Franco-German defence group KNDS has opened a subsidiary in Kyiv, the company announced on 1 October 2024.
Named KNDS Ukraine LLC, it will support the co-operation between Ukrainian government institutions, the Ukrainian defence industry and KNDS.
The purpose of establishing KNDS Ukraine is, among other goals, to empower Ukrainian industry to carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul work on KNDS systems in the country – among which are the Leopard 1 and 2 main battle tanks, the CAESAR 155 mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer (SPH), the AMX-10 RC reconnaissance vehicle/light tank, the PzH 2000 tracked SPH and the Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun system – and thus significantly increase their availability for combat.
At the same time KNDS and Ukrainian industry intend to jointly manufacture 155 mm artillery ammunition in Ukraine and produce spare parts using leading-edge manufacturing technologies.
The founding of KNDS Ukraine LLC is based on a corresponding Franco-German government initiative, the baselines of were presented in Berlin by the defence ministers of France and Germany, Sebastien Lecornu and Boris Pistorius respectively, on 22 March 2024.
