a number of military equipment on the battlefield - from tanks to armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled guns - and therefore cooperation with BAE Systems is crucial given the intensive use of their weapons.

Earlier this month, Ukraine and Sweden declared their intention to jointly produce Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles in Ukraine.

As for the L119 howitzers, they were supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces as part of defense assistance, have been in use since at least the summer of 2022 and have proven themselves on the battlefield - the Ukrainian military notes the mobility of this howitzer and its ease of use.