Badrak announced a new Ukrainian air defense system, which is "slowing down" by AOZ. They responded
Ukraine has its own privately developed anti-aircraft missile system, but its mass production is being slowed down due to the state's position. This was reported in an article for LIGA.net by Valentyn Badrak, director of the Center for Army Research, Conversion and Disarmament, citing his own sources. The Defense Procurement Agency (AOZ) responded to LIGA.net that they also purchase air defense systems from Ukrainian manufacturers.
According to Badrak, one of the private associations of defense enterprises stated at an unofficial forum that a new domestically developed air defense system was codified (approved for use in the military) in the first months of 2025.
Badrak added as a fact: the system is created, works, and has been successfully tested, as otherwise it could not have been codified.
The analyst noted: there is insider information that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was familiar with this project – he liked it, and the head of state ordered the production of three serial samples for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Probably, for the Ministry of Defense and its Defense Procurement Agency (AOZ), the order of the head of state is not an instruction. Does Minister Umerov know that the AOZ is in no hurry to purchase, that is, to finance the mass production of Ukrainian SAMs? Or, perhaps, is it simply waiting for the next gifts from Western partners?" – asked the expert.
LIGA.net asked the Agency itself for comment – they replied that the air defense category includes various means, the list of which they cannot disclose.
At the same time, the AOZ noted that among the air defense manufacturers that the Agency contracts with, there are also Ukrainian ones.
- In the same text, Badrak stated that the latest missile systems, which are currently in service exclusively with NATO member countries, may appear in the Ukrainian army in 2026.
- The analyst does not mention countries or specific defense companies in his publication for security reasons. According to the expert, he knows about the facts in the article from many sources in various ministries and departments.