Recently, Canadian defence company Roshel announced it had already begun producing armoured vehicles in Ukraine.
Now, another company from a NATO country may expand production there.
Renault, a French automaker, is considering producing drones in Ukraine after being approached by the French government.
“We have been contacted by the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Discussions have taken place, but no decision has been made at this stage as we await further details,” the French automaker told AFP.
The statement follows Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s announcement on Friday of a partnership between a major French car manufacturer and a defence contractor to establish drone production facilities in Ukraine.
The project could place production sites within several dozen or hundreds of kilometers from the front line, although official sources have not confirmed specifics, France Info reports.
The drones would primarily serve the Ukrainian armed forces but also benefit French troops.
“We’ll use them to ensure our forces maintain tactical and operational training aligned with the reality of the conflict,” Lecornu said.”
Lessons for Canada
As noted at the outset, Canadian company Roshel is already manufacturing in Ukraine, building on an important partnership between Canadian industry and Ukraine as it fights for survival against Russia’s brutal invasion.
Canada would be wise to expand these kinds of partnerships to drone production, given the importance of keeping pace with the rapidly changing nature of warfare. While Canada currently lacks a Canadian-owned automaker (something we should change) we should link up a Canadian company like Aeromao (drone producer) with a Ukrainian company, and build two factories – one in Canada where we can learn best practices from Ukraine and scale up domestic drone manufacturing, and one in Ukraine, where Canadian money can go to helping Ukraine defend itself.
Canada needs to think fast and learn from others. Building up our domestic defence capacity is not something we should do in isolation; rather, it will be best accomplished by investing in fledgling Canadian capabilities here at home while deepening partnerships with our allies.
Spencer Fernando
Image – YouTube
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