The tables have turned. Ukraine is now readying the West for modern war with its weapons and combat expertise.

• Ukraine has transformed from aid recipient to security provider.

• The Allies want his battlefield technology, tactics, and manufacturing know-how.

• Ukrainian troops and experts are now helping train NATO forces.

When is Russia? launches full-scale invasion In the February 2022 offensive against Ukraine, many predicted that Russia’s much greater military might would give it a quick victory.

Instead, Ukrainian forces drove the Russians away from the capital and forced them into a brutal war in the east that would last for years. And throughout its struggle, Ukraine improved its weapons, tactical and defense production processes. partner countries I want it now.

“It’s very clear, particularly in the last two years, that Ukraine has been developing technologies as well as battlefield tactics for use by other military organizations,” war strategist former Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan told Business Insider.

Now partners want Access to Ukrainian weaponsto learn from production techniques and integrate Ukrainian tactics into their own military.

The Ukrainian armed forces are now “without doubt the strongest and best armed forces in Europe in terms of warfare,” former UK security adviser and now defense analyst Michael Clarke told BI. And allies are paying attention.

Ukraine provides training to its allies

Partner countries have long been trained Ukrainian soldiers But the roles are increasingly reversing, with Ukrainians sharing their expertise with NATO militaries and participating in training programs, especially in drone warfare.

NATO opened the Ukrainian Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center (JATEC) last year to integrate Ukraine’s battlefield lessons into the alliance.

NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone said this week that the alliance is getting stronger. Using Ukrainian drone operators Acting as the adversary in the alliance’s training exercises to test NATO’s readiness. He said Ukraine is transitioning from a security consumer to a security provider.

Lieutenant General Christian Freuding, chief of the German general staff, told Reuters in March that Ukraine was sending military instructors to German army schools to teach them the lessons they had learned in the war, explaining that “the Ukrainian army is now the only army in the world with front-line experience against Russia.”

Denmark is also using Ukrainian drone experts for counter-drone work, and Poland on Monday announced a new fleet of drones backed by Ukrainian expertise

western education Ukrainian troops continue. Western militaries generally have decades of experience and training in types of warfare and weapons that the Ukrainian military is less familiar with. But increasingly these training sessions are not a one-way street, but serve as an exchange of tactics and combat approaches.

Ukrainian troops have occasionally retreated from Western training, which explains why some tactics feed into Russia but also fail to work against Russia. frontline experiences Let’s go back to your instructors. Instructors in a UK-led program told Business Insider that this know-how is reshaping how partner militaries train their own forces.

“This is not a one-way process,” Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the opening of a new training camp for Ukrainian soldiers in Poland last year, adding, “We will benefit from Ukrainian experiences.”

Ukrainian technology is in demand

NATO officials say Ukrainian defense technology is vital for future wars. General Secretary Mark Rutte said last year that “Ukraine is a powerhouse when it comes to military innovation and anti-drone technology” and that Ukraine’s willingness to share its expertise with allies was “very important”.

Ukraine says many of its allies have expressed interest in buying weapons, but exports remain limited as the war takes priority.

As the United States and its partners face drone threats similar to those that Ukraine has struggled with for years, foreign interest has accelerated with the start of the Iran war.

These threats have increased demand for Ukraine’s cheap interceptor drones and expertise in countering such attacks. Ukraine said its technology was now used in the region and its experts were advising partners on air defense.

Clarke said Ukraine’s defense industrial base has a “world-first advantage” and called it “the best and only supplier of short-term anti-drone technologies that are proven and can be produced very quickly.”

“Ukraine has become a center of expertise,” Keir Giles, a senior advisor in Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Program, told Business Insider. He said the war “significantly strengthened Ukraine’s global position.”

Ukraine also produces weapons in partner countries to speed up production and reduce the risk of attack; it’s a process that exposes Western companies to their methods.

Partners want to learn How does Ukraine produce weapons?He acknowledges that Ukraine has often been able to achieve this faster and cheaper, with different processes, less bureaucracy and more cooperation with the military. NATO officials He praised Ukraine’s speed and innovation and that Western companies should take into consideration, he said.

Danish defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen had previously told BI that he wanted his country’s defense firms to learn from the Ukrainians and for “some of the lessons learned from Ukrainian defense companies to be transferred back to Danish defense companies.”

He also said that manufacturing Ukrainian weapons in Denmark would give the military access to newer technologies and combat experience.

Norway’s defense minister said this week that a deal to produce Ukrainian drones in Norway would “strengthen Norway’s defense industry.”

Western companies are also trying to benefit from their war-oriented innovations by collaborating with Ukrainian companies to work in Ukraine.

Ihor Fedirko, CEO of the Ukrainian Defense Industrial Council, which represents more than 100 companies, told BI that foreign companies working in Ukraine are communicating with Ukrainian local experts so that allies “have the opportunity to get battlefield experience and expertise directly from our military.”

Ukraine is increasingly producing its own weapons but still relies on advanced Western equipment. For example, the United States produces key weapons that Ukraine cannot replace, such as air defense systems.

Kiev aims to reduce its dependence on foreign technology and lean more towards financing and partnerships, using its growing expertise to deepen long-term ties with partners.

Read the original article Business Content