Ukraine Looks to U.S. Defense Industry to Secure Victory.

• Author: Carberry, Sean

AUSTIN, Texas -- Ukraine's successful counteroffensive shows that Russia's military is in decline, and with continued support from U.S. industry, victory for Ukraine is certain, a senior Ukrainian defense official told National Defense in an exclusive interview Sept 20.

Retired Maj. Gen. Volodymyr Havrylov, deputy defense minister for armaments, said he is confident that the U.S. defense sector can provide Ukraine with the systems and ammunition it needs to prevail in the war with Russia. Havrylov was attending the National Defense Industrial Association's Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition in Austin, Texas, and meeting with members of industry.

"I'm here... to understand the capacity and potential of U.S. industry --in the current crisis of supply chains and other things--to have a realistic picture of what we can expect and what is not going to be done this year--or maybe next year," he said. The conversations he has had with defense executives have all been positive, he added.

"We had a number of meetings here with different companies and also been introduced to some new designs and developments, especially in ammunition and demining," he said. Ridding the nation of mines and unexploded ordnance will be a long-running concern after the conflict, he said. Meanwhile, ammunition is a persistent need.

The Future Force Capabilities Conference--now in its second year--brings together the munitions, armaments, ground robot and explosive ordnance disposal communities.

"I've been very impressed with the level of development of this area of ammunition in the United States," he said. "I saw a lot of kind of startups or ideas with the precision strike capability with artificial intelligence."

The U.S. military and industry are working on next-generation capabilities, which are appealing to Ukraine, but will not be ready to help the current fight, he said. However, there are plenty of existing technologies that Ukraine needs.

"We will win this war through the technological superiority, through situational awareness and through the motivation of our troops," he said. "Technological superiority means that if we use for example artillery, we have to use artillery with smart munitions. If we use a precision strike capability, it should be long-range precision strike capability like [multiple launch rocket systems] or [high mobility artillery rocket systems], which we already have.

"If we are thinking about counter-battery radars or the...