Pakistan & Ukraine discuss joint-venture possibilities in tanks & ships

Pakistan’s Minister of Defence Production (MoDP) Rana Tanveer Hussian is currently visiting Ukraine to attend the 2016 Arms and Security exhibition being held in Kiev. He is accompanied by the Chairman of Heavy Industries Taxila, Lt. General Syed Wajid Hussain.

According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, the MoDP held a number of meetings with senior Ukrainian officials including, among others, the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council Oleksandr Turchynov, the Minister of Defence Stepan Poltorak, and the General Director of Ukroboromprom Roman Romanov. The two sides had discussed the prospect of joint tank manufacturing and shipbuilding.

Notes & Comments:

Pakistan is familiar with Ukrainian armour technology and expertise, which had been a major facet of the development of the al-Khalid and al-Zarrar main battle tank (MBT) platforms. Ukraine has an incentive to build upon this base and broaden its market reach in Pakistan through its newer offerings, such as the 1,500 hp 6TD-3 diesel engine and the Oplot-M MBT (which could be a candidate for the Haider program).

In terms of Ukraine’s shipbuilding expertise. During the age of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was a key supplier of propulsion, and its role in that respect was maintained in the post-Soviet days with the Russian Navy opting for Ukrainian engines for a number of its newer frigates (until the start of the Crimean Crisis).

Pakistan will likely be more interested in Ukraine’s land applications, especially its heavy vehicle propulsion and armour technology, which could be applied to future Pakistani MBT (and potentially other) solutions. Cost and transfer-of-technology would be among Pakistan’s key considerations.