The latest national advances in military technology were presented at a testing ground in the village of Honcharivske by the Chernihiv State Research and Test Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. All systems have been made in Ukraine according to NATO standards. They include automatic grenade launcher UAG-40, intended for semi-automatic and automatic fire modes. The launcher is distinctively ultralight, and its developers maintain it has no counterparts anywhere.
Oleh Slynko, the project manager who works for the Leninska Kuznia concern, told us: “We have squeezed all the requirements into a minimum weight system. It uses new materials and advanced technology. Weight is very important for infantryman because he is already loaded with body armor, communications equipment, food rations, assault rifle, and other military gear. Our grenade launcher weighs only 17 kilograms.”
The testing ground in Honcharivske saw another Ukrainian product, a compact, lightweight and easy to repair UAV, take to the skies. The UAV’s designer Yevhen Sedachenko revealed that he used simplest materials. The “Dron” UAV can fly for up to 20 kilometers. Its battery charge lasts for two hours. It transmits video feed to the ground in real time. The system costs approximately 200,000 hryvnias per unit.
Military researchers also showed the “Makhno” light armored car, equipped with a combat module comprising a machine gun and a grenade launcher. The combat module has been named in honor of the defenders of the Donetsk Airport. The Cyborg’s firing range is two kilometers. It can even destroy lightly armored vehicles. The module is directed via an electronic console. The Cyborg’s co-developer Yurii Vinnyk said the remote control allowed to protect the operator from being hit by bullets or shells.
These modern armament models prove once again that the nation’s defense industries are capable of producing world-class weapons, provided only that “the government pays attention to the military-industrial complex,” head of the Chernihiv State Research and Test Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Bashynsky said. “Since the president of Ukraine declared this year to be the year of support for the Ukrainian army, we hope that our designs will enter service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Bashynsky also added that the center he headed would soon start training military instructors, special operations experts, and test pilots. They plan to create a separate military training establishment for this purpose, targeting officers who would like to test new weapons.
