Ukraine, Slovakia agree to jointly develop 155-mm howitzer

Ukraine and Slovakia have agreed to develop a 155 mm self-propelled gun.

The aim of the cooperation is to adapt the Eva self-propelled howitzer to Ukrainian requirements, as well as to integrate technical solutions from Ukrainian partners, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to the publication Denník E.

According to the publication, on the Slovak side, the partner is the state-owned company Konstrukta Defence, on the Ukrainian side - the Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant, which produces its own howitzers.

"Our goal is to build a functional prototype of a new howitzer within one year," said Konstrukta Defence Director Alexander Gursky.

The companies have already signed a memorandum of cooperation. The information was also confirmed by the director of the Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant Vitaly Zagudaev. In particular, the companies have agreed on other types of joint activities.

"At Konstrukta Defence, we have found a good and reliable partner with whom we are developing projects in the field of mortars, ammunition, modernization of the Bogdan project, as well as in the development of a new 155-millimetre howitzer," Zagudaev said.

As Gursky noted, the cooperation began due to the fact that Ukraine was satisfied with the Slovak Zuzana 2 howitzers, which the Armed Forces began using last summer. In this cooperation, the idea arose to build a howitzer, in which each of the parties will invest maximum capabilities and technical solutions.

The publication adds that so far these are plans that may still not be realized. We are talking about the elections in Slovakia in September of this year, during which a political party promising to stop helping Ukraine can win. At the same time, Gursky considers the development of the Slovak-Ukrainian howitzer very promising.